The Rose Code

By: Kate Quinn

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping, edge-of-your-seat historical novel from the bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress!

*Winner of Historical Novel of the Year in NetGalley UK’s Books of 2021*

*Editors’ Pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Amazon US*

1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.

Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.

Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.

1947, London.

Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, disaster threatens. Osla, Mab and Beth are estranged, their friendship torn apart by secrets and betrayal. Yet now they must race against the clock to crack one final code together, before it’s too late, for them and for their country.

If you loved The Crown, don’t miss this riveting historical novel!

©2021 Kate Quinn (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"It’s epic in every way, brilliantly researched, beautifully written and completely unputdownable. Everyone needs it on their list for 2021." (Jenny Ashcroft)

"An intricate play of love, loss, betrayal and redemption, Kate Quinn’s novel is every bit as complex and fascinating as the codes being broken at Bletchley Park.... Impossibly gripping from start to finish, The Rose Code is a cracking good read!" (Celia Rees)

"Immersive, thrilling and packed with wonderful characters - some fictional, others real. I absolutely loved every page of this incredible, meticulously researched book." (Jill Mansell)

Wartime novel

lived this story line, however, the flipping back and forth of the characters and times really confused me. I had to do a lot of rewinding in the audible.
enjoyed it , and found it factually interesting

Fascinating and incredible.

Beautifully written and very well read this book explores and opens our imagination to a world of secrets, relationships and mind blowing brilliance during WW2.

Loved this story

Well written and well told.
I’ve given 5 stars to everything, but just want to point out to Saskia... northern towns like Berwick, Creswick AND Keswick are pronounced with silent W. Pronouncing the W is the sort of mistake that rubs northerners the wrong way because it shows that you have no knowledge of our towns. A tiny bit more attention to detail would make the narration perfect :)

Review

Very well written book. Excellent performance once again. Can not wait for new book.

Brilliant! Highly recommend

Fantastic! Thoroughly enjoyable. Based on real people and events. Just awesome. Do yourself a favour - read it.

The character depth

A bit long but really enjoyable period piece. I did think it all came about to quickly towards the end.

Very enjoyable

I thought the book was very interesting, captivating and I listened to it all the time.
Some of the storyline was maybe a bit too intense for me and thus I deducted 1 star.
As a computer scientist I also found it super interesting to learn more about early cryptanalysis.

Yet another winner

Although the Rose Code starts off a bit slow, it develops into an excellent and believable story. Expertly delivered by Saskia Maaarleveld!!! I just wish Kate had given the research credits at the end like she food for her other books. Worth a read if you are aKate Quinn fan.

Loved this book!

Great story, great characters, well written and excellent narration.
I am now starting a second book by the same author.

A jolly a good yarn

I really enjoyed this story, with all its twists and turns. It was rather surreal listening to it during the week one of its real life characters, Prince Philip passed away almost 80 years later. The photos/ film republished this week in remembrance helped me visualise the Prince and that time.