Enigma (Maximum Men) by Carla Cassidy

Released: April 2010

Enigma is part of a Harlequin Intrigue series called "Maximum Men". Carla Cassidy is an extremely prolific romance novelist and has contributed to several other Harlequin series.

Enigma opens in a hospital, where Jared Maddox has been in a deep coma for several months after being hit by a car. Jared is nurse Willa Tyler's "special project" because he's just too hot and sexy for Willa to resist caring for and helping, so her kind thoughts have been with Jared since his arrival. Lucky for Willa, she'll soon learn she invested her time wisely because Jared has a telepathic mind-reading ability. When Jared suddenly awakes in sensing enemies are near, he unknowingly recruits Willa into being his partner on the run to evade the bad guys that are after him. Jared soon reveals to Willa that he and his twin-brother Jack were the victims of terrible medical experiments that gave them both special healing powers and telepathy. Together Willa and Jared embark on a romantic, yet perilous journey to safety.


Not sure how Enigma ended up on my reading list, but it was actually pretty entertaining given I'm not at all a fan of romance novels. Enigma is short at 214 pages; just long enough for a quick escape into romance-fairytale-land and true love. Cassidy's style is extremely tasteful, fast-paced and engaging. The intense and quickly-established romantic relationship between Willa and Jared is entirely convincing, especially since Jared had been invading Willa's thoughts for months before waking in his coma and vice-versa. This definitely compensates for Willa's seemingly thoughtless actions that include leaving Jared alone in her house minutes after they officially meet and also her careless dismissal regarding becoming pregnant after a hot episode of unprotected sex.

Almost as shocking is the hard-core violence at the climax of the Enigma, which Cassidy describes heartlessly as if it occurs to everyone every day, but it also adds to the edge and bite of the novel. Overall, Enigma is well done and very suspenseful -- absolutely perfect for a few hours of distraction from the rest of the world!

Carla Cassidy has been recognized for her awards and success with novels Anything for Danny (1994) and Pregnant with his Child (1997).