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: |
Dekorasyona yeni bir gozle bakmaya ne dersiniz? Hem estetik hem de islevsellik on planda!
Между прочим, если вас интересует Renkli ve Lezzetli Tariflerle Hayat?n?z? Renklendirin, загляните сюда.
Ссылка ниже:
https://evtarifim.com
Bu yaz?m?z isinize yarad?ysa, goruslerinizi bizimle paylas?n.
article source https://cakepad.digital/
seo рейтинг seo рейтинг .
check bilet melbet https://melbet5013.ru
bestmodernfashion – Wide selection of trendy clothing, navigation felt seamless and natural.
купить диплом спортивного вуза купить диплом спортивного вуза .
i was reading this https://etherealtrade.rest/
Thanks for the good writeup. It in truth was a leisure account it. Look advanced to more delivered agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?
Find Female Escorts Rio
Современная наркология — это не набор «сильных капельниц», а точные инструменты, управляющие скоростью и направлением изменений. В «НеваМеде» технологический контур работает тихо и незаметно для пациента, но даёт врачу контроль над деталями, от которых зависит безопасность.
Получить дополнительную информацию – наркологическая клиника нарколог
modahub – Found stylish products easily, checkout felt fast and simple.
http://sudoers.su/index.php?title=%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B4%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%201%D1%85%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%82%20%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%20%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8
кухни на заказ производство спб kuhni-spb-11.ru .
кухни на заказ санкт петербург от производителя http://www.kuhni-spb-11.ru .
ко ланта ко лант
stylehub – Nice collection today, browsing the site felt fast and easy.
strategie für sportwetten
My web blog Wett Online
this website https://prjx.space
look at this web-site https://plasma.credit/
заказ кухни спб https://www.kuhni-spb-12.ru .
заказ кухни спб http://kuhni-spb-12.ru .
melbet live casino melbet live casino
navigate here https://usdai.cloud
melbet close account melbet close account
melbet sporturi populare https://melbet5014.ru/
this content https://g8keep.org
Этот материал посвящен обзору возможностей платформы Vavada. Мы рассматриваем актуальные преимущества и способы безопасного входа. Рабочие зеркала позволяют сохранять доступ даже при ограничениях. Пользователи отмечают высокую стабильность и широкий выбор игр. Подробности и актуальная ссылка доступны здесь: казино вавада. Следите за обновлениями и играйте ответственно.
melbet cashout melbet5013.ru
https://kktix.com/user/8198127
Check Out Your URL https://kinetiq.lat
http://forum.l2star.net/member.php?u=23864
have a peek here https://prjx.online/
I appreciate how you present both sides of the argument so fairly and objectively.
click site https://plasma.credit/
It’s going to be finish of mine day, however before end I am reading this enormous article to improve my knowledge.
Estetik ipuclar? ve fonksiyonel mobilyalarla evinize yepyeni bir soluk getirmeye haz?r m?s?n?z?
Между прочим, если вас интересует Eviniz Icin Estetik ve Fonksiyonel Mobilya Secimi, посмотрите сюда.
Вот, можете почитать:
https://evimtarzi.com
Umar?z bu ipuclar?yla evinizde harikalar yaratabilirsiniz! Sevgiyle kal?n.
melbet plângeri http://www.melbet5014.ru
melbet lucky jet http://www.melbet5014.ru
This Site https://theo.sbs
look at here now https://d2finance.cv/
Estetik ipuclar? ve fonksiyonel mobilyalarla evinize yepyeni bir soluk getirmeye haz?r m?s?n?z?
Зацепил раздел про Ev Dekorasyonu: Fonksiyon ve Estetik Ipuclar?.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://cilginmobilya.com
Daha fazla dekorasyon onerisi icin bizi takip etmeyi unutmay?n!
go to the website https://prjx.space
look at this now https://hypperswap.space
promokod melbet https://melbet5014.ru/
melbet termeni bonus https://melbet5014.ru
more info here https://daodao.cfd
read this article https://etherealtrade.rest/
click reference https://navigator-exchange.org/
Hi! This post could not be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept
talking about this. I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have
a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
https://menwiki.men/wiki/User_talk:Betfreecode555
The depth and breadth of your knowledge on this topic is truly impressive. Well done!