What is Lord John and the Plague of Zombies about?

After traveling between London, Ireland, and Helwater, Lord John Grey heads to another country in the next novella. Lord John and the Plague of Zombies brings us a mixture of murder, supernatural, and mayhem.

It’s the next book in our Outlander Book Club. This is a chance to see Lord John Grey head to Jamaica, although not as the governor just yet. There are some connections to the main Outlander story, but more of just some moments that serve us as fans.

This novella has been renamed since it was originally published. It is now A Plague of Zombies, part of the Lord John Grey series.

What is Lord John: A Plague of Zombies about?

This book takes place in 1761, jumping us a year from The Scottish Prisoner. We find Lord John Grey heading to Jamaica, where he is tasked with quashing the slave rebellion brewing in the mountains. However, he ends up with a few other issues to deal with.

One of those is something supernatural. The Governor of Jamaica is being threatened by zombies. At least, that’s what one of his servants says. John has never heard of a zombie before, but he knows that it doesn’t sound good. Will he believe in the supernatural creature once he does learn what it is?

Then there’s an attack on John, and it’s by hands that smell of grave dirt. Is it possible that the dead have started to rise from their graves?

Lord John Grey has a lot to deal with. There’s murder, burning plantations, and people from Outlander’s past showing up. Oh, and someone from John’s own recent past.

Yes, Twelvetrees turns up in the story, but none that we’ve met before. This is the cousin of the brothers, Philip Twelvetrees. We always need that family feud, right? Then there’s the mysterious Geillis Abernathy, now the widowed owner of Rose Hall. Outlander fans will remember her as Geillis Duncan.

We’ll start reading A Plague of Zombies from Monday, Oct. 14.

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