JULY 1209, Carcassonne. Seventeen-year-old Alais Pelletier is given a mysterious book by her father, which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe.
JULY 2005. Archaeologist Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rock, she realises she has disturbed something that was meant to remain buried. Soon, a link to a shocking secret – and her own past – is revealed . . .
Waterstones
Incredible. I didn’t really know if I would love or hate this book, while I love history I usually struggle to get my head around historical fiction and find them too hard going. But this was amazing, and for 50p at a charity shop, I am not complaining.
Kate Mosse’s ‘Labyrinth’ follows Alais in the 13th century during the instability of the crusades as her father slowly reveals to her the secrets of their family. She is thrown into a world of deceit and greed, constantly falling into danger and violence from people who she once called friends. Throughout it all, she slowly learns the truth of her family and the truth behind the strange labyrinth mark she finds around her family home. Jumping to the modern world, after discovering a unexcavated chamber holding two intertwined skeletons Alice opens the box to many unanswered and long covered questions. This catalyses a series of events which reveals secrets about Alice past which she will wish were kept in the dark.
My favourite part of this book was the connection between Alice and Alais. Whilst they are two different characters due to the time period, the women are similar in personality and attitude therefore exemplifying this link between the past and present. I found it so intriguing to read as whilst ,throughout most of the book, we do not understand how these two are connected, we are drip fed information until it is revealed in the most satisfying way.
I struggled quite a lot to get into the story. For quite a while, I have been in a massive reading slump where I will do anything else apart from sit and enjoy my books. But after getting about 50 pages in the pace began to pick up and I found was carrying it continuously with me so I could grab it and read a page here and there as I went throughout my day. Mosse’s ability to construct small cliffhangers to keep us engaged, yet not make it obvious she is attempting to coax us to read on was truly impressive.
Whilst this has not been the best book I have read in 2023 so far, I really recommend picking it up if you enjoy historical fiction and want an ending that will leave you completely satisfied as each thread is tied in the final few chapters.
Rating:
Character: 4 pink pyjamas
Plot- 4 pink pyjamas
Setting- 3.5 pink pyjamas
Girl In The Pink Pyjamas 