Author: Kate Quinn
Performed by Saskia Maarleveld
Published by Harper Collins and released on Audible March 2021
Category: Historical Fiction, WWII, Audiobook
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In the autumn of 1939, Hitler’s advance seemed unstoppable.
German military communications were relayed using hand ciphers, teleprinter codes, and above all Enigma machines—portable cipher devices that scrambled orders into nonsense so they could be relayed via Morse code over radio transmitters, then unscrambled in the field.
Even if the scrambled orders were intercepted by the Allies, no one could break the encryption. Germany thought Enigma was unbreakable.
They were wrong.
Alternating between Bletchley Park in the early 1940s and London in 1947, with the build up to the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the story centres around three young women who, under normal circumstances would never have met, became firm friends due to the war.
All three were recruited to the secretive Bletchley Park where the best minds worked to decode enemy messages and break German military codes. The frenetic pace of life by those employed there is brought to life vividly.
Wealthy and beautiful debutante, Osla Kendall was invested in her relationship with Philip of Greece. Desperately wanting to shake off the flighty society girl tag and be useful, her ability with languages, particularly her fluency in German, were used for translating the German codes.
Mab Churt, a no nonsense East End girl from a poor family, was determined to marry well to escape poverty and traumatic memories. She found her niche maintaining the codebreaking machines.
Shy Beth Finch lived with her parents. She was controlled and made to feel less than useless at anything by her mother, only fit to be ‘mother’s little helper’. She was closer to her weak willed father, had a brilliant mind and a natural ability for maths and puzzles. Code breaking was her driving force.
The story opens with a prologue. In November 1947, Osla receives an enigma that sends her into a spin, just as she was gearing up to attend the Royal wedding.
“ No,” Osla whispered, “no—“ But she was already fishing a pencil stub from the nearest drawer. Another memory, a laughing voice intoning, These have knelled your fall and ruin, but your ears were far away—English lassies rustling papers through the sodden Bletchley day!
Osla knew what the message’s key would be: LASSIES.
She bent over the paper, pencil scratching, and slowly the cryptogram gave up its secrets.
There had a been a huge falling out between the three women during the end stages of the war after a shocking and devastating personal loss. Now one of them was in a dire, life threatening situation and is appealing for help. The erstwhile friends join up once again to uncover the traitor who compromised the war effort and made sure one of them was blamed.
The Rose Code is my first novel by Kate Quinn and I loved it, particularly as the story was based on truth and incorporated real people. The characters are extremely well drawn and believable and timeline switches added suspense and tension to the audio. The atmosphere and tensions throughout were tangible, events and characters moved the plot forward without any dragging. Beautifully written, compelling and a thrilling listen, incorporating friendship, love betrayal and courage.
Saskia Maarleveld’s narration was enjoyable in the main as she brought the characters clearly to life. I noticed a few Americanisms in the narrative that wouldn’t be applicable in 1940s England, and some mispronunciations in the audio, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment, and she has an easy to listen to voice.
Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.
