The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

January 3, 2025

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

In 1940, three women are recruited to do war work at Bletchley Park in the English countryside. One is a debutante who speaks several languages, one has superior office skills, and the third can work a crossword puzzle in minutes. Although none of them are sure at first what the people at Bletchley Park are doing, they soon learn that BP is Britain's World War II code breaking center.

Based on actual people who worked at Bletchley Par on the German enigma cypher. They recruited university types at first, but later also people who did puzzles, spoke languages, and had great organizational skills. The reason the cypher was initially so difficult to break is that the code changed daily. Once the code breakers figured out how to break the code, the challenge became preventing the Axis forces from realizing that the British were reading their secret messages. Part of the government's strategy for keeping the secret was isolating each section from the others, sharing only the information that they needed to do their work. The rose code in the book is an example of the types of code they worked on, so called because the code wrapped around like the petals on a rose.

While I was interested in the whole story of code breaking and the enigma cypher, the book is a whopping 650 page and would have been a better book if an editor had whacked out 100 or so pages of repetitious details. Fun fact: Valerie Middleton, grandmother of Katherine, Princess of Wales, was a code breaker at BP during the war and appears in the book. Recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about World War II.

Bletchley Park

The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray

April 29, 2024

The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray

When her grandmother refuses to pay for her final year of college, Annabel Falcone travels from America to the French Riviera to work at her uncle's hotel. It's August 1939, and the first ever Cannes Film Festival is about to get underway, with celebrities, athletes, and actors from all over the world in attendance. When a German tennis star is found dead in his hotel room, Annabel begins to suspect that there is more going on than just a big celebrity party.

Inspired by real events and the first failed Cannes Film Festival. Slow moving Anna plot that takes a long time to get anywhere. Also, Annabel is kind of bland. There are almost too many famous names dropped into the story. If you read everything about the golden age of Hollywood, you will probably enjoy this one. If not, maybe skip it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

French Riviera

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

December 6, 2023

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

In Paris in 1944, an artist paints a portrait of his wife over a Van Gogh painting, hiding the original work from the Nazis. Over 75 years later, the picture resurfaces in upstate New York, where a woman named Alex Verde buys it at an antique store. When they discover the hidden Van Gogh, Alex and her boyfriend Luke Perrone, an artist and art history professor, can't figure out how the painting got there. They enlist the help of an INTERPOL agent and follow him to Amsterdam, where the police and INTERPOL are trying to catch a major dealer in stolen art looted by the Nazis.

I didn't enjoy this book that much because it's more of an espionage novel than a book about art theft, and I can never figure out what's going on in spy books. Everyone has a code name, everyone is spying on everyone else and double-crossing them. The reader gets quite the tour of Amsterdam, complete with a visit to the Anne Frank House, plus we get a lecture on looted Nazi artwork. Some of the main characters appeared in Santlofer's previous novel The Last Mona Lisa. Overall, just meh.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Amsterdam

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

September 27, 2023

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwen Bainbridge are co-owners of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Following the end of World War II, many people are alone and adrift, and the two women have a talent for matching people up. But Gwen still struggles to retain guardianship of her son, and Iris' undercover activities during the war are catching up with her. When a woman is found shot to death in Iris' apartment, Iris finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

The fourth adventure for Sparks and Bainbridge, this one centered on Iris (who I personally feel is a lot more interesting and doesn't cry nearly as much as Gwen). We do learn more about Gwen's troubles, but there is very little about the agency and their clients. The ending indicates that there will be continuing adventures. I would recommend reading the series in order.

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

June 15, 2022

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

In the autumn of 1948, Ruth Macalister's twin sister Iris and her family vanish. Her husband was an American diplomat, and everyone in diplomatic circles is shocked by their disappearance. Were they kidnapped, did they defect, did the Soviets eliminate them? Four years after they went missing, Ruth receives a postcard from Iris, asking her to come to Moscow since she is about to have another baby. With an American intelligence officer posing as her husband, Ruth travels to Moscow to get Iris and her family out.

Williams writes historical fiction, often with a romantic suspense angle. I'm not big on spy books but this one had at least one interesting twist. The story is loosely based on the Cambridge 5, a spy ring passing information to the Soviets after World War II. It's not my favorite of Williams' books but certainly kept me engaged. I think my favorite was the book she wrote about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor after his abdication.

1940's Moscow

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 28, 2020

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 1910 – after two years of prodding, Lady Hardcastle has agreed that she and Florence Armstrong, her faithful sidekick and maid, should take a holiday at the seaside.  They choose the holiday town of Weston-super-Mare, a couple of hours’ drive from Bristol.  In their new and improved automobile, they set out for traditional English holiday fun, including toffee apples, donkey rides, and Punch-and-Judy shows.  When they arrive at their elegant boutique hotel, they are surprised to find an international group of guests, while the sea is noticeably absent (the tide goes out about a mile at low tide).  But more surprises await Lady H. and Flo as their fellow guests begin to vanish one by one, and they are once again pressed into service to solve the mysterious goings on at the hotel, while at the same time not generating any unfavorable publicity.

Interesting that I picked up two books in a row set in an English seaside towns.  But the tone of T. E. Kinsey’s mystery is totally different from the previous title, much lighter and more humorous.  No one at the hotel is who they appear to be, except for the manager and some of the staff.  We also learn more about Flo and Lady Hardcastle's backgrounds and past exploits.  Characters from previous Lady Hardcastle mysteries make appearances, and there is a great deal of fun and wit as always.  I suggest starting with the first book in the series if you are looking for a light read to relax with.

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

March 9, 2020

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Richard Hannay has just returned from working in South Africa and is finding London life dull and boring.  He encounters Scudder, his American neighbor, outside his flat, who invites himself in and tells Hannay a wild tale of an assassination plot and how he faked his own death.  He implores Hannay to let him stay in his apartment until he can get away from London.  The deception works well for a few days, until Hannay comes home from a dinner engagement to find Scudder murdered in his smoking room.  Hannay feels obligated to take over Scudder’s mission, and there begins his adventure of espionage and narrow escapes.  Be careful what you wish for.

This is the second of the twelve classics that I am planning to read this year.  I intended to do one per month, but February got away from me due to doctor appointments and medical tests.  I do love books set or written in the early decades of the 20^th century!  This is a classic old-fashioned spy thriller about an innocent man being hunted, like a precursor to Ian Fleming and John Le Carre.  International intrigue, proper British gentlemen, disguises, Scotland, exciting train journeys, shady German villains, wild coincidences, unbelievable escapes – this very short novel is fast-paced and reflects the POV of the wealthy British gentleman of the early 20^th century – at various points, I found myself wanting to have a cigarette and a whiskey (I don’t smoke or drink).  Some of the attitudes and stereotypes are outdated, but this book was written in 1915 and reflects the attitudes of the time.

One of the best quotations in the book is in the first chapter:  “You can always get a body in London if you know where to go for it.”