Grace Burrowes - A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances

Lord Julian Caldicott, still recovering from his years at war, is tasked with investigating the circumstances of a small boy who could be either the salvation of the Waltham dukedom or a pawn in a scheme to sink the Caldicott family in endless scandal. The boy is alone in the world, though any one of several women might be his mother, and they all claim that Julian’s brother, the late Lord Harry Caldicott, was the child's father. Or a heritage of honor...
To uncover the boy's parentage, Julian must face demons from his own past, solve puzzles left behind by Lord Harry, and thwart enemies who wish the lad harm for reasons of their own. His investigation takes him from barracks, to brothels, and to Hyde Park by dark of night. The longer he searches, the more tangled—and dangerous—the mystery becomes, for Julian and for the innocent child who deserves to know the truth of his own birthright.

Comment: This is the third installment in the Lord Julian Mysteries series by Grace Burrowes, an interesting historical blend of light mystery and character development.

In this adventure, which closely follows the events of the previous one, Lord Julian and his brother, the duke, need to investigate the claim that a certain boy, who has been living with a military widow, is the son of Harry, their deceased brother. The boy came with his mother and nursemaid but the widow isn't interested in offering more charity and it is necessary to make sure he is who everyone claims. This leads Julian to investigate the mother, who died of consumption, the nursemaid and even the widow... what he discovers paints a picture but it also takes him into paths that might help him, personally. Is the boy truly his nephew or not, that is the question...

This being the third book in the series and having I read other books by the author means I kind of know what to expect from the author's style. It also helps that these Lord Julian stories are more on the short size than not, which means the plot is actually rather concise. One could even say that the mysteries are more a character study than actual riddles to solve, and most of the focus is on how Julian connects the dots than a serious investigation like the police would do.

As I imagined, this was an easy and additive story to read, between the plot and the author's writing style. It's actually funny because in some other books by the author I've read, there were times certain ways of explaining what was happening felt a little annoying but in these books, I think the author really got the perfect method to write and deliver the information. I also like it that the characters "speak" in a realistic but still approachable manner, especially since English isn't my mother tongue.

The plot is quite simple, of course, the more we get to learn as things become available. The boy, Leander, is rumored to be the son of Julian's brother, the one who died at war, but no one knew about him. The mother also died and didn't leave documents or enough evidence to support her claim. If the duke acknowledges the connection, it would lead to a certain behavior and society expectations, which of course is different if the boy isn't related to them. Julian needs to investigate with discretion and in the process of asking questions about Leander and those who were close to him at some point, he learns things about himself too.

This is really an interesting study in decoding secrets. Things people say or let it be known in a version of events, which can be seen differently if one looks at it from a different angle. I like the psychological element to these "games" and how we can learn if what mattered was truly that simple or more complex. For instance, Leander's mother had good reason to not share certain things when she came to live with the widow, someone she knew in her past, and when we learn them, it becomes easy to see why. At the same time, if those things had been shared right away, a lot of the plot would have been simplified.

I think the mystery aspects in this novel were engaging enough to keep me interested in what would happen next. I also liked how everything ends and the inferring we can have out of it.

As for the development of the characters' relationships and interactions, this was also something that seemed well done.

There is one little detail, however, that bothered me a little bit. Julian and Hyperia, the woman he would have married if not for the war and its consequences, are still friendly and we know he still has feelings for her. They have an honest conversation in this book, and I thought this would be a sweet prelude to further romantic developments - I still think this will happen, the series is long after all! - but then she confides something and I'm a little annoyed because even if this is something she feels, was it unavoidable to talk about it now, when they aren't even a real couple yet? I think it was unnecessary.

Still, all in all, this was a satisfying add-on to the series. I'm certainly going to keep reading!

Grade: 8/10