I'm currently reading LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE by Diana Gabaldon. This is 2nd of 4 in series featuring Lord John Grey, a soldier and gentleman and a recurring secondary character in the author's Outlander series, in mid-18th century London. Here is a description:
In 1758, in the heart of the Seven Years’ War, Britain fights by the side of Prussia in the Rhineland. For Lord John and his titled brother Hal, the battlefield will be a welcome respite from the torturous mystery that burns poisonously in their family’s history. It’s been seventeen years since Lord John’s father, the Duke of Pardloe, was found dead, a pistol in his hand and accusations of his role as a Jacobite agent staining forever a family’s honor. Now unlaid ghosts from the past are stirring. Lord John’s brother has mysteriously received a page of their late father’s missing diary—and John is convinced that someone is taunting the Grey family with secrets from the grave. So he turns to the only man he can trust: the Scottish Jacobite James Fraser. But war, a forbidden affair, and Fraser’s own secrets will complicate Lord John’s quest—until James Fraser yields the missing piece of an astounding puzzle and Lord John must decide whether his family’s honor is worth his life.
It was published 2007 and has 512 pages. Gabaldon introduced Grey in the second Outlander novel Dragonfly in Amber (1992) as a sixteen-year-old English soldier who chances upon Jamie and Claire Fraser on the eve of the Battle of Prestonpans. The character returned in Voyager (1993) and Drums of Autumn (1996). When Gabaldon was invited to write a short story for the 1998 British anthology Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime, she was interested in the challenge of writing a shorter work but hesitant to use any of the main characters from the Outlander series for fear of creating "a stumbling block in the growth of the next novel." The Lord Grey character came to mind.
"Lord John Grey is an important character in the Outlander series, but he isn’t onstage all the time. And when he isn’t … well, plainly he’s off leading his life and having adventures elsewhere, and I could write about any of those adventures without causing complications for future novels. Beyond that obvious advantage, Lord John is a fascinating character. He’s what I call a 'mushroom' — one of those unplanned people who pops up out of nowhere and walks off with any scene he’s in — and he talks to me easily (and wittily).I stopped by the used book sale that a church holds twice a year. I usually only go on the Saturday for a couple hours or so but last night they had a "first night" from 5 until 7. It. was. jam. packed. You could hardly move. But I did a quick perusal of the paperbacks, mostly looking for Ngaio Marsh books this time around. I didn't find any of those but I did find a paperback of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for which I've had my eye open for several years. I only stayed an hour; it was hot, crowded, and one could hardly maneuver in the aisles.
We had put the dogs outside for the day for the first time in a long time yesterday ---- and of course they got out. Ryker can find any weakness in the fence. And apparently they were running around for a long time. I finally found them about 1:15 and they absolutely crashed for the rest of the day and the night. They are moving like old men with the occasional groan. They hardly moved all night long and were not interested in our morning walk. Shocked, I am, and I got to sleep in an extra half hour. They are outside again today and I will check on the them at lunch but I don't think they'll be moving much off the deck.
I won a book! So unexpectedly! I try to check out a great author blog, www.jungleredwriters, and sometimes I make a comment. And making comments is sometimes how the blogs choose winners for things. Well, apparently my name was chosen to win a book by Hank Phillipi Ryan, an ARC of TRUTH BE TOLD. I'm gobsmacked. She has won multiple crime fiction awards; I believe I read one or two of her first series. Free books are awesome!
Steve has shooting tonight; I'll be reading and hanging with my wrung-out boys.
Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster
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