The Bletchley Riddle

Ruta Sepetys · Steve Sheinkin

Oct 2024 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, this middle grade historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother’s disappearance.

Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…

Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.

The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother's disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

Ratings and reviews

I absolutely loved every page of this exciting novel. I only wish I could read this again for the first time. The intelligent point of view characters Lizzie and Jakob each felt like real people to me and I connected to both of them immediately. Both siblings have separate personalities with distinct flaws and lovable traits; I enjoyed how loyal and loving they to each other. The secondary characters were also well drawn and added so much to the plot, including a first crush.

I think I'm an outlier here, but I didn't really enjoy this as much as I'd hoped. I thought it was a really interesting premise but I found the writing to be clunky. This definitely reads as more of a middle-grade book, so perhaps this would have worked better if at least Lizzie was younger.

About the author

Ruta Sepetys (rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, Salt to the Sea, The Fountains of Silence, and I Must Betray You have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into a graphic novel, and the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. She is also the author of You: The Story. A Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys, and on Facebook at facebook.com/RutaSepetys

Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Impossible Escape, Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and Honor, and three National Book Award finalist honors. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children. He can be found online at SteveSheinkin.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveSheinkin and on Facebook at facebook.com/Steve.Sheinkin.