The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.
1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy…
Genre – Historical Fiction
Literary Awards
Goodreads Choice Awards – Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2021)
First published March 9, 2021
Average Goodreads Rank – 4.45
Angela’s Review:
This story follows three friends, Beth, Osla, and Mab as they work at the top secret Bletchley Park during the war. The character development is strong, as there are three distinct
personalities. While I did not have love each of the characters equally, they were all well written, developed and thought out. in characters,
I loved getting to know how things worked at Bletchley Park and what their secret facility did behind the scenes. It was exciting and captivating. Bletchley Park was intriguing to me as I knew nothing about this prior to reading the novel and I appreciate the careful research.
For me, this story could have been told in less than 600 pages; it felt a bit long at times. It was a great story overall with realistic, flawed characters who really had nothing in common except love of country, yet they became a family. Ultimately, I gave this one 4.5 stars.