THE ENIGMA FILES...

Copyright relevant owner

Hard to believe it's been 40-plus years since I bought a paperback called The Enigma Files by Christine Sparks, based on the BBC TV series of the same name.  It had a similar concept to the much later show, New Tricks, and starred Tom Adams (purportedly once considered as a possible James Bond) and comedian Duggie Brown.  It was a great wee show, so when I saw the paperback on sale in the shops I promptly bought it.  Still got it too.

It's not exactly pristine and I had to re-attach the cover at some point.  I couldn't now say whether it just wasn't very-well bound or I'd lent it to a friend to read (back before I decided on a 'no-lend' policy) and got it back in its 'worse-for-wear' condition, but I tarted it up a little, while deciding to keep my eye out for a better condition copy to take its place.  Didn't see one until relatively recently on ebay, and was surprised to learn there'd also been a hardback edition, which I bought via AbeBooks a few days ago.

It arrived today and is in excellent condition, but I'll still keep its 41 year old predecessor as it'd be cruel to dispense with it after all this time.  I'm surprised to see from the cover photograph that Tom Adams looks like a friend I had around 1979 to '86 or '87, but I no longer recall whether I was aware of the resemblance then or not.  It's possible I was, though I couldn't swear to it, but I noticed the similarity right away today.  If you're a long-term reader you've seen him referred to as Bob Billens, though that isn't his real name, just a close approximation.

These days my memory comes and goes, so it's always possible I might yet remember being previously aware of the likeness and having remarked upon it to Bob - which actually sounds familiar now that I mention it.  Not that it's important to anything, but I thought I'd record it for posterity.  Incidentally, at some stage during my earlier search for a replacement (sometime in the '80s) I contacted BBC Books and received a card from them saying the book was now out of print.  I'm sure I've still got that card somewhere, so when I find it I'll add it the post.

I seem to recall there being a discrepancy in the book about the age of the main protagonist's daughter, so if true, when I get around to re-reading it (I've re-read my original paperback at least once over the decades, possibly even twice), it will be good to see that some parts of my memory still hold up.  Any Crivvies ever read this book or watch the TV series, and if so, what did you think of it/them?  

Anyway, I know I enjoyed it as a mere teenage youth, so it's a book you may enjoy reading as well if you haven't already done so (and even if you have).  

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