Patton Harcourt is ticked off when her baking was interrupted by gunfire. But she was confused when she learned the source of the gunfire as it was not who she expected to be after her. Patton and Nemo, the assassin who saved her, set off on an adventure to solve the mysterious ENIGMA message gifted Patton by a slain neighbor. Their adventure led them to England, Germany,and Italy following clues to a hidden treasure. Plenty of plot twists, explosions, and double crosses ending in a satisfying heist. A fun read!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review; all opinions are my own.

Genre: Historical Thriller, Historical Fiction, WWII Fiction
Violence Level: Med-high (some grisly scenes but not many)
Spice Level: Med-high (some on the page)
Representation: LGBTQ (one of the primary characters is a lesbian)
Structure: Multi-POV in 3rd-close
Trigger Warnings: WWII descriptions of the holocaust, references to suicide, torture, death, PTSD

What an interesting premise! I really don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so instead, I'll tell you I was on the edge of my seat and was caught off guard several times. Turing and the Enigma machine fascinate me.

What you'll find:

A coded message
A mismatched group thrown together
Traipsing across Europe
White Supremicists
Clues
Thugs
Mysteries
Agendas
Bombs
Art
Books
Charity organization
Lies

I enjoyed this book and figuring out how it would all work out.

The Enigma Affair is a very well written spy thriller by Charlie Lovett. Released 6th Sept 2022 by Blackstone Publishing, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out from the same publisher in 3rd quarter 2023.

The author has a definite knack with characterization and setting. The opening scenes are a chaotic and very tense shootout with murder and multiple assassins and hit the reader like an unexpected drop into cold water. Main protagonist Patton is a badass librarian (my favorite combo!) and when a nasty assassin puts a bullet into her refrigerator one peaceful morning, her first thought whilst crab-walking to her floor safe for her gun and ammo is how annoyed she is that her chocolate ganache filled profiteroles are going to be ruined while she deals with the gunfight she's been thrust into.

It's a fast paced dizzying sprint from rural North Carolina to England and Bletchley Park to try to unravel a deadly mystery from WW2 before the assassins beat her (or her unlikely ally, also a hit-man) to the goods, or permanently take them out of the action.

Four stars. Satisfying and exciting. It's engaging and fast paced with a satisfying denoument and resolution.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I liked that the heroine was a librarian that gets caught up in a mystery from the past. Patton Harcourt comes under fire in her kitchen and it has nothing to do with her previous military experiences. She must rely on her would be assassin, Nemo to protect her from German thugs who want her dead and discover why someone wants her out of the way.

Charlie Lovett is generally an automatic read for me. He writes intriguingly plotted novels with a distinctly literary bent. First Impressions, The Bookman's Tale, and The Lost Book of The Grail have all been winners for me. While The Enigma Affair sticks with things I enjoy about Lovett's work - international settings, bookish thrills, and twisty plots - but it wasn't my favorite. I think The Enigma Affair was a little too thrillery (language and violence) for my own personal reading taste. That being said, the concept was interesting and I think many readers will be pleasantly caught up in the twists of this WWII adjacent thriller.

This Charlie Lovett book did not disappoint. This is more of an action/thriller than usual and I couldn't put it down. It's a wild romp across Europe with an amazing (eccentric) cast of characters and is very fast-paced.

Lovett’s thriller is fast paced with fun, quirky characters. The historical elements are well done. There are a LOT of unlikely coincidences so you either go with the ride, knowing it is a bit fantastical, or you’ll be frustrated. This is a book with a movie script in mind - for a crazy action packed thriller with a part comedic cast.

Readers who want a quick, raucous escape from reality, like historical fiction/WWII themes, and like some action in their mysteries will likely enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a free ebook version of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, action-packed romp involving an unlikely group who work together traipsing around Europe to stop a neo-Nazi group's plans to rise again to power. Good character development and a fast-paced plot make this a winner.

A bit of change for Lovett, this book is more of an intense thriller and rather face-paced. It starts of with a bang as Patton Harcourt is being shot at and doesn't let up as it delves deeper into solving the 75 year old Nazi mystery. The cast grows as they attempt to solve the Enigma message and discover who is behind it all. In addition to solving the mystery, the characters work on their own issues and past traumas and learn to reach out to others. And of course it wouldn't be a Lovett book if books weren't a key part of the plot. Overall a quick read that will have you wondering how it's all going to work out.

‘The Enigma Affair’ by Charlie Lovett
Author Charlie Lovett has yet to get the true recognition he deserves, but book lovers, those who love books about books and those who love books about stories of books eagerly wait for his next novel, which this year is the roisterous “The Enigma Affair” (Blackstone). A thriller in the vein of “Indiana Jones” and “National Treasure” — often both at once — Lovett’s newest is as intricately plotted as anything he has offered before (“Escaping Dreamland,” “The Bookman’s Tale”) and, as always, hints at the author’s antiquarian bookseller roots. Here, the story involves assassin attempts, a descendant of Heinrich Himmler, an Enigma machine, messages to be decoded, white supremacists, neo-Nazis and, well, you get the idea. Stuffed with story and history, the characters sometimes get second play, even as Lovett diligently builds up their backstories. Recommended for readers searching for a rollicking story, and those who want to read the book before it becomes a movie — because this one has big screen written all through it.

Mystery | Adult
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Check the cover blurb: a librarian, an assassin, and a 75-year-old Nazi mystery. Irresistible! And it was a hell of a ride, as Patton Harcourt teams up with the mysterious Nemo after he saves her from a pair of killers at her home in small-town North Carolina. Nemo quickly realizes he’s been set up by his employer and they decide to get to the bottom of the nasty business. Before long they have an encrypted Nazi message in hand and are off to London’s Bletchley Park to secure the services of an Enigma machine. In what can only be described as a non-stop thriller à la Da Vinci Code, they speed throughout Europe, from Munich to Prague to the Alps, escaping death several more times. The story alternates between this contemporary setting and World War II, adding layers of historical information to the modern mystery. There’s depth here too – both Patton and Nemo are damaged goods, and their backstories serve to make them sympathetic protagonists who occasionally make mistakes as they try to do the right thing. There are just enough clues as to what is going on to keep you figuring things out and enjoying the caper, though sometimes Lovett explains more than he needs to. Have some respect for your readers! This is the first book by Lovett I’ve read, but I’ll certainly look for more after this one. My thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the digital reading copy provided in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show

An encyphered message that requires a WWII Enigma to solve. A team of oddballs -- a murder-for-hire expert, a veteran, an art historian, a cryptologist, and a museum curator -- set out to get answers. Twists, turns, International travel and neo-Nazis.
I didn't see the last twist coming.

I love Charlie Lovett, but I couldn’t finish this one. I dislike violent thrillers, but this one had just enough of Lovett’s usual rare-book nerdiness to keep me going to almost the halfway mark. Then he used “chocolate” to describe the color of a Black boy’s skin. I can’t even begin to explain how much an author should never use food to describe skin color. Had to put it down for good.

Jasper Fleming was present at the liberation of Dachau. After he killed a young German soldier, he discovered a coded message on the body that he kept as a reminder. It is an action that will lead to his death seventy years later. Jasper’s only friend was his neighbor Patton Harcourt. When Jasper’s home was searched after his death and the message was not found, two men come after her. Patton is saved by Nemo, the assassin originally sent to kill Jasper. The message is actually hidden in a book that Jasper had given to Patton. Now she and Nemo must stay ahead of the killers and decipher the code if they want to stay alive.

Ingrid Weiss heads an organization that returns books stolen by the Germans to the descendants of the original owners. It is a cover for Weiss’ true activities. The encoded message is the key to the location of a treasure that could finance the rise of a new Reich. Patton has a connection at Bletchley Park with access to an enigma machine, so she and Nemo are off to London. While there, her friend introduces them to a collector of WWII memorabilia. At each step on their journey they add another member to their quest with specific skills. Patton was in military intelligence, Nemo is an assassin with financial resources, Alex is an expert on WWII history and Jean is a professor of art history. They are also joined by three former soldiers who have been tracking Patton. They are survivors of an attack blamed on Patton’s error during her service and they want revenge for their fallen comrades. The greater danger facing the group forces them to all work together. From North Carolina to London, Switzerland, Italy and Germany their path is strewn with danger, but this unusual group is the best hope in preventing the return of the darkness that covered Europe in WWII. Charlie Lovett mixes history with the present quest that should please fans of Steve Berry and Dan Brown. I would like to thank NetGallley and Blackstone Publishing for providing this book for my review.

It’s difficult to review this without giving the story away. It’s a fast-paced action thriller, full of eclectic characters who are kicking butt and taking names.

4 stars. A highly enjoyable, fast paced ride in the vein of the "Davinci Code".

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early peek at the novel. My views are my own.

Antiquarian book collector Charlie Lovett has delivered another fun book—The Enigma Affair. Similar to The Bookman’s Tale, The Lost Book of the Grail, First Impressions, and Escaping Dreamland, this is a trademark literary mystery featuring old books and manuscripts. In this case, Ingrid Weiss, a German woman running a non-profit organization dedicated to returning precious books stolen from Jewish victims of the Holocaust, sets off the mystery by proving to be something quite different from the person she appears to be. The same could be said for several of the other characters.

As Lovett alternates between characters, between the present and Nazi Germany, and between countries, readers meet a host of surprising people such as small-town North Carolina librarian Patton Harcourt, art historian Jean Simpson, professional hitman Nemo, collector of Nazi memorabilia Alex Lansdowne, volunteer at Britain’s National Museum of Computing (formerly Bletchley Park) Rosie Drinkwater, two Germans commonly referred to as Fritz and Franz. The latter pair start of the book with a bang, firing into Patton Harcourt’s kitchen as she starts to cook the chocolate ganache-filled profiteroles she recently saw on the Great British Baking Show.

While any book dealing in part with the Holocaust has its more serious moments, The Enigma Affair is a rip-roaring adventure as Patton and Nemo, with the assistance of some others, race across Europe in to solve the mystery that will prevent a Neo-Nazi takeover of the world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance reader copy of this delightful book.

Charlie Lovett knows how to write a gripping novel set in history and centered around books. I enjoyed this one so much. It was a great ride and moved along quite quickly. I have enjoyed ever Lovett novel I have read and this was no exception.

The first thing you need to do is to be sure to read the book description. Sounds absolutely bonkers, doesn’t it? Even more bonkers than the plot of Marathon Man, for example. So bonkers that I’m not going to attempt to write my own description. One thing that compelled me to want to read this book, despite that looney description, is that I’m a complete sucker for stories relating to Bletchley Park. The other is that I’m a big fan of Charlie Lovett’s work, especially his 2013 novel, The Bookman’s Tale.

This is a caper/chase type of thriller that I hope somebody decides to turn into a movie. The settings zip from a mountain town in North Carolina to England’s Bletchley Park, then on to multiple other destinations, including Munich, Prague, the Alps, and Zurich. The chase action is tension-filled, and the caper schemes are multi-layered and clever—if not always successful.

The characters are terrific, especially the two damaged leads, Patton and Nemo, whose teamwork-by-necessity brings them to a sort of friendship. But the many side characters are well realized too. Ingrid Weiss makes for a villain you love to hate and can’t wait for her to get her comeuppance.

A vastly entertaining and thrilling tale.

This book made me gasp at the twist, which is all you can ask for in a thriller!

Patton is making a pastry when she feels a bullet pass by her head. She figures she knows who is shooting at her, and why, but the person who enters her home isn't who she's expects. Nemo tells her that he just tranquilized one of the people hunting her - and he wants to know what she knows about her neighbor Jasper. Nemo was hired to kill Jasper, but when two other men ransack Jasper's home after he has left, he gets curious. He follows the other men to Patton's house and saves her, but now both of them are in a race with a mysterious woman to find a Nazi communique, use an old Enigma machine to decipher it, and find the treasure it leads to.

There have been a lot of thrillers written about WWII, but this one doesn't feel like it is going over old territory. Perhaps it is because the group going after the treasure consists of a hit man, a former intelligence agent who is a lesbian and her one-time lover, and a civilian who doesn't give up investigating when she receives an unexpected package related to their quest. And of course, the people Patton expected to kill her show up at exactly the wrong (or right?) time as well.

The story is very satisfying and keeps you turning the pages. I did literally gasp at one point (you'll know when you read it). It is a really enjoyable thriller and a history lesson as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.