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: |
оптимизация ндс 2025 Диагностика системы зажигания – катушки, трамблер.
Металлообработка и металлы https://j-metall.ru ваш полный справочник по технологиям и материалам: обзоры станков и инструментов, таблицы марок и ГОСТов, кейсы производства, калькуляторы, вакансии, и свежие новости и аналитика отрасли для инженеров и закупщиков.
Приобрести MEF GASH SHIHSKI ALFA – ОТЗЫВЫ, ГАРАНТИИ, КАЧЕСТВО
Металлообработка и металлы https://j-metall.ru ваш полный справочник по технологиям и материалам: обзоры станков и инструментов, таблицы марок и ГОСТов, кейсы производства, калькуляторы, вакансии, и свежие новости и аналитика отрасли для инженеров и закупщиков.
Откройте для себя прекрасные и загадочные места, которые находятся под охраной в нашей стране.
Особенно понравился материал про Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы.
Вот, можете почитать:
https://alloopt.ru
Природа – наш главный учитель и защитник. Берегите её!
crypto pump prediction
Заходите на известный сайт КИНОГО (https://kinogo-gs1.sbs/), если хотите смотреть сериалы и фильмы когда угодно. У нас собрана огромная подборка контента, включая новинки 2025 года, без смс, в хорошем качестве HD и без обязательной регистрации. На Kinogo вас ждет не только свежий контент, но и богатая коллекция прошлых лет. Портал уверенно держит позиции одного из самых популярных онлайн-кинотеатров.
Металлообработка и металлы j-metall.ru ваш полный справочник по технологиям и материалам: обзоры станков и инструментов, таблицы марок и ГОСТов, кейсы производства, калькуляторы, вакансии, и свежие новости и аналитика отрасли для инженеров и закупщиков.
I think this is among the most vital info for me. And i’m satisfied studying
your article. However want to remark on few normal things, The site style
is great, the articles is truly nice : D. Good job, cheers
The $MTAUR ICO partnerships boost visibility. Token conversions practical. Hype building.
mtaur coin
bsporttiyu – Pages load quickly, no lag which is great for live sports updates.
저는 빈번히 블로그를 운영하고 당신의 정보에 진짜로 감사합니다.
이 멋진 기사가 정말 제 관심을 끌었습니다. 주에
한 번 새로운 세부사항을 확인하기 위해 당신의 웹사이트를 즐겨찾기할 것이고, 당신의 RSS 피드에도 가입했습니다.
I am regular reader, how are you everybody?
This piece of writing posted at this web site is actually good.
kmspico
tingshuzu – Looks like they care about design, the aesthetics are pleasant.
Закладки тут – купить гашиш, мефедрон, альфа-пвп
Pizza Zustellung Wochenende war super! Selbst am Sonntag kam die Pizza schnell.
Pizza online bestellen
ma3wna – The homepage gives a clean, welcoming vibe and nice images.
유흥알바는 술집, 클럽, 노래방 등 유흥업소에서 하는 다양한 아르바이트를 통칭합니다.
주로 야간에 이뤄지며 룸알바, 밤알바, 여성알바 등 여러 이름으로 불립니다.
11xhh – Really good user experience for a first glance, nice job.
xfbsp666 – Looks like they put thought into everything, quality feel.
Hello, I log on to your new stuff on a regular basis. Your writing style is awesome,
keep doing what you’re doing!
виртуальный номер Казахстан
купить диплом в феодосии http://rudik-diplom5.ru/ .
Доставка товаров из Китая – сложный и многоэтапный процесс, требующий четкого понимания логистических нюансов и таможенных правил. Успех импорта зависит от грамотного выбора поставщика, оптимального маршрута и надежного логистического партнера. Какой лучше тип логистики выбрать при доставке изКитая?
алкоголь на дом круглосуточно алкоголь на дом круглосуточно .
Your style is very unique in comparison to other
folks I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess
I will just bookmark this site.
Закладки тут – купить гашиш, мефедрон, альфа-пвп
I personally find that great platform with intuitive UI — it made my crypto journey easier.
832899 – Found something useful unexpectedly, makes me curious to explore more.
hotel-reservation-rome.com – I’d check reviews and contact details thoroughly first.
https://1xbet-skachat-iphone.ru
mg2jp – I’d check WHOIS, SSL certificate, and archival history next.
신용카드현금화 – 급전이 필요할 때, 신용카드 한도를
안전하고 간편하게 현금으로 바꿔드립니다.
낮은 수수료, 신용등급 걱정 없이 즉시 입금, 모든
카드사 이용 가능
connectwiththeworldnow – I appreciate how simple yet bold the site looks and speaks.
www9tt01 – The domain gives minimal trust signals, be careful engaging.
dsjy0916 – Lack of external references suggests it’s not well established.
www9tt04 – I saw IP history info, domain seems to change hosts often.
www9tt9 – I couldn’t find much about this domain, seems very obscure.
Перейра ушунчалык токтоо жана ишенимдүү — аны утуш абдан кыйын. Мага Алекс Перейранын стилди жакты, айрыкча анын кикбоксинг тажрыйбасы сезилет. Анын рекорду жана жеңиштери тууралуу кенен маалымат: Перейра рекорд. Перейра менен Джон Джонстун беттеши көргүм келет.
Перейранын жашоосу — мотивация.
Перейра дайыма өзүн жакшыртып келет. Перейра ар бир жеңиши менен тарых жазат. Бул жигит чыныгы “monster”.
Перейра үчүн утулуш — бул сабак гана. Анын энергиясы баарына жугат.
www9tt05 – So far the domain gives weak trust signals, be cautious.
202496 – It gives minimal confidence at present, I would avoid doing business yet.
bncdw – The web presence is scattered (social, forums), no centralized clear site.
Закладки тут – купить гашиш, мефедрон, альфа-пвп
bmrlw – Easy to scroll through, site looks clean and lightweight overall.
www9tt9 – Better to treat it with suspicion until verified properly.
Essen Lieferung hat meine Erwartungen ubertroffen. Die Pizza war frisch, und die Lieferzeit war kurz.
Pizza bestellen online
Спинтакс капельницы от запоя — эффективный способ помочь людям, страдающим от зависимости от алкоголя. В Туле существует множество клиник, предлагающих услуги вывода из запоя в круглосуточном режиме. При выборе клиники важно обратить внимание на опыт специалистов, предлагаемые программы лечения зависимости и гарантии безопасности.Медикаментозная терапия при запое включает в себя персонализированный план к пациентам. Обращение к врачу поможет понять, требуется ли капельница и другие методы восстановления после запоя. Также важна поддержка родственников, которая незаменима в процессе выздоровления.вывод из запоя круглосуточно тула Клиника в Туле должна предлагать услуги нарколога и реабилитационные программы, чтобы обеспечить качественное восстановление. Лечение алкоголизма может быть оказана в любое время, что обеспечивает оперативное решение проблемы.
358799 – It gives little trust signals currently, use extreme caution.
I switched from another service because of the intuitive UI and low fees. My withdrawals were always smooth.
Сегодня мы отправимся на виртуальную экскурсию в уникальные уголки природы России.
По теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, нашел много полезного.
Ссылка ниже:
https://alloopt.ru
Вот такое у нас получилось погружение в мир природы.