The Xanthe Schneider Enigma Files

‘Authentic and compelling... Boyle captures the paranoia and peril of the era.’ - Roger Moorhouse, author of Berlin at War



'A tense page-turner' - Historical Novel Society



Xanthe Schneider is a homespun crossword enthusiast from Cincinnati. In 1938, in an effort to reconnect with the spirit of her estranged English mother, she moves to Cambridge to study. A chance encounter at a cocktail party with the elusive Ralph Lancing-Price will see her enlisted into the British Naval Intelligence Division… and her life changed forever.



The Xanthe Schneider Enigma Files chronicle her treacherous one-woman missions, first to the terrifying heart of the Nazi regime in Berlin, then to occupied Athens, and finally, to supposedly neutral Switzerland. Missions she must undertake knowing that, back in England, she leaves behind her new-born child.



Fans of William Boyd, Simon Mawer and Elizabeth Buchan will find a compelling new heroine to embrace in Xanthe Schneider.