ABANDONED. Academic Students and Decryption

[Sam]

The book came out I believe in 2005 or 2006, I read it in mid to late 2006.

Basically, there are a pair of students who are study an old manuscript and work out how to decrypt it. Plot ensues, although what happens after that eludes me.

It's an Ivy League school, either Princeton or Yale.

I believe the book came out to ride the Da Vinci Code hype, but that's speculation.

[Lee Anne]

Maybe The Rule of Four

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sure does sound like The Rule of Four.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Since Sam hasn't been active since this posting, I'm going to go ahead and move this down to possibly solved.

[Michele]

Robert Silverberg's The Book of Skulls sounds quite like this.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sam hasn't been active since 2013. Moving to Abandoned.