The Enigma Challenge by S.C. Godfrey

As some of you know, my thwarted ambition is to have been a decoder at Bletchley Park during WWII. Alas, I was born both too late and in the wrong country but, more to the point, I lack the puzzle-solving acumen needed for such undertakings. Although I love words, I am not even very good at Scrabble. However, this does not affect my appreciation of such puzzles so I was intrigued by the description of The Enigma Challenge and greatly enjoyed reading it.

Zoe Wilder is an academic with expertise in cryptology, and has traveled to Barcelona with her supervisor for her first big international conference. It has taken her too long to realize Eric is a jerk but she has just broken up with him, with barely a backward glance. She is more intrigued by the Enigma Challenge, a secret puzzle competition that is part of the conference with a huge cash prize. She and her older sister lost their parents when Zoe was just 16; they could use the funds to maintain their childhood home.

Eric has warned Zoe not to get involved in the Enigma Challenge and to stay away from Dane Seaver:

I’ve never met Dane Seaver, but Eric hates him intensely. His crimes, apparently, include cheating his way onto peer review committees, stealing research, and having the absolute nerve to lack a Ph.D. As far as I can tell, Dane Seaver is a well-respected expert in cybersecurity, a go-to for an opinion on articles about threat prevention and network security, and the author of multiple papers on cryptology. It’s not a huge leap to see that Eric is envious of Dane. I asked Eric whether he would like an “I Hate Dane Seaver” dartboard for his birthday, but he didn’t find that funny.

Zoe has gone to examine a fountain that contains the only known statue of the devil in Europe – something on Reddit made her suspect it was part of the competition. Just as sees a series of numbers, she realizes she has company, a man also gazing at the statue. Seconds later, he is attacked and disappears, chasing after his assailant. Unnerved by the incident, Zoe goes back to the hotel where she finds a kiosk where those interested can actually enter the Enigma Challenge. She types in her name, phone number, and creates a PIN. Then she delivers her presentation (her co-presenter is a Harvard comp lit professor interested in English Civil War codes – why didn’t I find any kindred spirits like this) and the handsome guy from the fountain appears, who of course is Dane Seaver.

Before we have even reached page 30, Zoe and Dane are on the run, trying to elude other competitors and unknown, determined assailants, yet still win the contest. So there are definite comparisons to The DaVinci Code but with the addition of some romantic elements and a lot more sense of humor. While Zoe knows it would be stupid to get out of one relationship and jump into another with a relative stranger, no matter how attractive he is, she is more influenced by the fact that he speaks her language, figuratively speaking, and seems to respect her as a colleague, unlike Eric. Yet she realizes he has secrets of his own and he knows too much about the Enigma Challenge, including the ominous news that it is run by an organization of cybercriminals. It’s fast-paced and very entertaining – Zoe and Dane make a great team, even if the action is implausible. This may sound odd but one of the things I liked is that they do not always escape unscathed from their pursuers – sometimes they are injured, which may be unpleasant but seems more realistic. Admittedly, a dramatic chase around Europe strains credibility in certain circles but I believe in suspension of disbelief, don’t you?

There are at least two extremely obvious plot points that should not have required a big reveal: First is that it does not take a cryptology expert to realize if the bad guys always know where you are, there must be a tracking device either on your phone or in your luggage/purse. Second, if your puzzle-loving father died under suspicious circumstances and you have continued his work and bad guys are after you, it’s probably not a coincidence. The book ends with a cliffhanger so we’ll see what Godfrey does in a sequel. She has written fiction as Sierra Godfrey but this is her first thriller.

Title: The Enigma Challenge
Author: S.C. Godfrey
Publication: Pamela Dorman/Viking, hardcover, 2026
Genre: Suspense
Source: Library

Reading The Enigma Challenge contributed to this challenge:

• Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge