The Florentine Deception by Carey Nachenberg – Book Review
Do you enjoy action-oriented mysteries and reality-based cyber-thrillers? Are you ready to step into a story where performing a good deed leads to an exciting but extraordinarily dangerous adventure – one where nothing is quite what it seems?
Casey Nachenberg – the inventor of Norton Antivirus and Chief Engineer at Symantec Corporation – has written his first novel, the The Florentine Deception, a book that contains the perfect mix of ingredients for an entertaining summertime caper!
The Florentine Deception introduces us to Alex Fife – a young techno-wiz turned millionaire who retired at age 25 after selling his college start-up company. Now he spends his days trying to figure out what to do with his life. Alex craves excitement but most days, his biggest thrills come from his love of activities such as rock-climbing and spelunking.
All of that changes, however, the day that Alex’s father asks him to clean up an old computer that he wishes to donate to a family in need. As Alex begins the rather mundane task of removing viruses and personal data from the computer, he discovers a piece of rather sophisticated malware that completely captures his attention and causes him to investigate its origins.
In the process, Alex discovers that the previous owner of the computer was an antiques smuggler who has been involved in some rather nefarious dealings in the past, and has apparently become involved in a transaction involving a mysterious item called the Florentine.
Alex is excited about this initial discovery, because he believes that the Florentine is a missing diamond that is quite valuable and in high demand. Convinced that he has the makings of a real live treasure hunt on his hands, he is willing to do whatever it takes to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with his best friend Steven and pursue every lead possible – including buying the previous owner’s estate in Malibu!
Before long, however, terrible things begin to happen all around Alex, and Alex begins to suspect that there is more to the Florentine than he originally imagined. What started out as an exciting game for Alex and his friends to embark upon soon becomes a matter of life and death as the true nature of the Florentine is revealed.
Because of the author’s background and technical expertise, one aspect of this book that I found particularly interesting was the information on cyber-security issues that were woven throughout the novel. I also enjoyed tracking all of the Southern California locales that Alex and his friends visit throughout their adventures, as I am familiar with many of them!
On the other hand, one thing I did not like was the excessive number of potty-mouthed outbursts and religious expletives that were used throughout the book. They expletives did not add anything to the book or reveal anything about the characters – they merely detracted from the story.
Bad language aside, The Florentine Deception is a fun story to read or listen to on a lazy summer day – particularly when you consider that the author is generously donating all of his proceeds from the sales of The Florentine Deception to charities to help underprivileged and low-income students!
I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.
The Florentine Deception – Book Trailer
About Carey Nachenberg
Carey Nachenberg is Symantec Corporation’s Chief Engineer and is considered one of the inventors of Norton AntiVirus. As Chief Engineer, Carey drives the technical strategy for all of Symantec’s core security technologies and security content. He has led the design and development of Symantec’s core antivirus, intrusion prevention and reputation-based security technologies; his work in these areas have garnered over eighty-five United States patents.
In addition to his work in the cyber-security field, Carey has also recently published his first novel, a cyber-security thriller entitled The Florentine Deception, and is donating all proceeds from sales of the novel to charities supporting underserved students and veterans.
Carey holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from University of California at Los Angeles, where he continues to serve as Adjunct Professor of Computer Science.
The Florentine Deception – Book Tour
Create With Joy is delighted to participate in the The Florentine Deceiption Book Tour, which is hosted by iRead Book Tours!
The The Florentine Deception Book Tour runs from May 16 through May 27, 2016.
Please visit the The Florentine Deception Book Tour Page to learn more about the author, to read guest posts and author interviews, and to see what other bloggers have to say about this book!
Resources
For More Information
- Visit Carey’s Website.
- Connect with Carey on Facebook and Twitter.
- The Florentine Deception is available on Amazon and Audible.
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The Florentine Deception – Book Giveaway
Create With Joy is thrilled to offer you the opportunity to win 1 of 5 copies of The Florentine Deception as part of Carey Nachenberg’s iRead Blog Tour! What’s particularly exciting is that the winners will have the opportunity to choose between Print, E-Book and Audiobook versions of their prize!
This giveaway is open to Create With Joy readers who are 18 years and older through June 3, 2016 and is open Internationally.
To enter this giveaway, submit your entries as instructed on the Rafflecopter form.
Additional Information
Please note that this Rafflecopter and Giveaway is hosted by iRead Book Tours and is being hosted across several blogs. They are overseeing the drawing and assume full responsibility for all aspects of this contest, including notification and prize fulfillment.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from iRead Book Tours to review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Copyright © 2016 by Create With Joy. All Rights Reserved.
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Wow! I am intrigued by this one!
Thanks for the nice review! I’m sorry the language was a bit too salty for you – I’ll take that into account in my future work!
Carey
I love a little escapism once in a while. Thrillers are great for that. Thanks for the chance to win.
I’m stopping by from the Sits Girls! Thanks for the heads up about this book. I’m looking for some great reads for this summer! 🙂
This book sounds intriguing. I haven’t read this author before, so it’s exciting to have a chance to explore the work of a new author.
I would like to win this book as I enjoy reading all the time & to be introduced to another genre is great. Thanks
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