There was considerable acclaim in the book pages of the British Press on the publication of The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie and on reading it I can understand why. The Rose Labyrinth is located in the heart of Dan Brown country and the cast of characters consists of the well educated and well rewarded middle class types who are able to pursue mysteries of this kind. Who amongst us has not asked themselves at times how the hero could afford the flights, car rentals, bribes and other expenses that are an integral part of the modern thriller? The plot concerns writings of the sixteenth century mathematician and mystic Dr John Deewhich have been hidden and can only be found by decoding clues found in the works of Shakespeare and amongst writings and artefacts passed down the female line of Dee's familly. These documents are also being sought by a group of American Evangelical Christians (well it makes a change from the Vatican) who believe that something called The Rapture is about to happen as predicted in the Book of Revelations and that Dee's writings are a way of kicking it off. There is a modicum of violence and a touch of the supernatural but mainly it is a brain busting slog through the clues that leads to the conclusion. Mrs Hardie must have done considerable research to pull all the quotes and references together for this, in many respects, very clever book. These days if a book does not grab me within the first few chapters I reckon that life is too short to persevere but, with disbeief in suspension, I found the Rose Labyrinth a ver enjoyable read right to the end.