Enigma by Kim Idynne

When twenty-one-year-old Dominic is persuaded to rescue a young girl from the underground tunnels of Wupatki, the two find themselves lost in a strange realm of celestial enigmas, riddles, and otherworldly creatures. Dominic believes he's hallucinating from the effects of a scorpion sting, but soon becomes convinced that he has arrived in purgatory, the realm between life and death. When he arrives in the land of the dead, the underworld queen offers him passage home on one condition: he can't return as the person he was, and must leave parts of himself behind as he travels the underworld road. Hannah, meanwhile, is thrilled to be on such a quest. She has little trouble figuring out the enigmas—at first. As the realm becomes riddled with dangers, she finds herself ensnared by a ghoulish man who presents her with a challenge: In exchange for her freedom, she will have to solve a puzzle that unlocks an inter-dimensional gate. Hannah is eager to prove herself an expert at solving the zodiac’s mysteries, but failure will lead to self-destruction, and unlocking the gate may unleash a powerful demon on her own world. Enigma is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Enigma: Eridanus and the forthcoming book Enigma: The Secret of Ophiuchus.

Adult • Fantasy/Epic and High