The Rose Code: A Novel

Description

"The reigning queen of historical fiction" -- Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything--beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses--but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park's few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter--the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger--and their true enemy--closer...

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656 pages

Average rating: 8.42

845 RATINGS

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32 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

kayla.parsons
Mar 23, 2024
4/10 stars
I really struggled to get into this book, the storyline was good, but I often felt un-engaged by the story. This was unusual for me as all of Quinn's books were fantastic. While I love that its based on real events and presents strong female leads, I felt like the story at times was undeveloped. I have added it back on my TBR list to give it a second try because I want to love the story!
Sally St Clair
Feb 03, 2024
10/10 stars
A wonderful balance of WWII history, romance, relationships and feminine heroism. Interesting to learn about England's Bletchley Park operation, in detail, and importance in the war effort. I appreciate the author's notes regarding the level of fiction as well as the pictures she includes as part of her research on historical events.
hideTurtle
Jan 03, 2024
9/10 stars
An exciting look at the lives of three women who are former codebreakers at historic Bletchley Park during WWI, reunited in their quest to uncover the identity of a traitor one last time. Osla is a bored debutant who wants to prove herself but is also in love with Prince Philip of Greece (yes THAT Prince Philip -- before he marries Elizabeth II), Mab is determined to rise above her humble beginnings, and Beth is an insecure young woman who needs...read more
Karilappin
Dec 28, 2023
2/10 stars
1.5 ⭐️. This book was so boring (or maybe the narrator is so boring) and I could not get interested. If I was the quitting type, this would have ended up in a DNF list. 1.5 stars is generous as i still couldn’t even tell you what the book was about, 16 (wasted) hours later.
margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
10/10 stars
I literally didn’t want to put this one down! I loved the strong and smart female characters and the inclusivity of the decoding work as described here. And to find out at the end that much of the story is true! Fabulous. In this story we follow three women who would never have met if not for the war. A Canadian débutante named Osla, a working girl from London with a serious reading habit, and a hen picked 24 year old who was probably on the sp...read more

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