61nSBnYYzfL._SL500_From Goodreads: “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.“

My Review

I absolutely loved this audiobook by Kate Mosse, the first book in the Languedoc trilogy.

I actually read this back in 2011, and going by my original brief 3 star review on Goodreads, I thought it was very slow and confusing, but got better in the second half.

This time however I was hooked from the beginning, and loved every minute of it. It was one of those stories that I felt fully immersed in, because the writing, characters, and plot were all so compelling.  I loved both the 1205 and 2005 timelines.

Louise Brealey’s narration was superb, bringing the story and the characters to life beautifully.

Highly recommended if you enjoy historical fiction with dual timelines on audio.