Are you good at solving puzzles?  If so, you are the kind of person recruited as a code breaker during World War II.  The Tuesday Afternoon Book Club read, “The Rose Code,” by Kate Quinn during this past month.  It is based on factual information from the 1940’s in England during World War II.  

Bletchley Park was the workplace of some of the best minds working to interpret the German secret war codes.  The book begins in 1940 in England with the war raging on the European Front. This stressful job may take days or even weeks to break a code and warn the Allied troops of the German plans.  Without their ability to crack the codes used by the Axis powers, the war might well have been lost.  

The book focuses on three very different women, Osla, Mab and Beth, who work at Bletchley Park.  With men fighting at the front, more and more women were being used in this part of the war.  Osla, the vivacious debutante, uses her fluent German to assist in breaking the codes.   She meets Prince Philip at the beginning of the war and falls for the good looking soldier.   Mab, a self made woman,  meets the love of her life, a poet, and marries him.  They endure long separations as a result of the war.   Beth, a shy gal, is a brilliant code breaker.  Unfortunately the stress of the job takes it’s toll on her and leads to heartbreak.    

The book jumps to 1947 – just before the Royal wedding.  The three women reunite to solve a long ago betrayal.  They must solve one last code together.  

If you are a fan of Historical Fiction, this well researched novel is for you.  Check it out at the LeRoy Public Library.  It is open Mondays 10 – 7  Tuesday – Thursday 10 – 5 and Saturday mornings 9 to noon.   Stop by soon.