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: |
melbet probleme de logare melbet probleme de logare
useful site https://hypperswap.cloud/
view publisher site https://kittenswap.buzz/
Excellent post! The examples you provided really helped clarify the concepts.
continue reading this https://etherealtrade.xyz/
trendpickscentral – Very easy to navigate, ordering was smooth and fast.
Great article.
melbet responsabil gambling melbet5013.ru
WildShoreOnlineHub – Smooth checkout, excellent quality, and items arrived fast.
click here to investigate https://arch.credit
cum folosesc bonusul melbet http://melbet5014.ru
useful content https://kittenswap.cc/
see post https://defi-money.cc
WildShoreStore – Great selection, items felt top-notch, and shopping was smooth.
read this https://kittenswap.buzz
sichere wettstrategien
Feel free to surf to my web page welcher wettanbieter ist der beste; Nolan,
WildShoreCreative – Great selection, website was easy to navigate, and delivery was very reliable.
melbet versiuni regionale http://www.melbet5014.ru
trendhub – Loved the trendy items today, browsing and checkout felt quick and easy.
trendcorner – Nice range of fashion items, shopping experience was quick and smooth.
купить диплом о высшем образовании официально купить диплом о высшем образовании официально .
original site https://kinetiq.lat
и меня тоже:) в любом случае трек получил, товар придёт отипшусь. Думаю всё ровно, чем ближе к вверху ветка тем старше, и выше реппутация у магазина я так понимаю! https://britecleaning.ru получил посылку не выходя с почты открыл ее а там лежат какие то шорты. ну думаю все кинул 7 к просто выкинул. пришел домой с пацанами сели чай пить положил вещи тут как раз мама старалась и спросила меня есть шмотки грязные ну тут я достал все вещи и шорты мама давай смотреть карманы и в итоге в шортах находит 10 г вот тут я обрадовался и разочаровался думал хана
go to this website https://dexrp.buzz/
Website https://dexrp.buzz
Greate post. Keep posting such kind of information on your page.
Im really impressed by it.
Hey there, You have done an excellent job. I’ll definitely digg it and for my part recommend to my friends.
I am sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.
over here https://etherealtrade.lat
go right here https://cakepad.digital
Estetik ipuclar? ve fonksiyonel mobilyalarla evinize yepyeni bir soluk getirmeye haz?r m?s?n?z?
Особенно понравился материал про Ev Dekorasyonu: Fonksiyon ve Estetik Ipuclar?.
Ссылка ниже:
https://cilginmobilya.com
Umar?z bu ipuclar?yla evinizde harikalar yaratabilirsiniz! Sevgiyle kal?n.
WildShoreSelect – Great quality, easy-to-use site, and fast ordering.
trendyfindshop – Fast and simple shopping experience, pages loaded quickly.
click here to investigate https://safeglobal.club
WildShoreBoutique – Stylish items, simple browsing, and very prompt delivery.
Continue Reading https://dexrp.buzz
anonymous https://boros.cfd/
WildShoreOnline – Unique products, easy website navigation, and very reliable delivery.
Estetik ipuclar? ve fonksiyonel mobilyalarla evinize yepyeni bir soluk getirmeye haz?r m?s?n?z?
Для тех, кто ищет информацию по теме “Sagl?kl? ve Lezzetli Hayat Ipuclar?”, есть отличная статья.
Смотрите сами:
https://mutfakkeyfi.com
Gelecek yaz?lar?m?zda bulusmak uzere, dekorasyona dair en iyi fikirlerle burada olacag?z.
melbet ruletă http://www.melbet5013.ru
important link https://d2finance.cc/
why not try this out https://d2finance.cc/
wettbüro rostock
Also visit my blog post; schweizer sportwetten
melbet cote compare http://melbet5013.ru/
I every time emailed this webpage post page to
all my contacts, as if like to read it after that my friends will too.
this contact form https://berapaw.org
Появление трупного запаха в жилом помещении — тревожный сигнал. Важно действовать быстро и безопасно.? Причины появления запаха:Запах может исходить из загораживаемых участков — стен, вентиляции, мебели, бытовой техники.? Первые действия (немедленно):1) Немедленно прекратите доступ в помещение и ограничьте перемещения по квартире.? Безопасность и СИЗ:Используйте одноразовые перчатки и респираторы класса FFP2/FFP3 или аналогичные.
? Самостоятельные методы (временные/предварительные):
Замена мягкой мебели, матрасов, ковров или их профессиональная чистка при сильной пропитке запахом.? Профессиональные методы удаления запаха:Озонирование помещений специализированной фирмой для нейтрализации летучих соединений.? Какие службы вызывать (без указания города):Сервисные организации по ремонту и демонтажу — при необходимости замены строительных конструкций или мебели.? Примерный сценарий обращения:Шаг 4: По завершении — оценить качество работ, проверить отсутствие запаха и провести профилактические мероприятия.? Частые методы и их плюсы/минусы:Озонирование — эффективно в удалении запаха, но требует вывода людей и животных на время обработки.? Что нельзя делать:Не пытайтесь скрыть запах косметическими масками (ароматизаторами) вместо удаления источника.
Если вы столкнулись с трупным запахом — свяжитесь с профессионалами, чтобы обеспечить безопасность и качественное удаление запаха.
Борьба с трупным запахом
lizenz höchster sportwetten bonus deutschland
fashionexpressstore – Great fashion items, arrived faster than expected.
melbet recrutare parteneri Moldova https://melbet5014.ru/
seo optimization agency reiting-seo-kompanii.ru .
рейтинг компаний seo оптимизации http://reiting-seo-kompanii.ru/ .