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Kate Mosse's third novel is obviously a work on which a great deal of research has been expended. Mosse had originally intended writing a Grail novel exploring the roots of the myth which considerably preceded Christianity, echoing from Ancient Egypt. Although she retains a lot of that era in the plot, she eventually settled on Carcassone, a place where she has a house and which she loves. The evils of the Fourth, the Albigensian, Crusade were wreaked in the area in the 13th century when Northern France sought to acquire the land of the South in the name of 'religion', persecuting the Cathars as 'heretics' and destroying their culture inasmuch as they were able. Mosse uses two time frames for the book as well as two female protagonists (or are they really one?) In the mediaeval epoch, Alais, daughter of Intendant Pelletier, an important aide to the local lord, is the female focus while in July 2005, Dr Alice Tanner occupies that position. Alais, in July of 1209, is haunted by mysterious dreams of an unknown past. She is taught medicine by Esclarmonde, whose 11-year-old grandson Ajhe is devoted to the, alas, married Alais, and is able to put her subject to much good use amongst those who fall ill in the castle, then later to tend the wounds and illnesses of those caught up in battle. She is entrusted with the knowledge of three mysterious books, each of which has a guardian and soon she, too becomes a book guardian, to the fury of her sister, Oriane. The Host (known later as the Crusade) is descending on the area, spurred on by a Pope who fears the power of the new religion embraced by a large portion of the Cathar population. Bertrand Pelletier impresses on Alais the importance of the three Books of the Grail escaping the descending Host and being preserved for the future. In the present day, Dr Alice Tanner is volunteering at an archaeological dig when she is compelled by some inner drive to investigate an area on a hill, where a boulder is dislodged and she discovers a cave. Against all archaeological protocols, she ventures inside and discovers two skeletons and a ring which has a labyrinth as an interior decoration. Chaos results when police, ordered by a sinister lawyer, seal off the area. The lawyer demands the ring, but it has disappeared. He also searches for something which he thought would be in a pouch by the two bodies but that, too, is absent. Suddenly, forces which Alice does not understand are attempting to locate and perhaps harm her. Then her friend Shelagh disappears. Alice's dreams are once more invaded by Alais as she is caught up in a plot that has its seeds millennia in the past, though more recently in the 13th century. Mosse has put a lot of physical research as well as intellectual study into this book. Not only did she scrutinise history, verbal as well as written, she also learned archery, fencing and shooting, all to lend verisimilitude to her tale. This is a mammoth work. While it is, indeed, a thriller, it has supernatural overtones which seem, in the context, perfectly reasonable. Mosse has researched the language of 13th century Carcassonne and employs it to good effect in the short bursts she permits her characters. It is an excellently plotted, well thought out, absorbing and thrilling read.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, October 2005
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