Taxed to Death
Debra Purdy Kong
Mystery/Suspense
[rating: 3/5]
Available in:
• Mobi/Kindle
• ePub/iPad
• PDF
• HTML
… from…
• Amazon
• MobiPocket
• AllRomanceEbooks
• OmniLit
Also in paperback
When Revenue Canada auditor Alex Bellamy discovers that $150,000 is missing from Ice Craft Jewelers inventory, someone from Special Investigations suddenly takes him off the case. But Alex decides to keep investigating anyhow, and before he knows it, his best friend is dead—suicide, if you can believe it. Moreover, someone is chasing Alex himself, and he must turn to Jillian Scott, a woman he’s never met and who is as afraid of him as he is of being caught. Soon, her fears and his search embroil them in a bizarre and disturbing nightmare.
I read Taxed to Death as part of a review-exchange on GoodReads: I read someone’s book, and someone else reviews one of mine. To that end, and short of cash, I purchased a copy of Debra Purdy Kong’s Taxed to Death on the used market. This is the first in the Alex Bellamy series, the second being her more recent release, Fatal Encryption. But I couldn’t find a used copy of the more recent title, and I thought it would probably be best to start with the first in the series, anyhow.
The book started by throwing names and facts at me, as many mysteries do. Unfortunately—maybe because I’m dense—I didn’t get what was happening until later in the story. The story is billed as a mystery, but in some ways, it reads more like a suspense novel… except that I didn’t understand the characters, at all. In fact, the major viewpoint character, Les Silby, who gets the most screen-time, he’s one of the suspects. Him I got, at least as much as I could without knowing his full role until the end. Alex and Jillian, the hero and heroine of the story, I had no idea why they did most of the things they did.
As a side-effect, because the story can’t give away the ending, it frequently gave me a partial view, blanking out obvious things that the viewpoint character could see and was thinking about. Now, I’m not an expert in the mystery genre. As I recall, the mysteries I’ve read have achieved this effect simply by staying in the mind of the detective. Suspense novels, not so much, but in a suspense, it’s more important to maintain the tension between hero and villain, rather than to keep secret who the villain is. I’m not sure I liked the effect in Taxed to Death.
The story did get better near the end, as the situation became clear and the forces of evil began to close around our heroes. Even so, I never understood why Alex and Jillian did most of what they did, or felt what they felt, or thought what they were thinking. This is extremely important to me, because rich, three-dimensional characters are key to a good story. And these characters just fell flat.
This story is also missing a theme, as far as I can tell. I had originally expected something like: financial fraud is about more than money. (And that could be the theme of the story… maybe, kinda.) Or: we all pay when someone embezzles funds. (And I didn’t get that at all from this story.) Much less did I see an uplifting, character-based theme. It simply wasn’t that kind of book.
After all of that, I do hope to read the next book in the series Fatal Encryption. Why? Well, Taxed to Death is Debra Purdy Kong’s first book, published 15 years ago. That means that Debra probably put more into it than any other story she’s written, but also that it reflects her inexperience as an novelist. I’m hoping that Fatal Encryption, which came out just a couple years ago, gave her a chance to address some of the storytelling issues I noticed in Taxed to Death. Most importantly, I’m hoping she has gotten better at characterizing her characters, and I really want to get to know Alex Bellamy.
-TimK
|
Taxed to Death |
Available in: |
сюда трипскан официальный
https://securityheaders.com/?q=https://wildlife.by/images/pages/?1xbet_kazino_promokod.html Занимаемся арендой авто в Краснодаре без залога и ограничения по пробегу с подачей в аэропорт и жд вокзал
Столкнулся с ситуацией и начал разбираться — какой способ действительно работает для международных транзакций. Нашёл подробный анализ ситуации: перевод денег за границу https://mezhdunarodnye-platezhi-fra.ru Ключевой момент, на который стоит обратить внимание — разница в итоговой сумме бывает значительной. Важно понимать любой международный перевод — связан с разными типами комиссий. Дополнительная информация — до проведения операции стоит проверить итоговую сумму. В противном случае можно получить менее выгодные условия. Резюмируя — лучше заранее разобраться в вопросе перед любой отправкой средств.
Bu arada soyleyeyim, eger muz kabugu suyu hangi ciceklere verilir konusuyla ilgileniyorsan?z, suraya bir goz at?n. Link burada: https://hobiprojesi.com/articles/ciceklere-muz-kabugu-suyu-uygulamasi/
indus real estate dubaibusiness bay rentcheap properties to buy in dubai buy apartment in dubai on installments
mag property development dubai free zonepremier estates dubai
Đọc bài của bác xong thấy rất hay. Nhân dịp này, tớ
chia sẻ cho mọi người một nhà cái cực kỳ uy tín là
thương hiệu MB66.
Nhắc đến MB66 là nhắc đến tốc độ thanh toán sòng phẳng.
Hiện tại link chính thức của MB66 không bị chặn nằm ở địa chỉ mb66.cam nhé.
Vào trực tiếp qua mb66.cam, anh em sẽ được trải nghiệm hệ thống nạp rút siêu tốc 1-1.
Anh em nào muốn đổi gió thì ghé ngay mb66.cam đăng
ký nhé. Chúc anh em rực rỡ.
Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog
and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact
enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to
your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
Now recognising that the post handled the topic with appropriate technical precision without becoming dry, and a stop at americadavid continued that balance, technical precision and readability are often in tension and this site has clearly figured out how to maintain both at once which is one of the harder editorial achievements in the form.
pinup xush kelibsiz bonus https://pinup38742.help
1win jocuri casino 1win jocuri casino
Главная трипскан
dubai off plan real estatebu haleeba real estate oud metha road dubai2bhk flat in dubai Studio Apartment for Sale in Dubai
Villas for sale in The Pulseapartment distribution in dubai
mostbet výběr visa mostbet výběr visa
mostbet app store mostbet39687.help
2 bhk house for rent in dubairafiq real estate dubai websiteproperty prices dubai https://dinosaurios-larioja.org
4 bed villa for rent in dubaitwo bedroom villa for rent in dubai
Homepage https://shiny-cloud.net/
Boa madrugada. Atualizando: roleta europeia. e o controle emocional é key.
страница трип скан
Источник трипскан
Olá, post muito bem feito copa do mundo 2026. baccarat online odds estão boas.
pin-up crash demo http://pinup38742.help
1win domeniu 1win34308.help
Смотреть здесь трип скан
Boa noite, alguém pode esclarecer sobre roleta onlineou é só marketing? Ninja
страница tripscan вход
Buenas tardes, guía directa al grano. jetx
mostbet email bilan roʻyxatdan oʻtish http://mostbet39687.help/
mostbet bonusové podmínky https://mostbet35880.online/
https://forum.issabel.org/u/1xbetvipbd1
ссылка на сайт трипскан
Halo, konten yang jujur. cassino online SBOBET dana
посетить веб-сайт трип скан официальный
сюда трипскан
перенаправляется сюда трипскан сайт вход
Liked the way the post handled the final paragraph, no neat bow but no abrupt cutoff either, and a stop at sejieaa continued that thoughtful ending pattern, endings are hard and most blog writers either over engineer them or skip them entirely and this site has clearly figured out a sustainable middle approach.
Bu arada, eger tavan boyas? duvara surulur mu konusuyla ilgileniyorsan?z, suraya bak?n. Link burada: https://yapevleri.com/articles/tavan-mi-duvar-mi-once-boyanmali/
Да я ж тебе говарю курьерка такая….)не парься!они с мониторингом просто тупят круто!тем более легал! купить мефедрон Все очень быстро, пришло через день после заказа.
страница сайт трип скан
Now recognising the post as a rare example of careful writing on a topic that mostly receives careless treatment, and a stop at jintokuinari extended that contrast with the average elsewhere, content that highlights how much the average is settling for low quality is content that has both internal merit and external value as a benchmark.
E aí. Ganhei e saquei com cassino sem rollover alto já recuperei o investimento. pix
E aí — slot tiger.
Hey, quick question about aviator game? anyone tried?
Fala, pessoal. Atualizando: autoexclusão. 1xBet com stakes baixos é melhor.
Eae, alguém aqui já sobre limite de depósito? Sportingbet
посетить веб-сайт трипскан сайт вход
с треками магазин всегда спешит:) и качество скоро заценим))) купить мефедрон Че все затихли что не кто не берет? Не кто не отписывает последние дни не в курилке не где везде тишина(
Boa tarde. Atualizando: o jogo do tigrinho. mas não coloquem esperança.
Recommended without reservation for anyone interested in the topic at any level of expertise, and a look at coyotecarbon only strengthens that recommendation, this site clearly knows how to serve readers across a range of backgrounds without watering down the content or talking past anyone in the audience which is genuinely impressive to see.
World Cup 2026 Nigéria qualify at good odds. Using 1xBet with pix for fast deposits.
Fala, pessoal. Atualizando: slot demo. F12 mas não é milagre.