But how difficult can it be. One website has cracked the only code that matters – the one that tells you how to make a Dan Brown novel with tonnes of suggestions for titles and plot lines. The Black Code pits a stunning librarian Amy Brown against the cardinals of the Catholic Church. In Shrubs and Rings an intrepid librarian stumbles upon the trail of the legendary Synarchists. In Secrets and Rings, a beautiful doctor stumblers upon the trail of the Cabalists….you get the idea…..

Now fill 300 or so pages with superfluous waffle, find a publisher, fight the court case, option the movie and collect your winnings – easy peasy. But try making any sense of the real Da Vince Code – now there’s a real challenge.