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: |
trendspotstore – Items arrived quickly, and the checkout process was seamless.
stylehunterhub – Found everything I needed, checkout was a breeze.
Платформа https://financial-project.ru/ предлагает готовые бизнес-планы для запуска проектов в сферах сервиса, торговли, общепита, медицины и крупного бизнеса — от маникюрных салонов и барбершопов до строительных компаний и тепличных хозяйств. Любой план включает экономические прогнозы, конкурентное исследование и бизнес-процессы, настроенные под отечественные реалии, с уценкой вплоть до половины первоначальной цены. Сервис сокращает сроки разработки материалов для кредиторов и партнёров, давая экспертный фундамент для открытия дела.
https://pixeldrain.com/u/YQNWN3LU
nagad88
рулонные шторы с пультом рулонные шторы с пультом .
dealhubcentral – Wide variety of daily deals, ordering was hassle-free.
chictrendhub – Found amazing items easily, checkout was fast and simple.
Calm Harbor Treasures – Easy to navigate with a soothing, clean layout.
Nice read, keep it up! https://3nz9f.icu/
https://x.com/1xtremebonus
https://wefunder.com/best1xbet26
melbet for ios melbet for ios
I completely agree. You’ve captured my thoughts perfectly. https://3nz9f.icu/
двойные рулонные шторы с электроприводом avtomaticheskie-rulonnye-shtory11.ru .
рулонные шторы автоматические рулонные шторы автоматические .
NatureRail Picks – Easy to navigate, and the natural feel adds a nice touch.
This is the kind of content that makes people fall in love with learning!
найти это кракен онион
АНО «Аргумент» https://anoargument.ru/ — бюро судебной экспертизы и оценки, которое проводит более 15 видов экспертиз для юристов и руководителей предприятий. Компания выполняет автотехнические, бухгалтерские, строительно-технические, финансово-экономические, налоговые и прочие экспертизы как для суда, так и вне судебного процесса. Специалисты обладают учёными званиями, действуют во всех регионах страны и эффективно отстаивают свои выводы в судебных инстанциях.
купить рулонные шторы москва купить рулонные шторы москва .
установить рулонные шторы цена http://www.avtomaticheskie-rulonnye-shtory11.ru/ .
рулонные шторы на окна купить рулонные шторы на окна купить .
рулонные шторы на окна купить рулонные шторы на окна купить .
topdealcorner – Fast page loads and smooth ordering, very satisfying experience.
купить рулонные шторы москва купить рулонные шторы москва .
рулонные шторы с электроприводом купить в москве http://www.avtomaticheskie-rulonnye-shtory11.ru .
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Your approach matches my needs perfectly. https://3nz9f.icu/leeds-handed-potential-viktor-gyokeres-transfer-blow/
glamhub – Loved the fashion options here, checkout felt fast and simple.
styleemporium – Great items and hassle-free checkout, very satisfied.
happycornerdeals – Great deals available, navigation and ordering felt easy.
happydealshub – Excellent variety of items, shopping process felt effortless.
https://www.twitch.tv/xbetfreecode1
посетить сайт рабочие кракен зеркала
trafficmagnet.click – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
fashioncorner – Great fashion picks available, browsing the pages felt effortless.
Great insights, thanks for sharing! https://3nz9f.icu/man-utd-had-a-nightmare-with-18-y-o-prodigy/
каталог кракен тор
https://bookcrossing.ru/forum/topic/178188
Blik has become a symbol of modern payments – a fast, instant, and secure method https://telegra.ph/Kasyno-Blik–Nowy-Standard-Bezpiecznych-i-Wyp%C5%82acalnych-P%C5%82atno%C5%9Bci-w-Polskich-Kasynach-Online-11-27
Harbor Studio Essentials – Smooth browsing experience with a calming aesthetic.
cum retrag bonusul de la melbet https://melbet5015.ru/
WindBright Emporium – Great variety of items and the website loaded instantly for me.
NatureRail Essentials Hub – Items are simple to explore with a calm, natural presentation.
melbet https://melbet5015.ru
мелбет казино официальный сайт скачать melbet5005.ru
nagad 88
BrightWind Essentials – Impressed with the quality and how fast the pages loaded.
This is gold, thank you! https://3nz9f.icu/category/uncategorized/
You’ve done an amazing job explaining this.