The Rose Code by Kate Quinn slays all day with spy stories rooted in truth

The Rose Code, Kate Quinn

William Morrow, March 9, 2021, 656 Pages

Read. This. Book. Or listen like I did! Whatever tickles your fancy. This was a GREAT story and did I really have a doubt it would be? Absolutely not. After reading The Alice Network I have become a Kate Quinn disciple. She is amazing, pushing female empowerment, telling female stories and reimagining historical events in such a fabulous way that you can't tell what may be fact and what may fiction. What better way to celebrate Women's History Month!

In The Rose Code, we have three women off to assist the war effort but sworn to absolute secrecy: Mab, Beth, and Osla. The only "real" person in the book is Osla, the debutante and socialite of the book who is based upon Osla Benning in real life. Benning worked at the secretive Bletchley Park and had a relationship with Prince Phillip who ultimately wed Queen Elizabeth. In the novel, Osla has the same path and we are introduced to an amazing cast of characters all working to break codes of German and Italian war messages to save the Allied forces, and this before the Americans have entered the war. It's very exciting and they all find time to read! There's an actual book club/literary society amongst the spies and code breakers.

There is a traitor in their midst that they only realize after the war is over and Osla, Mab and Beth must once again get together to find and stop the traitor. And oh what an ending it was! I refuse to say anymore for fear of giving any detail away! It's that perfect of a story that I do not want to spoil any of it.

This is part historical war tale, part spy novel, and part love story (or three!) all rolled into one fascinating novel and it was one of the best stories I've listened to. Highly recommend! Kate Quinn's got another book in my TBR (The Diamond Eye) and I'm almost scared to read it. My esteem for The Alice Network and The Rose Code is so high that Diamond must certainly be set up for failure. Of course, I'll be proven wrong by this terrific author!