 | |
| Author | Dan Brown |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Paul Michael |
| Language | English |
| Series | Robert Langdon |
Release number | 6 |
| Genre | Crime, mystery, thriller |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | September 9, 2025 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 688 |
| ISBN | 9780385546898 |
| Preceded by | Origin |
The Secret of Secrets is a mystery thriller novel by American author Dan Brown and the sixth installment in his Robert Langdon series, [1] following Origin . The book was released on September 9, 2025. [2] [3]
Robert Langdon is in Prague as his girlfriend's, noetic scientist Katherine Solomon's, plus one at her lecture on human consciousness. The morning after the lecture, he sees a strangely dressed woman on Charles Bridge. The encounter reminds him of an ominous dream she had during the night, culminating in him evacuating their hotel after suspecting an imminent explosion.
The threat turns out to be false, and Langdon is detained by ÚZSI captain Janáček and his protégé and nephew, lieutenant Pavel, as there actually was a bomb that was disarmed earlier that morning. Janáček thinks Langdon and Solomon staged the incident as publicity for her upcoming book. With US Embassy attache Michael Harris forcing the officers to behave, Langdon tries to prove his and Soloman's innocence by leading them to Crucifix Bastion, where Solomon has a planned meeting with fellow scientist Brigita Gessner. However, the facility appears deserted. Langdon discovers a secret entrance to the lab which he uses to escape Pavel. In Gessner's lab, Langdon finds her corpse and her assistant, Sasha Vesna.
Unknown to Langdon, Solomon is targeted by a secret group called Threshold. Led by former CIA agent Everett Finch, it sees her upcoming book as a threat to national security and tries to prevent its publication. To this end, they hack the servers of the publishing house that plans to release it and delete all digital copies and backups, then kidnap editor Jonas Faukman to obtain and destroy the only physical copy and interrogate him to identify any remaining copies before allowing him to escape to track his calls. The woman Langdon encountered was also involved, as are Gessner and US ambassador Heide Nagel. At the same time, Threshold is targeted by a mysterious man who calls himself the Golěm. Seeing himself as Sasha's protector, he murders both Gessner for experimenting on her and Harris for spying on her for Nagel, then goes after Threshold itself.
While breaking into Gessner's lab to get more information on Threshold, the Golěm kills Janáček. Pavel accuses Langdon, who escapes with the help of Sasha. When they hide in her apartment, the Golěm leaves a note claiming to have taken Katherine to get him away from her so he can successfully hide her. Evading Pavel, Langdon follows the note to Petrin tower, where using a tourist's phone, he finds a coded message from Katherine that leads to her location at the Klementium. With Pavel closing in, Langdon is forced to burn the last copy of the book to set off the fire alarms.
The two are rescued by Nagel's men, who arrest Pavel and bring them to her. On the way, Katherine tells Langdon what her book is about: possible proof of the existence of non-local consciousness, the fact that the mind is completely opened in the moments before death, and that everyone's consciousness lives on after death as a universal whole, although this doesn't explain why Threshold wants to stop its publication. Langdon also reveals his discovery of a listening device in the flowers in their hotel room sent by the US Embassy, which was how they were able to recreate Katherine's dream. At Nagel's residence, she tells the two that Finch is coming to speak to them and requests they sign Non-disclosure agreements, which Langdon realises are a trap to ensure Katherine is legally forbidden from recreating her book. However, when Nagel learns about Harris' death, she helps them sneak out the residence undetected, revealing she was forced into her position by Finch as a puppet for the CIA to help in the creation of Threshold. She returns to the embassy after being told that Harris's killer left a note for her which directs her to a YouTube video of Gessner being tortured and confessing everything about Threshold and those involved. She tries to blackmail her former boss at the CIA, getting her detained, though she hides the video with a trusted aide.
Langdon and Katherine find their way into the center of Threshold through Gessner's lab. In the massive underground complex underneath Folimanka Park, they learn that Threshold has experimented on people with epilepsy, like Sasha and the Golěm, ostensibly to cure their ailment. In actuality, they put them in pods to induce near death states and send them into the collective unconscious, allowing them to spy on enemies. Katherine discovers that Threshold is developing artificial neurons based on designs and patent ideas the CIA secretly stole from her which she had included in her book, explaining their determination to prevent its publication. Finch confronts them and confirms this, believing Threshold vital in military intelligence and national security. Before he can kill them, the Golěm appears and incapacitate him before sending Langdon and Katherine off. He leaves Finch to die before the facility explodes due to his sabotage, which Langdon, Solomon, and the Golem survive.
Afterwards, Langdon and Katherine search for Sasha at an apartment above her own, where he suspects she was hidden. Instead, they find evidence that makes them realize the Golěm and Sasha are the same person: she suffers from dissociative identity disorder as a result of the abuse she suffered at the mental health institute in Russia, and the Golěm comes out when she's in trouble. After informing Nagel, they return to their hotel room to rest. However, they are shortly after brought to the embassy, where Nagel informs them the US military will shortly interrogate them on suspicion of causing the explosion. Promising to help exonerate them using Gessner's confession video as leverage against the CIA, she reveals Sasha came in, asking for asylum.
Given Sasha's poor mental state, the likelihood that the people in Threshold are the only ones who can treat it, and the odds that the chip Gessner implanted in her brain to combat epilepsy has a fatal kill switch, Nagel recommends giving her back to them on the proviso that she be treated more humanely. She promises to keep a close eye on things and publicly release the confession video if her demands are not met. She then has Langdon, as the only person Sasha is likely to listen to, tell her of the plan. Partially due to a lifelong wish to see America, Sasha agrees and leaves Prague, the Golěm deciding to remain dormant while acting as a guiding mental voice.
Meanwhile, Katherine's book, which she reveals to Nagel contains suggestions of life after death, is allowed to be published as long as certain elements are removed. Soon after, Langdon reveals that he only burned the manuscript’s bibliography and hid the rest. Overjoyed, Katherine confesses her love for him. The two return to New York to give Faukman the book, which they decide to title The Secret Of Secrets after the revelation of life after death.
The New York Times called it a "wistful testament to the power of the printed word". [4] The review highlighted Brown's intricate plot, fast-paced suspenseful narrative, and frequent twists, all characteristic of his style. However, it noted that the book does not quite match the cultural impact of The Da Vinci Code , which sold millions and shaped public debate. Instead, the reviewer suggested The Secret of Secrets should be viewed as a relic from a bygone era of literature, evoking nostalgia for Brown's earlier successes. [4]
The Associated Press review described the novel as a 650-page thriller featuring Langdon on a dangerous quest through Prague, where he is caught up in an international race to unlock the mystery of what happens after death. Brown once again blends suspense, philosophical themes, travelogues, codes, puzzles, and secret societies, continuing the style that has defined his previous million-selling novels. [5] Slate said that the book was rooted not in the quality of its characters or thriller elements, but in the illusion of nonfiction, giving readers access to secrets hidden within familiar symbols like The Last Supper. [6]