July 1209: in Carcassonne a young girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alaïs cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in protecting it. It will take great sacrifice and faith to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe - a secret that stretches back thousands of years to the deserts of Ancient Egypt.

July 2005: Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig in the mountains outside Carcassonne. Inside the hidden tomb where the bones lie crumbling, she experiences an overwhelming sense of malevolence, as well as a creeping understanding that, however impossible it seems, she can somehow understand the mysterious ancient words carved into the rock. Too late, Alice realises she's set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before.

After all the hype I did enjoy this book, but at the same time was a little disappointed. I was interested in the Cathars, another aspect of the Crusades and the history of the Languedoc region of France in mediaeval times. The story kept my attention but I thought it moved too quickly towards the end, rushing through the explanation of the secret of the Grail, and the ending was fairly predictable.

Offered in a bookswap, won by katybean. Will be on its way to her tomorrow.

Many thanks for this book Herrgirl - didn't realise it was such a whopper!! It cost you a small fortune to post too!!

I look forward to reading, as it looks interesting :o)

Katybean
x

Sadly, I couldn't get into this book, and gave up at the beginning :o( I found it a bit heavy going trying to remember who was who, and the olde worlde language put me off.

Katybean

Won in a bookswap at Wendover Woods .... this has never quite made it on to my wish list but has always been a book I was interested in so I'll give it a go!