Review of THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn

 3.5 Stars

My latest audiobook was this historical fiction which focuses on three women who work at Bletchley Park, the centre for code-breaking during World War II.

Osla Kendall is a wealthy socialite whose boyfriend is Prince Philip of Greece; her fluency in German provides her a role as translator.  Mab Churt comes from a working class background and strives to better herself and to find a husband who will provide financial security and social standing; she becomes adept at working the bombe code-breaking machines.  Beth Finch is timid and suffers from poor self-esteem because of her psychologically abusive mother but proves to be a brilliant cryptanalyst.  The three become fast friends until the war, secrecy and loss tear them apart. 

The novel covers two time periods:  the war years, when the women are at Bletchley Park, and 1947, just before the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip.  After the war, Beth is in an asylum.  She contacts her one-time friends asking them to help her escape and to crack a code which would identify a Bletchley Park traitor who was also responsible for detaining Beth in Clockwell Sanitarium.

I knew a bit about code-breaking and the Enigma machine from The Imitation Game and that knowledge was helpful; this novel shows the women working in some of the different areas at Bletchley Park.  Some historical figures (Dilly Knox, Alan Turing, and the Glassborow twins) who actually worked there make an appearance in the novel. 

Other historical people are also featured:  Winston Churchill, Princess Margaret, and Prince Philip.  Apparently Osla Kendall is based on Osla Benning, a Canadian-born debutante who was actually Prince Philip’s first girlfriend.  Knowing about Prince Philip’s 73-year marriage to Queen Elizabeth, reading about his relationship with another woman was interesting. 

The three women are well-developed so there is no difficulty differentiating them, and the narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, does an exceptional job in giving each a different voice.  Each protagonist has positive qualities and flaws, so the reader will both cheer for and be frustrated with each of them at different times. 

The book begins slowly as the women are introduced and detailed backstories provided.  The problem is that initially there is little suspense.  We know that the three friends have not parted amicably so there is interest in discovering what caused the rift, but tension isn’t developed until the latter part of the novel.  One scene that really bothered me is the one involving the revelation of the traitor’s identity; the unmasking is done in a very unnatural way.  There are also some questionable coincidences, very convenient chance encounters that are used to provide a nice ending for everyone.

Kate Quinn is a best-selling writer of historical fiction, though this is my first of her books.  I can understand why she is popular.  The Rose Code is entertaining, and I found it perfect as an audiobook because it is not a challenging novel.