The Gabriel Hounds by Mary StewartMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
***2021 Dog Days of Summer***
It's time for my summer theme and this year I have chosen to read books that include canine companions. The title of this romantic suspense novel hints at the presence of hounds and I am happy to report that there were two Salukis, Sofi and Star, that played a significant role in the proceedings. Not to mention a certain small dog that makes himself noticeable at the end.
This story has definitely aged awkwardly. I don't think you'll find too many young ladies nowadays passionately smooching their cousins, no matter how handsome. Mind you, Stewart uses this possibility in another of her novels, Touch Not the Cat. Geneticists tell us that cousin couples aren't really so bad, but I think most of us would shrink from the prospect now.
I'm sure I read this back in the 1970s when I was very much into Stewart and Victoria Holt. About a quarter of the way into the action, I got a niggling feeling that I knew where things were headed. Still, I enjoyed this stroll down memory lane. Stewart writes such gorgeous descriptions of the landscape, the birds, and the flowers of her settings. What she did for Greece in My Brother Michael she does for Syria in this novel. I assume that she visited the area, it is so beautifully realized. It was also fascinating to read about the area before the seemingly unending civil war that is currently blighting Syria.
Stewart manages to suitably threaten Christy and Charles, scions of an obviously wealthy and influential family, while making the reader wonder just what the heck is going on. She spins a good web, but their privileged status may make one slightly less sympathetic to their plight. Still, there was satisfaction in getting the ending sorted. If you enjoy romantic suspense or gothic mysteries, you will likely share my sentiments.
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