Rating: 
Summary: Lord John Ain't No Sherlock!
Review: Like many other readers, I am a great fan of the "Outlander" series. Ms Gabaldon has the gift of creating characters so real that you laugh and cry with them and for them.Lord John's appearances in "The Drums of Autumn" were heartwarming. He obviously did his best to be a good father to young Willie, and he went above-and-beyond to be kind and helpful to Brianna during her tribulations. Because of this, I was looking forward to getting better acquainted with him in the new book. At the time of "The Private Matter," however, I guess he hadn't yet matured into the man described above. Although he doesn't shrink from his duty in preventing his cousin's marriage to Trevelyan, (the chap who has "the pox"), he goes about it in a cool, remote way. As usual, Ms. Gabaldon does her homework and gives us a vivid picture of London in the mid-1700's. Despite the colorful backdrop, the characters move across the stage rather woodenly. I found it difficult to care who committed the murder, or why, and I didn't really like being dragged through the seamier side of society. There are several flashes of witty humor throughout the story, but they can't rescue the book. I can't wait to meet up with Jamie and Claire again!
Rating: 
Summary: Good historical mystery
Review: Unlike most of the other reviewers, I can't claim to be a great fan of the Outlander series. While the characters are certainly engaging, I've always found the plotting and descriptive passages overwritten - what some reviewers call 'lush,' I considered repetitive and overly florid. That's why this book came as such a pleasant surprise. Gabaldon seems much more disciplined in this story, letting the characters and plot carry the day rather than relying on sweeping melodrama. Although I've read other reviews lamenting the lack of steamy love scenes, I actually consider this a much more mature work than her other books. The plot is inventive, the dialogue is witty, and I cared deeply about the characters. If I were an Outlander fan, I would probably give the book three stars at most - it is a radical departure. However, if you prefer historical mysteries or novels about 18th century England, I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fun mystery, interesting look at English society
Review: Dr. Gabaldon has made it clear in previous books that she loves mysteries. This book is mostly a mystery. If you're not into mysteries, you'll probably have a take on this book similar to others listed here, which run along the lines of "nothing happens". A lot happens, if you're attuned to and interested in mysteries. On top of that, Dr. Gabaldon does an excellent job of dramatizing the kind of risk and fear that a gay man of the 18th century lived with. If you're not interested in experiences particular to a closeted gay man in a society hostile to the love that dare not speak its name, then I can imagine that you might find it uninteresting or even uncomfortable; however, as an achievement of characterization and narrative voice, I thought it superb. I found this book engaging and I very much enjoyed reading something by Dr. Gabaldon that was relatively compact. Detour? Read her note to readers before you buy. If you're expecting Jamie and Claire, don't. If you've enjoyed Lord John or like a mystery novel now and then (or more often), I recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: honestly.... well, boring?
Review: Like most of the reviewers thus far, I have been a fan since "Outlander" was first published. I've even, gasp, bought the entire series in hardback because I couldn't wait for the paperbacks. Same with "Lord John and the Private Matter". Ordered it, read it, & then mostly forgot it. It just wasn't very interesting at all. Lord John is a great character as introduced in the Outlander series but in this solo outing he did a whole lot of nothing. Some sort of vague, blah plot involving a cousin's fiance and his case of VD, a murder & gay brothels. Lord John just happens to be "checking out" his soon to be cousin-in-law while in the loo, notices the supposedly upstanding lord's "pox" and then frets about how to break up the cousin's engagement all the while kind of investigating a murder. The details were confusing, the dialogue inane and for me, most unfortunately, it didn't have ANY of the humour that I associate with her writing ( and love the most). The story went nowhere, the characters were instantly forgettable, the ending was.. (what was the ending?) and I was immensely disappointed. I didn't get any sense of the "rich descriptive prose" that other's have commented on: it just seemed like so much publisher filler until the next Outlander installment is ready. I can only hope that the next installment in the(old)Outlander series will prove to be up to her previous standards. I will probably buy the second Lord John book but I'll wait for the paperback issue the next time.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to love this book
Review: After passionately reading the OUTLANDER series I became a Diana Gabaldon fanatic! I receive group messages and frequent her web site. I even slipped into a mild depression when completing FIERY CROSS knowing it would be a few years before I would be able to find out what happened to my beloved Jamie and Claire. Her books are among the best I have ever read---until LORD JOHN and the PRIVATE MATTER. Even after reading the dismal reviews, I was determined to like this book. I find it difficult to believe that Diana even wrote this book. I knew this book would be totally unrelated to all things Outlander but I figured that the same great writing with wonderful character development that we are so accustomed to would continue with her new series. Unfortunately, I was wrong. In fact, I know no more about Lord John after reading a book about him than I did from reading the Outlander books. Plus, I had a hard time following this mystery. For example, when Lord John would notice a 'look' in a servants eye, I wasn't certain what that look meant. I don't mean to write a scathing review because this book is not horrible--it's just not great. Read it for what it is, a little mystery story that is mildly entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: a detour...
Review: Lord John and the Private Matter is simply a detour on Gabaldon's quest to finish the Outlander saga. Like other readers, I haven't been as captivated by this novel as I expected, in spite of being fond of Lord John in DG's Outlander novels. At times, it seems like a gratuitious exercise in eeking more money out of her fans with all the name dropping (Fraser, Fraser, Fraser?), but there are brilliant moments when you can be transported back into 18th C. London. As the first in a Lord John "trilogy" (would that be like the Outlander Trilogy now numbering 5 and counting?), I will continue reading them until it becomes utter dreck. DG can only improve these stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to her standards
Review: If you are a Gabaldon fan and really are interested in reading this book. Get it from your local library don't waste your money on it. It is not at all as compelling at her Outlander series, (and yes I do know that it was not another Jamie and Claire book) nothing at all to sink your teeth into.
I couldn't even finish the book, I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did. I gave up.
Rating:
Summary: Lord John doesn¿t matter at all
Review: I hungrily scooped up Lord John and the Private Matter, as I am always waiting for a new Diana Gabaldan book. But alas, this absolutely left me wanting and failed to sate my hunger. Gabaldan's books are rich in detail, both in character and history and are quite succulent in plot description and sexual escapades. This book lacked all of this. Lord John is a compelling character in the Outlander series, but here he barely reaches one dimension. Of course no one could take the place of Jamie Fraser, the ultimate protagonist from the Outlander series and every woman and man's fantasy, but at least give us someone to sink our teeth into just a little. Not only are there no exciting characters, but the mystery never seems to evolve into anything either. This book does not even read like a Gabaldan book. She never seems to find her voice and the witty repartee, which is so amusing in her other books, is completely non-existent in this one. I question whether she actually wrote this one at all.
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: Yes, I'm a huge Outlander fan, but I was more than willing to get into a new series outside of Jamie and Claire. This, however, is not it. Although I loved the character of John Grey from the Outlander books, and do think he would make a compelling protagonist, this so-called mystery does not do him justice. We really learn very little about John's character, other than a small amount of background information. The bulk of the book is devoted to his unravelling of a mystery of which I cared little about; it didn't even have anything to do with John personally, and only towards the end of the book does it become intruiging. We learn that he is intelligent, and also lonely (pining away, like the rest of us, for Jamie!), and that he is oftentimes confliceted about his homosexuality and the problems it entails in the world of the mid-1700s. But, unlike Gabaldon's other books, this one is missing the rich historical details and her wonderful way of drawing the reader into a different age. I think this was simply a writing exercise for Gabaldon, never intended for publication.
Rating:
Summary: Correction
Review: Sorry, I haven't read the book yet, but I'd like to be (perhaps) the first of thousands to correct "Reader" about Lord John raping both Jamie and Claire .... HUH?!! What in the world books were you reading?!!! I can't even begin to imagine where you got that from. Jamie was raped by Jonathan Randall, and Claire and Jamie's daughter was raped by Stephen Bonnet. Methinks you should refresh your memory.
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