There are books that whisper to you. Then there are books like Enigma by RuNyx—books that seduce, confront, and claw their way into your psyche. Rooted in the gothic traditions of secret societies, decaying academia, and erotic obsession, Enigma is a bold, disturbing, and intricately layered story that doesn’t ask for your attention—it demands it.
With her signature blend of atmosphere and audacity, RuNyx returns with a novel that feels like The Secret History dipped in ink-black desire. Set within the moss-covered walls of Mortimer University, Enigma unfurls a twisted romance, a psychological puzzle, and a social critique—all masquerading as a darkly elegant fairytale gone wrong.
Synopsis: A Dance with Darkness
Salem Salazar is not your usual protagonist. She’s socially misaligned, death-obsessed, and utterly uninterested in conformity. As a legacy student, she’s reluctantly accepted into the prestigious Mortimer University, but she’s not there to make friends or memories. She’s there to solve a mystery—the disappearance of her perfect older sister. Her investigation leads her into a web of vanishing girls, covert rituals, and one man she cannot ignore.
Cazimir van der Waal is Mortimer’s enigma. A teaching assistant by title and an artist by nature, Caz operates in the university’s shadows, equal parts chaos and control. When he and Salem collide, it’s not a spark—it’s a detonation. What begins as antagonism spirals into obsession, and their fates entwine in ways neither fully understands.
Together, they navigate a world where desire can be deadly, and knowledge has a body count.
Characters: Flames in Human Form
Salem: Where Ice Burns
From her earliest childhood memories, Salem has been fascinated by what lies beneath the surface—both literally and metaphorically. She dissects death with clinical curiosity, but emotionally she’s fractured, hiding her vulnerabilities beneath intellect and sarcasm. Her character is a defiance of romantic tropes: unapologetically strange, sometimes cold, but always compelling.
RuNyx’s portrayal of Salem is layered, touching upon neurodivergence, trauma, and grief without resorting to stereotype or simplification. Salem’s intelligence is not just performative—it’s weaponized. And her arc isn’t about being “fixed” by love, but about discovering who she becomes when she stops performing.
Caz: Chaos in Human Skin
Caz is less a character and more a storm—unpredictable, seductive, and violent in his stillness. With his sketchbook full of corpses and riddles, he’s the kind of figure who would be the villain in another book. But here, he’s the temptation that speaks to every forbidden instinct.
RuNyx crafts Caz as a force of moral ambiguity. He’s not good. He’s not safe. But he’s magnetic. And in a world where order has failed, his lawless intensity becomes oddly alluring.
The dynamic between Salem and Caz isn’t just steamy—it’s psychological warfare. They prod at each other’s rawest wounds and deepest yearnings, making for a relationship that’s neither healthy nor simple—but entirely hypnotic.
Writing Style: Gothic with Teeth
RuNyx’s prose in Enigma is a symphony of contradictions: lush and clipped, poetic and perverse, lyrical yet grounded in grime. She doesn’t flinch from darkness—instead, she bathes in it. Every page drips with eerie ambiance and sensual dread.
Stylistically, the book leans into dark academia without ever feeling derivative. The inclusion of literary references—Carl Jung, Rumi, Shakespeare, Dickinson—feels earned, not ornamental. These are not just quotes; they are clues, emotional signposts guiding the reader deeper into the novel’s psyche.
RuNyx excels in:
- Atmosphere-building: Mortimer feels like a living character—moody, secretive, and malevolent.
- Psychological insight: Characters don’t just act; they unravel.
- Language: Unafraid to be beautiful even when describing something grotesque.
Themes: What Lurks Beneath the Skin
1. Obsession Over Affection
At its core, Enigma by RuNyx is not a love story—it’s an obsession story. Salem and Caz are drawn to each other not by kindness or compatibility but by recognition. They see the darkness in each other and instead of recoiling, they reach for it. This is not a romance of redemption, but one of acceptance: loving the parts most others would run from.
2. Death as Metaphor and Mechanism
Death is omnipresent in Enigma by RuNyx. Not just as a physical force, but as an intellectual, spiritual, and emotional undercurrent. For Salem, death isn’t the end—it’s a riddle. For Caz, it’s a canvas. The way RuNyx uses postmortem analysis, forensic curiosity, and symbolism offers a uniquely academic lens into grief and mortality.
3. Power Structures and Secret Societies
Mortimer University is less an institution of learning and more a crucible of inherited privilege. Through secret societies, legacy admissions, and veiled rituals, RuNyx critiques elitism and the illusion of meritocracy. The true rot isn’t in the corpses—it’s in the foundations of the institution itself.
Highlights: Why Enigma Hooks You
- Breathtaking tension between protagonist and antihero
- Immersive setting that blends gothic elements with modern academia
- Hauntingly accurate portrayal of trauma and mental health struggles
- Unique blend of sensuality and dread
- Slow-burn pacing that rewards patience with a powerful payoff
Quibbles: What Holds It Back
- Middle Act Drag: The novel’s pace dips in the middle, especially when subplot elements around the secret society Mortemia overtake the central emotional arc.
- Excessive Descriptions: Some passages are indulgently poetic to the point of slowing the plot. While this style fits the tone, tighter editing could have enhanced momentum.
- Peripheral Characters: Most secondary characters serve as props rather than individuals, which limits the emotional range of the world beyond the central duo.
That said, these flaws feel like brushstrokes in a much larger painting—visible, yes, but purposeful.
Read This If You Loved…
- Gothikana by RuNyx – Naturally. The predecessor in tone and mood.
- The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – For the dark academia and dangerous liaisons.
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – If you crave forbidden romance with intellectual flair.
- Verity by Colleen Hoover – For unreliable characters, morally gray obsession, and eerie suspense.
Final Thoughts: A Story Carved in Bone
Enigma by RuNyx is not a soft read. It’s a work of fiction that demands you get your hands dirty—dig into buried secrets, claw through power, and surrender to the uncomfortable thrill of characters who love destructively.
This is dark romance at its boldest, and dark academia at its most sensuous. RuNyx offers no apologies for where she takes her characters—or her readers.
If you are the kind of reader who reads between the lines and lives for the tension in the pause before a kiss or the moment before a blade falls, Enigma will own you. Unflinching, poetic, and provocatively gothic, Enigma is a feverish exploration of what it means to be truly seen—by someone who might just destroy you.