The Gabriel Hounds Chapters 9-12

[[deleted user]]

Discussion for chapters 9 thru 12. Please comment on anything from these chapters, but remember to hide spoilers within a spoiler tag. Please note which chapter a spoiler is from so other readers will know if it is safe to "peek" or not. You do not have to wait until reading all of the chapters to comment, but please restrict your posts to content from chapters 1 thru 12. Enjoy!

Note: I am dividing the read into 5 sections, each 4 chapters long. I may adjust as we go, so check the chapter numbers for each section! :)

[ToniS]

Fo Dogs: http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for posting this, ToniS. They are very interesting. My daughter says the character on the dogs' foreheads reads "emperor".

[[deleted user]]

I am just at the beginning of chapter 12, 63% finished, and I'm still waiting for the action to pick up. Just maybe, (view spoiler)[something untoward has happened to Charles... (hide spoiler)] And I am wondering about Christy (view spoiler)[trusting Hamid so much. (hide spoiler)]

[ToniS]

Chapter 11: "Temptation's no use if it's resistible."

[Diane Lynn]

ToniS wrote: "Fo Dogs: http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/F..."

Great photo of the Dogs of Fo. Thanks for posting.

[Diane Lynn]

Jeannette wrote: "I am just at the beginning of chapter 12, 63% finished, and I'm still waiting for the action to pick up. Just maybe, [spoilers removed] And I am wondering about Christy [spoilers removed]"

I am just into chapter 12 and I agree with what you say about Charles. I don't think (view spoiler)[he made it out of Dar Ibrahim (hide spoiler)]. I hope (view spoiler)[Hamid is trustworthy, (hide spoiler)]I kind of like him. I also wonder if that was really (view spoiler)[great aunt Harriet that Christy saw or some body double (hide spoiler)].

[Diane Lynn]

I really enjoyed the scene with the dog at the beginning of chapter 12. It has nothing to do with the plot, but MS has worked it into the story to give us a glimpse of the checkpoint and Christy's kind heart.

[[deleted user]]

Diane Lynn wrote: "I really enjoyed the scene with the dog at the beginning of chapter 12. It has nothing to do with the plot, but MS has worked it into the story to give us a glimpse of the checkpoint and Christy's ..."

I was hoping the little dog would turn out to be Samson.

[[deleted user]]

Diane Lynn wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "I am just at the beginning of chapter 12, 63% finished, and I'm still waiting for the action to pick up. Just maybe, [spoilers removed] And I am wondering about Christy [spoiler..."

As for (view spoiler)[a body double; I was wondering why they were keeping the old lady alive. If they are siphoning off her money, and she's cut off the family, why not either kill her, or report her as dead? Why the ruse for Christy and/or everyone else? (hide spoiler)]

[Judith]

Thanks for the dog pictures, ToniS. Turns out we have a pair of them carved in teak wood. My FIL brought them from China many years ago. He was in the Merchant Marines and brought back many interesting objects. For some reason, in my imagination, I saw them as the Salukis until Charles examined the china dogs and I read the description.

[Judith]

Chapter 12
Well our Christy has spotted (view spoiler)[Charles' Porsche, but can't get to him, how frustrating! (hide spoiler)]

[Misfit, Moderator]

ToniS wrote: "Fo Dogs: http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/F..."

Thanks for finding that.

[Misfit, Moderator]

ToniS wrote: "Chapter 11: "Temptation's no use if it's resistible.""

Are you able to tie in the quotes at each chapter in with the story? She does this a lot, but always goes right over my head.

[ToniS]

I never understand the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. But I do often think her dialogue is very quotable. They're perfect for modern-day memes.

[[deleted user]]

Misfit wrote: "ToniS wrote: "Chapter 11: "Temptation's no use if it's resistible.""

Are you able to tie in the quotes at each chapter in with the story? She does this a lot, but always goes right over my head."

Some of the quotes actually seemed like a preview of the chapter, this time. I may not know the source material, but I felt that several times the quotes hinted at the events of the chapter (4 & 5 for example, or chapter 8, "But who shall teach thee what the night-comer is?" (view spoiler)[That's the chapter where she prepares the window so Charles can climb in (hide spoiler)]

[debbicat *made of stardust*]

Diane Lynn wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "I am just at the beginning of chapter 12, 63% finished, and I'm still waiting for the action to pick up. Just maybe, [spoilers removed] And I am wondering about Christy [spoiler..."

Just started 12 myself. Good thoughts. I wonder about those things as well.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽, Moderator]

In Chapter 10:
Now we find out the dogs are yellow! So here's another Foo/Fo dog pic that seems very close to the description in this chapter:



Also: (view spoiler)[He held me like that for a while, till the shivering quietened, and I felt the cold leave my body... He turned back, and I felt him draw breath to speak, then with an abrupt but stealthy movement his cheek came down against my hair.

"Christy--"

"Yes?"

A tiny pause. The breath went out like a light sigh, stirring my hair. "Nothing. All right now?" (hide spoiler)]

Mary Stewart says so much indirectly, so well!

[debbicat *made of stardust*]

Nice pic!!

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽, Moderator]

ToniS wrote: "I never understand the quotes at the beginning of the chapters..."

This comment is from an old 2013 post, but I thought it was worth pointing out to our current reading group that it's worth going back to each quote after you've read the chapter. The quotes always make sense in retrospect, but usually not before you read the chapter. And they're often quite amusing because Mary Stewart would often use them out of context, but in a way that fits the novel.

[Jackie]

I can't read the spoilers in this thread yet since I am only in chapter 11, but the suspense is really starting to build!
I am now extremely suspicious about (view spoiler)[ the driver Hamid, who is so friendly and helpful and eager to know where Charles is and, most of all, because Christy is not suspicious of him at all! (hide spoiler)]

[Karlyne]

Jackie wrote: "I can't read the spoilers in this thread yet since I am only in chapter 11, but the suspense is really starting to build!
I am now extremely suspicious about [spoilers removed]"

😌 That's my I-know-but-I'm-not-telling face.

[Jackie]

I had to stop reading last night as it was too suspenseful and I needed to relax! so tonight I will only read for an hour at most and then switch to "Thereby Hangs a Tail" for the relaxation portion of the evening.
if you've never read the latter, it's the second in a series that starts with Dog On It!

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽, Moderator]

Those titles made me laugh. 😄

I can NEVER put down a book when it gets too tense. I’m more likely to start skimming it as fast as I can read.

[Jackie]

ToniS wrote: "Chapter 11: "Temptation's no use if it's resistible.""

I didn't see that and need to go back and find it!

[Jackie]

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "Those titles made me laugh. 😄

I can NEVER put down a book when it gets too tense. I’m more likely to start skimming it as fast as I can read."

I know what you mean, but last night I knew I needed to relax so I could sleep as much as possible as I had to get up at 5 today.

I am stopping again tonight so as to be fresh for the end of the book. really picks up, doesn't it?!!

yes, the series that starts with Dog On It is mysteries and told from a dog's POV. very well done, I think. I recommend the first one at least. going back to the second one, now, so as to wait and savor the ending of Gabriel Hounds.

(looks like my suspicions (view spoiler)[ about the driver (hide spoiler)] were all wet)

[Julie]

I like the dynamic between Christy and her father in Ch 11.

This made me chuckle: “He(Charles)’s got a lot of sense.” “I thought he was spoiled rotten and lived for nothing but pleasure?” “If that doesn’t show sense I don’t know what does.”

(view spoiler)[Then all that drama at the border, and Hamid setting off after Charles.... (hide spoiler)] - it really is picking up. Like Tadiana, it’ll reach a point where I won’t be able to put it down. But, not there just yet!

[Julie]

looks like my suspicions....were all wet

Do you know, you had me wondering. Christy is so trusting, she told him virtually everything. So, if you had been right, things could’ve gone very badly indeed.

I’ve never come across that idiom of yours before, lol!