The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
was our book club choice for April. I think it is the first time that every member rated a book exactly the same. We all gave it a 4.5.
This is the third book of Kate Quinn that I have read. The other two were The Alice Network and the Huntress. All of these books are centered around events that really happened in WWII. While I have to admit I am getting a little tired of that setting, I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 of these books. Quinn does a good job of highlighting strong women and their roles in the war.
This story line centered around three very different young women who get recruited to work at top-secret Bletchley Park trying to break German codes. I first heard of Bletchley Park in the movie The Imitation Game, based on mathematical genius Alan Turing. He is mentioned in the Rose Code, but the story line follows society girl Osla, self-made Mab, and a local girl Beth, who is a mathematical wizard but slightly on the spectrum.
There is a great deal of intrigue, a little romance, and a lot of historical fiction. There were several twists that I had not expected, and I had not worked out what happened until I was told—some of the others figured things out sooner than me, and some were with me. I am always impressed at the level of research that Quinn puts into her books. The books are not short, but at least for me, they are fast reading because you are so engrossed in the story that you want to keep reading.
I would highly recommend this book.