THE ENIGMA AFFAIR by Charlie Lovett

An Enigma-coded message lost for 75 years is the key to a treasure hunt for the spoils of Heinrich Himmler’s WW2 Project Alchemy. The rollicking tale begins when ex-military intelligence operative Patton’s small-town hideout is shot up on a Sunday morning. A shadowy assassin, Nemo, whose target was not Patton but her elderly WW2 veteran friend, Jasper, appears on the scene. Patton and Nemo bond as they contemplate how to pursue a mysterious clue dating back to Dachau concentration camp in the waning days of WW2 that got Jasper killed and Patton shot at. They travel to Bletchley Park in London and soon the race is on throughout Europe as a dizzying array of characters come on the scene. Patton’s long-ago summer fling, Ruthie, who happens to be an Enigma code-breaking expert. Ingrid, the granddaughter of Himmler’s henchman who drank the Nazi racist agenda Kool-Aid and plans to use the Project Alchemy treasure to help the Reich rise again. Jean, who was hood-winked by Ingrid’s fraudulent anti-Nazi charity and joins forces with Patton. Soldiers out to get Patton for her failings during her army intelligence days, and an eccentric collector of Nazi weaponry and war memorabilia. As the characters connect, murders, bombings, surveillance and deceptions come at a fast-paced clip. It is no easy task to tie all the story threads together, but the resolution is satisfying. Yes, the story is a bit escapist historical suspense, but it’s fun to see Nazi disciples who champion the evil agenda meet their match. To me, The Enigma Affair is a caper story that might work well for readers seeking a fairly short, page-turning WW2-based thrill ride.