Outlander Book Club: Lord John and the Succubus Chapter 6 breakdown

Lord John Grey continues to search for “normal” answers in Lord John and the Succubus Chapter 6. That means a visit to where Koenig last stayed.

A lot of the soldiers will stay at the houses of local people. That was the case for Koenig and other soldiers. They stayed at the home of the Huckels. John looks into Koenig’s death to see if there are connections to Bodger.

We also learn that more and more people are afraid of the succubus theory. It doesn’t help that Frau Huckel shares that she saw “old Agathe,” the deceased mother of Herr Blomberg, who is sure that his mother’s body is not being used by the succubus. The town is panicking, and John needs to get to the bottom of the situation as fast as possible.

Breaking down Lord John and the Succubus Chapter 6

Chapter 6 takes us to the Huckel household. Herr Huckel is a dwarf, but John notes that his wife is of a normal size. Frau Huckel had gone to bed the night of Koenig’s murder, believing that all the soldiers were out of the house. When the other soldiers returned drunk, they came across Koenig’s body, covered in blood. The whole room was covered in blood.

However, the only mark on Koenig was two bite marks on his neck. John thinks about a snakebite that he once saw, but there’s no way a snake would have caused so much blood. Not enough for Frau Huckel to have to burn the sheets because lye wouldn’t get the blood stains out.

Frau Huckel seems more upset at how the other soldiers moved out. That’s not too surprising when she explains that not only do the soldiers pay to stay there, but they also help out with chores. Now everyone is worried that the succubus will come back to the house.

Frau Huckel does think that she saw “old Agathe” that night. This is the mother of Herr Blomberg, whose grave Karolus had previous stopped on. Herr Blomberg is worried that people will descrate his mother’s grave, so he is hiring a witch to cast the runes to get to the bottom of the situation. This is one of those cases where superstition and rumors are spreading like wildfire.

John passes on the information to Sir Peter, who is suspicious that Blomberg is hiring a witch. He wants John to keep an eye on that ceremony.

John is now able to return to his room, but there is a knock at the door. John worries about whether it could be von Namzten (who has been cold toward him since the last chapter) or Louisa (who is clearly interested in him). Instead, it’s the dowager, who wants to know if Louisa is right and that John wants to marry Louisa.

John makes it clear that he does not intend to marry Louisa. He cannot commit to her because he “has an understanding in England.” At first, I did question what he meant by the understanding, and then we remember that he has the understanding with Jamie Fraser not to lay a hand on him. If John does, Jamie will break his neck. This gives us some great foreshadowing into the type of spy John becomes in Outlander. The best lies are based in truth.

Could this chapter be used in a TV series adaptation

If this book was to be adapted into a TV series, I would expect this chapter to be used. We would need to see John learn more about Koenig and how he died. This connects to Agathe Blomberg, which then connects to Herr Blomberg and the witch. We would need to see all this play out.

I think the last part of the chapter would need to be included as well. There’s no need to not include it as this book is already so short. Plus, this chapter gives us a look at the way John can think on his feet. We’re reminded of the “understand” that he has, and we also see how he is able to get out of potential marriages.

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