Product Description

It is March 1943 and the War hangs in the balance . . . At Bletchley Park Tom Jericho, a brilliant young codebreaker, is facing a double nightmare. The Germans have unaccountably changed their U-boat Enigma code, threatening a massive Allied defeat. As suspicion grows that there may be a spy inside Bletchley, and Jericho is suspected, his girlfriend, the beautiful and mysterious Claire Romilly, suddenly disappears. With the help of Claire’s best friend, Hester, Jericho sets out to find Claire, clear his name and unmask the spy. The answers will change his life forever… Steeped in the atmosphere of wartime England, based around an actual event, Enigma is a thriller of genius: a compelling mystery of codes and codebreaking, love and betrayal set inside the birthplace of the secret state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1270 in Books
• Published on: 1996-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
A gripping World War II mystery novel with a cryptographic twist, Enigma's hero is Tom Jericho, a brilliant British mathematician working as a member of the team struggling to crack the Nazi Enigma code. Jericho's own struggles include nerve-wracking mental labour, the mysterious disappearance of a former girlfriend, the suspicions of his coworkers within the paranoid high-security project, and the certainty that someone close to him, perhaps the missing girl, is a Nazi spy. The plot is pure fiction but the historical background, Alan Turing's famous wartime computing project that cracked the German U-boat communications code, is real and accurately portrayed. Enigma is convincingly plotted, forcefully written, and filled with well-drawn characters; in short, it's everything a good techno-mystery should be. --James Early

Sunday Times
‘Works triumphantly... Enigma totally gripped me’

Evening Standard
‘Extraordinarily good - undoubtedly the best thriller of the year, and perhaps of several years to come’

Customer Reviews

I love this book!
This is a novel based on true stories but it is still a novel and I think a good one. It has tension and a very loveable lead male character.

It's clearly well-researched and from what I know about the story of Bletchley Park and its history it is sound. The detail he includes looks fine to me but it is rather a technical so he had to restrict himself as to what he could include within the confines of writing a thriller.

I am just glad that anyone decided to write a novel at all which might bring this story to a wider audience. It's a fascinating story and I would urge anyone who enjoys this book to look into the real-life story.

There are times when Tom, the lead protagonist is out and about, and you really get a feel for the place and time, the blackout and the rationing, some people feathering their nests.

I have been to Bletchley Park and there is such an atmosphere about the place. I wasn't there at the time of this story, the people who were there at the time were forbidden to tell their stories for many years. That is part of the story itself, these people shut away doing their bit for the war effort and not even being allowed to talk about it afterwards.

The relationships with women for Tom are problematic but that suits the story as he is hunting for clues, that is an essential part of the story as Clare is an "enigma" for him.

As one previous reviewer said, you will fall in love with him!

More than just about a code
If you have seen the film, do read the book as well as there are some crucial differences. There is far more to the plot and the ending is kind of different, so it is well worth reading.

This is not just a story about the enigma code. There is plenty more.

Just stunning
Harris has a a rare gift, his best that I have read so far and the rest are suberb