No. of pages: 528
Rating: 8/10
Synopsis: Before his death in 1609, the brilliant Elizabethan spy and astrologer John Dee hid his most astonishing secrets, trusting his descendants would one day bring them to light. That time has come.
In 2003, Will Stafford inherits a strange legacy from his mother: a key and an ancient script with an enigmatic note. Intrigued, he travels Europe seeking answers to Dee’s riddles, unaware that someone is following every move. Back in London, Lucy King becomes entangled in Will’s cryptic labyrinth. As its mysterious twists take her from France to New York, and from literature to myth, in search of its hidden treasure, she has never been closer to the truth, nor in graver danger.
Review: When Will Stafford's mother leaves him a mysterious key in her will, he has to find out what the story behind it is. But what he finds leads into an awful lot of trouble, as religious fanatics are desperate for the story that is unravelling and will do anything for the information.
I really enjoyed this book, the tone in which it's written is beautiful, the language really flows and just draws you in from page one. I found the contents of the story fascinating - John Dee, 'The Rapture', religion, Shakespeare, cellular memory - there are just so many aspects, but surprisingly they all fit together perfectly. It starts as several different threads and then as the book progresses, they all start to twine together and I really enjoyed how they started to slot into the story. I especially loved the descriptions of the various settings, it has definitely made me want to go and visit them myself one day!
The Rose Labyrinth has been likened to 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'The Labyrinth', so I think fans of those books would enjoy this, but I think everyone could take something from this, it has a bit of everything for everyone and it's a really great book.
