Labyrinth

I'd seen Kate Mosse's Labyrinth quite a bit before I finally picked it up. For some reason I was skeptical about it....secret societies and Holy Grail theories don't really interest me anymore. But then, after reading a synopsis, I was intrigued by the plot centered upon the fall of Carcassonne during the Albigensian Crusades. So, I read it.

Kate Mosse had a wonderful idea with this book - outside of the ridiculous grail stuff. She centered the story around Alice, a modern day professor working on an archeological dig in southern France, and Alais, a headstrong thirteenth-century woman of Carcassonne. Alice is on the run after stumbling upon a cave and two skeletons at the dig (and not many people are happy she found such things). She must unravel the secrets of that cave in order to survive. Alais must endure the siege of her hometown while preserving the books of a secret religion and society - one intent upon safeguarding the Holy Grail.

The re-telling of the siege is great. The transitions and connections between the two women are awkward and poorly done. Mosse's style is still being refined and the edges are still rough. She tries to balance too many points of view in this book and for the first half, it's hard to keep all the characters straight.

Mosse is definitely a writer to watch but her writing is still in it's formative stages.