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The Enigma Factor  By  cover art

The Enigma Factor

By: Charles V Breakfield, Roxanne E Burkey
Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
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Publisher's summary

Rogue cyber-criminals want Jacob Michaels, a brilliant young programmer, to join them. He just doesn't know it yet. Jacob has the brains, expertise, and programming methods to get them what they want without discovery. With his best friend, Buzz, and a distractingly beautiful encryptionist in tow, Jacob enters the world of the Dark Internet here in the 21st century where the computer is the weapon of choice! With the cyber criminals engaged in international hacking, it's easy to have your identity slip through your fingers. No one, including Jacob, believes it when he learns he has been targeted. Jacob finds the space between cyber good and cyber evil difficult to navigate as well as highly deadly.

Jacob has settled into a quiet routine of a techno geek after his mother dies. The plans he made are disrupted when he discovers his life is in danger. He sets off on a mission that takes him into new technology views and exposes to him the inner-workings of unknown global technologists. Jacob learns that safeguards for technology are always evolving and being exploited. His challenge becomes how to keep ahead of the criminals and identify who to trust.

Book one of The Enigma Series brings relevant technology elements of programming, encryption, crypto-currency, identity theft, and hacking to highlight the professional excellence of Jacob, more so perhaps due to his sheltered upbringing. Explore the horrific damage cyber criminals can inflict as the award-winning authors, Breakfield and Burkey, weave a complex tale of danger, intrigue, and international cyber combat in their debut thriller, The Enigma Factor.

©2013 Enigma Series, LLC (P)2017 Enigma Series, LLC

What listeners say about The Enigma Factor

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a tad bit nervous to post on social media now!

Computer programmer and technology expert, Jacob Michaels helps with information protection and enjoys spending time correcting open programming just for fun. Each programmer has their own signature and when Jacob finds his in some heavy malicious programming, he takes it personally and begins his mission of finding the culprits and shutting them down. The problem is, who can he trust? His best friend is deeply involved and a drop-dead gorgeous encryptionist visiting New York join together to figure it out. Death, cyber hackers, romance and more set the stage for this deadly thriller.

Charles Breakfield and Roxanne Burkey slowly lay the groundwork for the romance, involvement and cyber activity in vivid and rich detail allowing the listener to see the story as it moves. While one may anticipate where this story is going, Breakfield/Burkey throws in some twists that throw the listener off track. Each character is developed fully, relationships are detailed and the cyber technology is done in terms that anyone can understand or at least grasp.

I wasn’t quite sure if this was going to be a book I could enjoy given the technological premise. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the book an easy listen, the authors creating the story and presenting the technology in a manner that allows everyone to enjoy.

The storyline moved slowly but that is good as there were detailed pieces that needed to be in place for the story to work. There’s not a lot of physical activity, but the intense mental and programming skill was enthralling. A good solid thriller that anyone will enjoy and find interesting.

The narrator, Steven Jay Cohen performed the narrative with great versatility and meticulously. His voice was appropriately pitched projecting just the correct amount of emotion. Steady and fluid, Cohen holds the audience captivated.

Overall, the authors and narrator did an excellent job of making this thriller feel natural and realistic. Makes me a tad bit nervous to post on social media now!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audio book.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting start to a new series

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

You would need to be a bit of a geeky/conspiracy theory type, but sure. Fits the mold well.

Would you recommend The Enigma Factor to your friends? Why or why not?

As noted above.

What does Steven Jay Cohen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Solid, consistent performance that sets the groundwork for what promises to be a rather interesting series.

Did The Enigma Factor inspire you to do anything?

Do some research into topics raised.

Any additional comments?

I did receive my copy of this offering in exchange for this review. So here we go. Well researched, almost to a fault, but on balance a solid start with reliable characters and a story arc that promises to move along quickly. Recommended!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Thriller!

Compelling story, interesting characters, and a good performance by narrator Steven Jay Cohen. There's some real world lessons about technology in this story. It makes you want to reassess your computer security, for sure!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great cyber thriller...

This novel illustrates how vulnerable our society is to cyber attacks and cyber warfare by turning factual information into a thrilling piece of fiction. The authors did an amazing job of storyline and character development and I could see this book becoming a major motion picture.

The narrator did an excellent job in his portrayals of all characters, regardless of gender, race, etc... I feel like he brought the characters to life which helped bring me into the story.

I definitely recommend this novel to everyone looking for an exciting twist on thriller type novels.

*This audiobook was provided to me at no cost in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fun read!

I found this book to be a fun read. A technology, hacking, and crime novel does best if it can keep the attention of both types of people. Those with and without the tech knowledge and I think this book did pretty well at that. I was always eager to know what was going to happen next. There was a budding romance which may continue in the series but it is not too sappy. There is some pretty graphic sexual moments which were not expected, but not bad, just seemed kinda out of place. overall I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book. I was given a free copy of this book and have left this unbiased review voluntarily.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

complicated

I liked The Enigma Factor by authors:Charles V Breakfield , Roxanne E Burkey and will probably follow up with any subsequent offerings but.... there is a lot going on and at times I found my concentration waning. My fault not the story's but at times I felt like I was spinning too many plates in the air. I like longish and this book certainly is that. Steven Jay Cohen is superb and I hope that he is at the helm of the next Enigma Series, Book. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Truly exciting tecno-centric suspense/thriller

This was a wonderfully researched and written tech-centric thriller, rounded out with a steamy bit of romance. You won't need a degree in computer programming to understand and enjoy book one of The Enigma Factor. I have only the most casual, passing interest in computer networking and security protocols, yet still I became thoroughly engrossed in main character Jacob's projects and adventures. I followed Jacob into the world of white-hat hacking, where he soon flirts with crossing that ambiguous line between "doing good" and "doing bad as a means to a good end." He uncovers a secret about his past after joining an underground group of mysterious individuals who all possess extraordinary talents. But can he really trust who these people say they are? What is their true motive? Why must he abandon his old life to join this elite group? I highly recommend this title, especially the audiobook read by Steven Jay Cohen. He gives each character a truly unique voice that only enhances a novel that's already fabulous from beginning to end. Well done! I do agree with other reviewers that this could easily be translated into an exciting TV mini-series or serial show.

I was provided a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks for this opportunity!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting story that gets a little wordy

The premise to the story is awesome but carried out a little awkwardly. While I enjoy technology on an intermediate level, I had to zone out while it was being discussed. Rather than a believable inclusion of technology, the writers go on and on. I imagine not many will be impressed and a little editing would allow you to enjoy the adventure more!

Jacob is a great guy (maybe a little too good) with amazing skills and cyber security is a hot topic. Steven Jay Cohen lent his voice well to many characters, his international voices were outstanding! The authors can probably pull off a good series if they let go of going into so much depth.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and Compelling

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I enjoyed the story. It was gripping and fascinating.

What about Steven Jay Cohen’s performance did you like?

Strong, Powerful, and Inviting.

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

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  • TU
  • 07-19-17

Could have dialed back the tech but not a bad book

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was an OK book. The "technology" in this book is overdone and, at times, it seemed as though they were just tossing in any technology words they could find on Google. I really think the use of tech terms could have been dialed way back and the story wouldn't have lost it's appeal to the IT crowd (of which I am one). The narrator was pretty good too, which is what helped get me through the buzzword laden dialog. All in all, the story was good, the characters were interesting and the plot kept my interest. It is the first in a series, and the only one on Audible at the time I wrote this review, so keep that in mind.

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