The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
This book has gotten a lot of hype and good reviews online, in part because the hero is so unique.
Lord Ian Mackenzie, a younger son is considered mad in 1881, London. He had been institutionalized but is now returned to his family where he helps his oldest brother, Hartland, the Duke of Kilmorgan. Ian's excellent memory and facility with numbers has increased the family fortunes and become indispensable to Hart's work in diplomacy. Ian meets a colleague's fiancee, Beth, realizes that he doesn't deserve her and talks her out of the betrothal. The book continues as Ian persues Beth amidst an investigation into two murders of which he has been accused.
Lord Ian suffers from what we today would call Asperberger's syndrome. He dislikes crowds, can focus intently on an object and will rarely look anyone in the eye. I give the author a lot of credit for writing a hero who is on the autism spectrum. I'm not very familiar with autism but Ian displays characteristics of the condition consistently throughout the book. The author doesn't pretty it up either; Ian suffers from rages and we see how that affects his family.
However, while I can appreciate that the author wrote something different from so many other historical romances, and I'm all for greater diversity in settings and characters, I didn't really enjoy the book. It comes down to this for me: I have to make an emotional connection with the characters. I have to find their situation believable, agree, or at least understand, their actions and care that they deserve their HEA. This is a completely subjective but explains why I keep reading Sabrina Jeffries. Her plots are unoriginal and her writing is not very sophisticated but she ALWAYS makes me care about her characters. Unfortunately Ian and Beth left me cold.
Grade: B (for originality)
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