Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

After a month's wait since its publication, I have finally managed to get my hands on a copy of the latest Lord John novel- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.

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. Seventeen years earlier, Lord John’s late 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. Someone is taunting the Grey family with secrets from the grave, but Hal, with secrets of his own, refuses to pursue the matter and orders his brother to do likewise. Frustrated, John turns to a man who has been both his prisoner and his confessor: the Scottish Jacobite James Fraser.

Fraser can tell many secrets—and withhold many others. 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, caught between his courage and his conscience, must decide whether his family’s honor is worth his life.

I have finally finished reading it last night. WOW!

Considering the fact that I don't even like Lord John, and I don't like mysteries (I don't think this is not really a mystery tho), I don't particularly like the homosexual stuff, this story managed to engage my emotions as I have never expected.

As always, Diana managed to weave beautiful canvas, scenes that interlock with each other and so much details you'll surely miss on the first read. The depth of the struggle & conflict of Lord John, how it was written, wow! I can just say I'm stunned. (It became even more unbelievable after reading the interpretation of a critical scene near the end in the Books & Writers Community forum by Herself. How can this scene be written?? WOW!)

You cannot find better novels in character development/vivid creation of scenes/skilled use of words than those written by Herself. Mind you, these are not for light reading. =P And I'm afraid one do need to read the Outlander series to be able to fully appreciate the book.