Madeline
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and that is exactly what The Rose Code is. It is the most common of common historical fiction, WWII. But unlike many of the other books about WWII, many are not descriptive of breaking German codes in WWII.
With the bright yellow background with the contrasting dark figure on the cover. This kept this book in my mind after the first time I saw the picture of the front cover online. And I am pleased that it was as grand as the image portrays.
Premise of The Rose Code
Three friends are brought together by the secret place that breaks German war codes. Their jobs are built to their strengths, being able to speak German, being tall, and being able to solve puzzles. The three women have side stories as well that include their love lives with princes, married men, and a man who seems to always be away.
The story jumps back and forth between the decryption days and many years later, days before the royal wedding. After the war, one of the women is stuck wrongfully in a mental hospital where she is scheduled for a lobotomy. She needs to think back to her days in cracking codes and figure out who was selling secrets to the Russians and put her into this hell hole.
The Enigma and Bombe Machines
The Rose code did a fantastic job of describing how both how the Enigma and Bombe machines looked like and how they worked. The functionality of the machines was woven into the tale, causing them to rewire the machines and crack the codes. However, doing a quick Google search is necessary to completely understand what is described. It is highly recommended to do a search of your own before going too far into the book with a wrong image in your head.
Final Thoughts
Although WWII books are the most common of the historical fiction genre, this book brings a story not usually described in other stories. Of all the WWII historical fiction books, this book is one of my top picks. Well worth the read for the history buff.
