“Book Review: Enigma Variations”

An intricately woven adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat

Enigma Variations, the second book in the Justin Vincent series by Bradley W. Wright, follows Justin Vincent, a skilled thief, and his trusty hacker-friend Ashna on an adventure to retrieve stolen notes that may hold the key to an unsolved musical mystery. The catch? This particular task has a £1 million reward attached to it.

By day, Justin is a sculptor who enjoys the arts and who has a lot of connections within the art society. But his other job is much more secretive, one he must speak of in hushed tones to potential clients—and it entails recovering stolen valuables.

Not long after Justin completes a mission of retrieving a valuable painting, he is entrusted with yet another task, although this one is going to be a bit trickier. Soon he finds himself attending various functions and mingling with the rich and classy in order to get closer to potential suspects. And in addition to this, he finds himself becoming a target the closer he gets to solving the mystery. As you might expect, the risks ramp up the closer he gets to retrieving the notes.

The most refreshing thing I discovered about Wright’s writing is his ability to bring places, people, and clothing to life through vivid descriptions. I especially enjoyed reading about the different places the main character travels to, due to his job affording him the luxury of travelling often, as well as the different people he encounters—some of whom come with intriguing backgrounds.

Reading about instances in the book where Justin almost gets caught, like when breaking into someone’s home, had my pulse racing on a number of occasions. Since he’s always on the verge of being discovered, the large majority of this book keeps me enthralled. The frequent references to cryptography and art combine with the suspense running rampant through the novel, and it reminds me greatly of The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown in that way. There really is never a dull moment in this one.

The story is mostly centered around the main character Justin, but that also means that we can’t get too close to badass characters like Ashna. It would have been nice to see her play a larger role in this novel rather than as a side-character that only makes appearances from time to time, but despite this, Justin and Ashna’s work relationship/friendship is admirable and should make readers happy whenever she steps into the scene.

Enigma Variations is bound to be a favorite among fans of the DaVinci Code series. It offers to take the reader on a thrilling ride they will not want to miss, just like it did for me.

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Category: Mystery Thriller, & Suspense

Paperback: 298 pages

ISBN: 978-1509232406

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