2018/46: The Scottish Prisoner -- Diana Gabaldon

Jamie had the obscure feeling that cliché on top of treasonous insanity was more than anyone should be obliged to put up with. [p. 313]

Following the discovery of a poem written in Erse, Lord John's brother Hal recruits Jamie Fraser (the eponymous Scottish prisoner) to accompany Lord John on a mission to Ireland, where they hope to uncover a treasonous plot -- and possibly the seeds of another Jacobite uprising. Accompanied by the disreputable, and likely murderous, Irishman Tobias Quinn, Lord John and Jamie Fraser discover more about the situation -- and one another -- than they might reasonably have expected. Even on their return to London, the consequences multiply.

There's a bittersweet note to this novel, even for those who haven't read Voyager (the timespan of which encompasses The Scottish Prisoner -- indeed, this whole novel occurs during section V, chapter 16). While I very much enjoyed the growing respect and friendship between John and Jamie, I already knew that nothing about their respective positions would have changed at the end of the novel. (Actually, that feels improbable: their friendship does deepen, with each making sacrifices and taking risks for the other: how can this have so little impact on later interactions in Voyager?)

An enjoyable tale with its own resolution, and with some intriguing revelations about both protagonists. I especially enjoyed the London scenes towards the end of The Scottish Prisoner: Lord John being thoroughly competent, even when it becomes clear that a mistake has been made. But I still feel that the events of this novel should have had more visible impact on the 'main' (e.g. Jamie-centric) canon.

And now I have run out of Lord John novels to read. Boo.