Lord John and the Hand of Devils: International Edition

Lord John Grey, Book 3

By: Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Diana Gabaldon, number one New York Times best-selling author of the celebrated Outlander series, delivers three mesmerizing tales of war, intrigue, and espionage that feature one of her most popular characters: Lord John Grey.

In "Lord John and the Hellfire Club", Lord John glimpses a stranger in the doorway of a gentleman's club - and is stirred by a desperate entreaty to meet with him in private. It is an impulse that will lead Lord John into a maze of political treachery and a dangerous, debauched underground society.

In "Lord John and the Succubus", English soldiers fighting in Prussia are rattled by a lethal creature that appears at night. Called to investigate, Lord John soon realizes that among the spirits that haunt men, none frighten more than the specters conjured by the heart.

In "Lord John and the Haunted Soldier", Lord John is thrust into the baffling case of an exploding battlefield cannon that ultimately forces him to confront his own ghosts - and the shattering prospect that a traitor is among the ranks of His Majesty's armed forces.

©2007 Diana Gabaldon (P)2020 Recorded Books, Inc.

A small plate of savories

Highly recommended as an appetizing complement to the Outlander series. These three stories fill in a wealth of details about Lord John Greys's life and character. I don't know how interesting I would find them as stand alone works, but they provide backstory for one of my favorite personalities in the Outlander series. Plus they contain lots of clues and context for the longer Lord John books.

As usual with Diana Gabaldon there is a wealth of historic detail and some sly humor, with the added twist of the mysteries to be solved. The style of the writing is quite different from that in the Outlander main series - like fine claret as opposed to scotch whiskey, perhaps? Both appeal to me.

That being said, the final story 'Hand of Devils' does feel like it could easily be twice as long and better for it; I wanted to know more about some of the characters who remained undeveloped. Still it does tie up some of the loose ends from Brotherhood of the Blade (and will make a lot more sense if you have read that book).

I find Jeff Woodman's nuanced reading delightful, he brings the varied cast of characters to life - particularly Grey and his loyal, long suffering valet Tom Byrd. I've listened to these more than once in the past year, and enjoyed picking up on things I missed the first time.

Was there any editing? Post Production.

Would you listen to Lord John and the Hand of the Devils again? Why?

While overall the stories were enjoyable & the narrator superb, the poor editing of Succubus kept knocking me out of the narrative. There were numerous repeated sentences which made me wonder if anyone listened to it in Post Production or if it was rushed through to make the collection. I found this very irritating, like listening to a favorite record skip repeatedly.

great narrator

I'm officially a Diana Gabaldon fan! This is a fun book, three short stories, historic, mysteries, and Lord John is an investigator. This narrator is fast becoming one of my favorites, too.

Editor could have done better

Love the stories, but the performer double read some lines that the editor missed taking out. Glad I bought it though. Enjoyed the story and Lord John!

Great!

The narrator is a wonder! Loved the way he brought the characters to life. The short stories were a lot of fun and a great look into this side character from the main Outlander series.