Cousins Charles and Christy have known each other all their lives and have always been good friends. So when they realized they were both going to be in Beruit at the same time, it was only natural to spend some time catching up. While there, they also wanted to visit their Great-Aunt Harriet, who lived in an old Arabic palace with her dogs and a few servants. Harriet was know to be a little loopy and eccentric, not surprising in a person in their eighties.
What was surprising was how resistant the old woman's servants were to letting Christy in to visit her aunt. Christy was finally able to talk her way into the palace and actually see her aunt, who seemed to be doing pretty well for an old woman in precarious health. However, when she asked permission for Cousin Charles to visit, she was flatly turned down. Informed by the servants that the aunt did not want to see Charles and that she wanted to be left alone.
When Christy told Charles about her time with Harriet, he knew at once that something was off. Together they hatched a plan to sneak Charles into the palace so he could see Aunt Harriet for himself. And maybe figure out what kind of funny business was going on.
This was a fun read. The author is really good at describing the local scenery but without boring the reader to death. Her descriptions make one wish to see it for oneself, but given the state of things in the Middle East and Hezbollah's little hate affair with Israel, it is doubtful western tourists are welcome there these days.
Here is a review of the novel by Kirkus Reviews.
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