The Gabriel Hounds - Classic Mystery Review

 Goodreads: The Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart

Rating: Really Liked It (4.25 Stars)
Source: Purchased

Description: It's all a grand adventure when English Christy Mansel unexpectedly runs into her cousin Charles in Damascus. And being young, rich, impetuous, and used to doing whatever they please, they decide to barge in uninvited on their eccentric Great-Aunt Harriet—despite a long-standing family rule strictly forbidding unannounced visits. Because when the Gabriel hounds run howling over the crumbling palace of Der Ibrahim in Lebanon, someone will shortly die.

A strange new world awaits Charles and Christy beyond the gates of Dar Ibrahim—"Lady Harriet's" ancient, crumbling palace in High Lebanon—where a physician is always in residence and a handful of Arab servants attends to the odd old woman's every need. But there is a very good—very sinister—reason why guests are not welcome at Dar Ibrahim. And the young cousins are about to discover that, as difficult as it is to break into the dark, imposing edifice, it may prove even harder still to escape.

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book: I'm slowly reading through Mary Stewart's books and this was the next one on my list.  

My Impression: I've enjoyed other books by Mary Stewart but I think this one is probably my favorite.  It's got some fun Gothic-y vibes, some family secrets, and a fun main character.  Christy Mansel is exploring the world a bit when she bumps into her cousin which sets a visit to a mysterious Great-Aunt into motion followed by the somewhat perilous events of the rest of the book.  

This was a fun read and Christy was a fun character.  She was neither to nervous or TSTL and had a bit of common sense.  I enjoyed her relationship with her driver, Hamid and all the time spent at Der Ibrahim was really interesting.  The setting was interesting as were the various characters.  The ending was a bit of a surprise and really enjoyable.

This was a fun read and a good slow read.  The heavy atmosphere might have gotten to be a bit much if I had read it straight through but as a slow read I was always a little sad to put it down and excited to get back to the story.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Yes, definitely!  I'm looking forward to reading the next book on her list.

Would I Recommend this Book? I would!  It had a bit of a Barbara Michaels vibe which always means it's going to be a good read.