A GENTLEMAN IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES is the engaging third book in the Lord Julian Mysteries by historical romance author Grace Burrowes, and Lord Julian continues to delight me! Burrowes is primarily a romance author, and while this book has a slow-burn romance arc in it, the primary focus of the series is the amateur sleuthing of Lord Julian Caldicott, third son of the prior Waltham duke and now second in line for the title.
Lord Julian has returned from the Napoleonic war with many mental and physical changes that make his life a limited one. Julian, a spy in the war, was captured and tortured by the French. He returns to England under a cloud of scandal, suspected by some in service of divulging military secrets. Julian is battling both physical ailments and PTSD from his captivity and torture, and I feel so badly for him! He is struggling mightily to find hope and a way forward, and I'm enjoying watching him slowly heal from his prior traumas.
Julian's other brother Harry was also a spy captured and tortured to death by the French. Julian was actually captured while trying to save Harry. Harry seems like a right bouncer the more the reader learns about him, and Burrowes does a great job of making him an ambiguous character! But loyal Julian loved his brother deeply and feels his loss sorely. Harry might have left a son behind, and Julian must apply his sleuthing skills from his spy work to track down what exactly is going on with this potential nephew.
The relationships between Julian and those around him are what bring this series alive to me. Julian's older brother Arthur, the duke, is a gratifying character, and so is Lord Julian's tiger, an urchin that he rescued from service on a prior investigation. I admire Julian's potential love interest, and I adore how Burrowes is setting her up to perhaps NOT be a romantic interest! Kudos to the author. And I especially love the developing backstory of the man who tortured Julian, who is now living in London.
The Lord Julian Mysteries is some of Burrowes' finest work, in my opinion, and it makes me so happy to sink myself into these Napoleonic mysteries! Lord Julian and company make for captivating company. A GENTLEMAN IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES brings us interpersonal relationships with engaging depth plus a captivating mystery and does so with a flair for historical detail.
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.
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