July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth. Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe.
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"This book was incrdibly slow to get into. It may have been me personally, because it's not as though there was no action going on. Once I go into it, though, it was incredible. I couldn't put it down for the last 250 pages straight. It was completely unpredictable, and I loved it. "
— Anna (4 out of 5 stars)
" Very much like a previous review, I found that at times I really disliked this book but at others it was hard to put down. I feel that there was too much time spent not knowing what the heck was going on. I'll probably read the second book, Sepulchre and hope for the best there, based on the good parts of this one. "
— Marisa, 2/14/2014" Quite good, set in France in the Languedoc. A bit far fetched for my liking though. "
— Issi, 1/21/2014" Loved it, she writes amazingly well, its got an easy flow and is a page turner ill never forget. "
— Megan, 1/11/2014" Totally absorbed in the story, would recommend especially if you enjoy medieval tales. "
— Wendy, 12/27/2013" I don't remember to much about it, guess it wasn't that memorable of a book. I think I enjoyed it though, after all, I did finish it :) "
— Samantha, 12/25/2013" My favorite book of the year 2010. "
— Kristi, 12/16/2013" One of the best books I have ever read. A fantastic story set in Languedoc France in both modern day and medieval times. The book really intrigued me and inspired me to visit Carcassonne and and the surrounding regions, including the the fascinating castle of Montsegur. "
— Chuck, 12/11/2013" I'm a sucker for books like this. Swapping back and forth eight hundred years. With some mysticism and kick-ass heroines. It was a bit stereotypical at times but overall, a fast and enjoyable read. "
— Jess, 12/10/2013" The book managed to get no hold of me. I didn't enjoy the language, though it wasn't horribly poorly written. I didn't find the mystery thrilling or even contributing anything new and eventually even the love stories left me cold. "
— Katri, 12/7/2013" a fascinating book. I didn't think I'd like it but somehow I got sucked in. I was worried originally by how big the book was but it went so quickly and the story was woven so well. a fun read. "
— Trisha, 6/5/2013" Fantastic read. Great writing with a historical background. Loved it "
— Carol, 11/3/2012" I enjoyed this book. It took me a while to read because some of the lines were written in old English and French. Good overall story. Some language and sex. "
— Amber, 6/3/2012" Quite enjoyed this but it did take a little while to get going and I didn;t enjoy it as much as other histori fiction I have read, such as Bernard Cornwall. "
— Jim, 4/27/2012" Felt entirely indifferent to this one. Good book to fall asleep to. "
— Julie, 3/5/2012" I love to escape into fantasy sometimes .. a break from other genres ... "
— Joanie, 2/24/2012" A little long in places, loved the story, but at times I just wnated to be done! "
— Amy, 11/24/2011" I love everything about this novel - the beautiful atmospheric writing, the setting, the characters and was totally captivated by it. "
— Winnie, 10/1/2011" RG sept 2008 "
— Jenny, 9/10/2011" Fun and easy read. Keeps you on your toes the whole time. "
— Chelsea, 7/14/2011" Not overly impressed, it gave me the impression that I wasnt intelligent enough to read it - it was probably right! "
— Yana, 5/24/2011" It is easy to see the book is very well written, but sadly it didn't work for me.<br/>Changing between times, creating a tension that is not really there this book is in between a fantasy and a historic novel; a deadly combination. "
— Fons, 5/17/2011" Loved this book. Great mix of history, travel highlights and mystery! "
— Epic.rdr, 5/13/2011" Mosse's depth of research is evident on every page. Well drawn characters, and action keep the reader interested and present evidence of things to come in the form of additional books. "
— Gray, 5/12/2011" Je l'ai lu en français. C'était bien: c'est une forme de roman qui se déroule à la fois dans le passé et le présent. J'ai trouvé certaines transitions maladroites, mais c'était tout de même un bon divertissement. "
— Véro, 5/10/2011" I absolutly love this one, but I think the second one is better written. <br/>Still love it how Kate Mosse is able to write one story about two girls who live in different times. <br/> "
— Eveline, 5/7/2011" Audio Book. It was good. There were several names that were the same as in another Kate Mosse book Sepulchre. In this book the character Oedric Byard has the Grail and is 800 yrs. old. It is interesting to think that he could be the same character as "
— Jake, 5/6/2011" A bettter read than Dan Brown "
— Maylin, 5/5/2011" Fantástico. Uma abordagem em forma de novela do problema Cátaro sem ser demasiado paternalista ou tendencioso. Fiquei com vontade de ler os resto da trilogia. "
— Adoabecedario, 4/27/2011" Coincidentally I had just returned from a three week holiday in the Carcasonne region when I picked up this book. I don't know if this influenced my enjoyment but I couldn't put it down. Brilliant story beautifully told. Loved it. "
— Lesley, 4/5/2011" Fast-moving, a great beach read, with parallel historical and "current era" mysteries. I didn't realize it was the first of a trilogy. I'll have to check out the others. "
— Flora, 4/2/2011" One of my most favourite books ever. "
— Pamela, 3/31/2011" I read this on holiday, in a week - which is fast for me - the flight was only 3 hours. I liked this 'similar' story better than teh De Vinci Code, the characters had more depth and the storyline more resonance. "
— Ice, 3/31/2011Kate Mosse is an international bestselling author of several novels with sales of more than five million copies in thirty-eight languages. Her fiction includes the novel Labyrinth, which became a New York Times bestseller, as well as an acclaimed collection of short stories. She is the co-founder and chair of the board of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. In 2013 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature.
Wanda McCaddon (a.k.a. Nadia May or Donada Peters) has narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, has earned numerous Earphones Awards, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.