Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Kate Mosse's Labyrinth has one of the best premises for a novel I've heard in a long time: two women, one from the past, one from the present, both caught up in a search for the Holy Grail. The former is entrusted with one of three books leading to the Grail's hiding place, whilst the latter becomes entangled in a conspiracy concerning its rediscovery.

In 2005, Alice Tanner is volunteering at an archaeology dig in the Sabarthes Mountains when she is drawn to a hidden cave in the hills. There in a concealed chamber she finds two skeletons, one of which is clutching a book in a leather bag and a ring with a labyrinth design engraved upon it. Soon the police and forensic experts are called in, disrupting the site and annoying her co-workers. But one officer in particular -- Inspector Authie -- is so deeply interested in the whereabouts of the ring that he becomes rather threatening when it goes missin... Read More

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse

Kate Mosse's Sepulchre is a historical fantasy — historical fiction with fantastic elements. I enjoy both genres, and this novel features a female graduate student (somebody I can relate to) as one of the main characters, and it's available for download at Audible, so I thought it would be good entertainment on my commute. I got about ten chapters in before quitting.

The book seems well-researched, is competently written, the tone switches easily from past to present and back, and the characters are interesting enough. Here is the problem: It is full of enormous amounts of tedious descriptions of ancient and current French landmarks, French historical events, French historical figures, and untranslated French dialogue. I realize, of course, that France is the setting of this historical novel, but the effect of all of this name-dropping is to make me thin... Read More

Citadel by Kate MosseI have a strange relationship with books by Kate Mosse. On the one hand, I love the atmosphere and descriptive qualities of her work — it transports you to the south of France in vivid prose; filled with the sights, sounds and smells of another time and place. She clearly loves the history and ambience of the Languedoc, and every page is filled with sensory detail.

On the other hand, Mosse's plots are slow and rambling, packed full of extraneous details and unnecessary subplots. Often chapters can go by where nothing particularly interesting or important happens, and with a little ruthless editing I'm sure each book's length could be halved.

So is the way her story told worth the story itself? Well, everyone's going to have a different opinion on that, but for what it's worth, I enjoy Mosse's books. The ch... Read More

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

First of all, it’s important to note that Kate Mosse’s The Winter Ghosts is nowhere near the same length as her other works, particularly her best-known books Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel. It’s best described as a novella, one which can probably be read in one sitting (it took me two). Your enjoyment will probably hinge on knowing beforehand that this isn’t a dense holiday read, but a thinly-plotted though atmospheric story about a man’s brush with the supernatural, told predominantly in his own words.

Freddie Watson is still grieving for the loss of his older brother in the Great War, travelling through the south of France in 1928 in an attempt to forget the past. It is winter and the roads are treacherous, so it comes as little surprise when his car spins o... Read More