'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans

Legend has it that when the Gabriel Hounds run howling over the crumbling palace of Dar Ibrahim, high in the Adonis Valley of Lebanon, death will follow on their heels. When rich, spoilt Christie Mansel arrives at the decaying palace to look after her eccentric Aunt Harriet, she arrives to the sound of howling dogs. The palace is riddled with hidden passages and the servants are unwilling to let anyone see Harriet during the day. It seems the palace hides an extraordinary secret . . . one that somebody is willing to kill to keep.

The deep blue oblong of sky above the open court was pricking already with brilliant stars. No ugly diffusion of city light spoiled the deep velvet of that sky; even hanging as it was above the glittering and crowded richness of the Damascus oasis, it spoke of the desert and the vast empty silence beyond the last palm tree.

Legend becomes frighteningly real in a crumbling palace in the Lebanon

About the Author
Mary Stewart was one of the 20th century's bestselling and best-loved novelists. She was born in Sunderland, County Durham in 1916, but lived for most of her life in Scotland, a source of much inspiration for her writing. Her first novel, Madam, Will You Talk? was published in 1955 and marked the beginning of a long and acclaimed writing career. In 1971 she was awarded the International PEN Association's Frederick Niven Prize for The Crystal Cave, and in 1974 the Scottish Arts Council Award for one of her children's books, Ludo and the Star Horse. She was married to the Scottish geologist Frederick Stewart, and died in 2014.

Reviews
Probably the best Stewart yet * Daily Mirror *
She set the bench mark for pace, suspense and romance - with a great dollop of escapism as the icing * Elizabeth Buchan *
A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors. * Harriet Evans *
Mary Stewart is magic * New York Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444720549
Author Mary Stewart
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Hodder Paperback
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 320g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 28mm