"Da Vinci Code" follow-up Delayed

LONDON (Reuters) - Dan Brown's follow-up novel to his global bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" won't be ready by the end of the year as originally expected, his publisher said on Friday. The working title on the novel had been "The Solomon Key" though it was reportedly dropped.

Speculative books such as "Secrets of the Widow's Son" and "The Solomon Key and Beyond," as well as fan Web sites, have been trying to crack the plot, which Brown himself has hinted will deal with the ancient society of Masons.

Brown, 41, was vindicated earlier this month in a British court battle with two historians who accused him of plagiarizing their book to write "The Da Vinci Code." A U.S. appeals court on Thursday also upheld a lower court's ruling that Brown did not copy elements of another author's work.

"The Da Vinci Code" is one of the most successful novels of all time, having sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Brown's earlier books, including "Deception Point" and "Angels & Demons," also have become and remain bestsellers on the heels of the theological thriller's success. ...Read more here