Posted on December 15, 2009 by Nayab Naseer

Enigma is one of the most successful novels of Robert Harris, the British novelist.

The novels is set in World War II England. Tom Jericho, the protagonist is a brilliant mathematician who works as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, the headquarters of British cryptography. He has succeeded in breaking the Nazi code once, but the Nazis have changed to code. The Allied forces are now unable to find out Nazi U boat movements and a large convoy from America is sitting duck for the U boats. Unless Tom and his cryptographists can break the new code, the Allied war efforts would be doomed.

The plot is complicated by Claire Rommily, a mysterious woman whom Tom Jericho loves. She is also working in Bletchley Park but suddenly disappears mysteriously, having removed some classified papers from the Park. Tom sets out to unravel the wearabouts of Claire with the help of her roommate Hester, in a desperate hope to clear her name before the authorities catch up with her. The rift between Tom and his superior at the Park adds to the tension.

The suspense of Claire’s whereabouts, Tom placing himself at risk trying to clear Claire, the anxiety about the code, all set amidst the war and romance make this a truly exhilarating novel and a must read for all ages.