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: |
Слушайте кто ремонт затеял Оббегал все салоны в городе — везде одно и то же То ЛДСП 16 мм а не 18 Короче, единственные кто делает совестливо — заказать кухню по индивидуальным размерам Гарантия 5 лет на все В общем, сохраняйте в закладки — кухни под заказ спб https://kuhni-spb-ytr.ru Проверяйте производителя по этому списку Перешлите другу кто тоже мучается
Qué tal. el tigrinho es real.
Reading this prompted me to send the link to two different people for two different reasons, and a stop at floortennis provided ammunition for a third share, content that suits multiple audiences without being generic enough to be useless to any of them is genuinely valuable and this site has that multi audience quality clearly.
top online pokies and casinos united states information, usa hoosier grand casino Anderson club mobile and uk gambling bill,
or best australia pokies
pin-up ilova ruxsat so‘raydi pin-up ilova ruxsat so‘raydi
Boa madrugada, dica sobre jogo responsável. Comprei strategia a mas depende do timing. Rivalo
Boa noite, betting on Brasil for World Cup 2026. Odds are decent on Stake. mtn momo deposit took minutes.
informação de alto valor. autoexclusão é real. Valeu, abs
wettseiten ohne lugas
my website basketball wettart wetten
В данной статье мы поговорим о будущем медицины, акцентируя внимание на прорывных разработках и их потенциале. Читатель узнает о новых подходах к лечению, роли искусственного интеллекта и возможностях персонализированной медицины.
Полная информация здесь – нарколог на дом принудительно
Beleza. Atualizando: bônus de cassino. Ninja mas não coloquem esperança.
сайт кракен ссылка
Народ всем привет Качество пластилин То фасады перекошены Короче, мужики с руками из правильного места — кухни СПб от производителя без посредников Проект бесплатно за час В общем, вся инфа вот здесь — прямые кухни на заказ от производителя прямые кухни на заказ от производителя Проверяйте производителя по этому списку Перешлите тому кто тоже мучается
australian real money pokies online, how to memorize united statesn roulette wheel and united kingdom pokies no deposit bonus, or online casino
slots real money canada
Also visit my webpage … mafia blackjack medusa
Boa tarde — crash blaze. Valeu, abs
galatasaray icardi forma hakk?ndaki yaz?y? gercekten begendim. Kendiniz gorun: https://takimgiyim.com/articles/galatasaray-icardi-forma-fiyatlari-inceleme/
solana casino vergleich https://sol-casino-liste.de/
Opa — autoexclusão.
на этом сайте kraken darknet market
В этой статье мы рассматриваем разрушительное влияние зависимости на жизнь человека. Обсуждаются аспекты, такие как здоровье, отношения и профессиональные достижения. Читатели узнают о необходимости обращения за помощью и о путях к восстановлению.
Давай разберёмся досконально – выездной нарколог
https://medichat.ru/viewtopic.php?t=1081
Nice and clean, that is the best way to describe the writing here, no clutter and no wasted words, and a quick visit to loanspractice kept that going, I appreciate when a site treats its readers like people who can think for themselves without needing constant hand holding through every paragraph.
Beleza. Atualizando: bônus de cassino. Ninja mas não coloquem esperança.
Reading this on the train into work was a better use of the commute than my usual choices, and a stop at silovault extended that commute reading well, content that improves transit time rather than just filling it is content with practical benefit and this site has earned its place in my morning commute reading rotation.
888 starz ios https://888-uz4.com/apk/
Worth saying that the quiet confidence of the writing is what landed first, and a look at sjzb91d continued that quiet quality, confident writing without the loud display of confidence is a rare combination and this site has clearly developed both the knowledge and the editorial restraint to land that combination consistently.
Boa madrugada, dica sobre crash games. Confirmei na prática a sem enrolação.
mostbet заморозили вывод mostbet заморозили вывод
нажмите kraken актуальные ссылки
Ребята кто в Питере Обещают одно а по факту другое То доставку месяц ждать Короче, нашел наконец нормальную контору — заказ кухни с установкой Замер на следующий день В общем, сохраняйте в закладки — кухни на заказ спб каталог кухни на заказ спб каталог Не ведитесь на салоны-прокладки с наценкой 200% Сам полгода выбирал теперь знаю
pinup aviator pul yechish pinup aviator pul yechish
Узнать больше кракен onion сайт
Opa, guia completo demais. valeu demais estratégia baccarat comprei strategia com stakes baixos é melhor.
Hola, live scores section here is very useful for in-play betting. Argentina match coming up soon.
online casino winners usa, online casinos canada no deposit bonus and craps betting usa, or free spins casino no deposit bonus united states
Also visit my blog post – is gambling good as a christian (https://Lessaveursmarguerite.ch/what-is-a-minimum-deposit-casino/)
Ригельный кирпич широко используется в архитектуре для облицовки фасадов и создания декоративных элементов, и его можно приобрести на сайте ригельный декоративный кирпич.
Правильная технология укладки ригельного кирпича значительно увеличивает срок службы всей конструкции.
Bom dia, review sincero sobre tigrinho. limite de depósito? é furada?
Главная kraken ссылка тор
посмотреть на этом сайте kraken сайт
pin-up bonus kodi 2026 https://pinup64200.help/
WC2026 Africa: Argentina betting markets are solid. Stake has fast mtn momo withdrawals.
Salve, pergunta séria sobre free bet? alguém já testou isso? 1xBet
Резервный портал Casino и авторизация на официальный веб-площадку Казино
Сегодняшние пользователи систематически имеют дело с сложностью подключения к излюбленным азартным площадкам. Собственно для разрешения этой проблемы [url=king-johnnie-1773639163075.clients.site]https://king-johnnie-1773639163075.clients.site[/url] функционирует.
Что такое зеркальный сайт казино
Дублирующий сайт является собой абсолютную версию оригинального сайта с отличным сетевым адресом. Все данные, инструменты и слоты сохраняются абсолютно схожими.
Плюсы эксплуатации альтернативных адресов
Первостепенное превосходство – непрерывный подключение к развлекательному личному кабинету. Участники способны продолжить гемблинг даже при ограничении главного сайта.
Вспомогательные выгоды:
– Удержание всех персональных данных
– Доступность совокупного инструментария
– Защищенность переводов
Как найти текущее альтернативный сайт
Советуется брать данные об актуальных зеркалах из достоверных источников:
– Подлинная новостная лента
– Клиентская служба помощи
– Подлинные социальные страницы
Безопасность при использовании с альтернативными адресами
Важно знать, что законные зеркала обеспечивают аналогичный показатель защиты, как и основной ресурс. Все денежные действия осуществляются через шифрованное соединение.
Вход на основной сайт
Процесс авторизации через альтернативный адрес максимально проста. Используйте те же логин и пароль, что и на главном портале. Целый баланс и журнал игр мгновенно обновляются.
Halfway through I knew I would finish the post, and a stop at goshfrost also held me through to the end, content that signals its quality early and then sustains it is content with real internal consistency and this site has clearly figured out how to maintain quality from opening sentence through to closing thought.
посмотреть в этом разделе kraken зеркало
1win apk MD https://1win61390.help/
Sets a higher bar than most of what shows up in search results for this topic, and a look at flockergo did not lower that bar at all, in fact it confirmed the impression, this is the kind of consistency that earns a place in regular rotation for serious readers instead of casual scrollers passing through.
подробнее кракен даркнет маркет
Yo, achei gold esse post copa mundo. bônus de cassino odds estão boas. Sucesso!
esse site é confiável. tigrinho é real. Valeu, abs