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: |
metatrader 5 download mac metatrader-5-downloads.com .
Modern Ridge Trends – Shopping is smooth, and items are clearly displayed.
metatrader 5 mac download http://www.metatrader-5-mac.com .
mt5 http://www.metatrader-5-downloads.com .
metatrader 5 download mac http://metatrader-5-downloads.com .
mt5 download mt5 download .
mt5 download mt5 download .
metatrader 5 metatrader 5 .
First off I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to
ask if you do not mind. I was interested to know how you center
yourself and clear your head prior to writing. I have had a hard
time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts
out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how
to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Appreciate it!
metatrader5 metatrader5 .
melbet скачать айфон melbet5005.ru
metatrader 5 metatrader 5 .
Узнать больше казино водка
Timberwood Collective – Navigation is intuitive and shopping is enjoyable.
перейти на сайт vodkabet прямо сейчас
Le bonus inscription 1xBet peut atteindre 100 €/$ sur le premier depot. Meme sans code, le bonus de 100 % est credite automatiquement. Vous pouvez en savoir plus sur le meilleur code promo 1xBet ici : https://www.lamarinda.it/wp-content/pgs/tufli_oseny_2015.html
Перейти на сайт vodka bet
Всё здорово спасибо Вам купить кокаин, меф, бошки через телеграмм необычно спрятано было в посыле)
melbet close account melbet5015.ru
перенаправляется сюда vodkabet онлайн казино
рольшторы на окна купить в москве rulonnye-zhalyuzi-avtomaticheskie.ru .
melbet sportsbook http://www.melbet5005.ru
learnshareachieve – Found what I needed fast, navigation feels intuitive and simple overall.
перейти на сайт водкабет
INS-Страхование — это инновационный маркетплейс, объединяющий лучшие страховые компании и предлагающий широкий выбор страховых продуктов по самым выгодным ценам Страхование для Спортсменов
Bright Meadow Online – User-friendly setup and everything I ordered arrived with no issues.
Timberwood Shop – Fast navigation and items are clearly displayed.
нажмите здесь vodkabet прямо сейчас
проверенные проститутки нижневартовска
скачать мелбет кыргызстан скачать мелбет кыргызстан
производители рулонных штор https://www.rulonnye-zhalyuzi-avtomaticheskie.ru .
веб-сайте vodkabet водкабет казино
Продолжение водка бет регистрация
выберите ресурсы водка бет регистрация
Hi i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace, when i read this
article i thought i could also create comment due to
this sensible post.
рулонные шторы автоматические купить https://rulonnye-zhalyuzi-avtomaticheskie.ru .
автоматические рулонные шторы с электроприводом http://www.rulonnye-zhalyuzi-avtomaticheskie.ru .
рабочее зеркало мелбет melbet на сегодня рабочее зеркало мелбет melbet на сегодня
Промокод при регистрации позволит получить подарки – это и бонусное пополнение счета, и бесплатные ставки. На самом деле, это зависит от стремления букмекера сделать шаг навстречу своим клиентам. Всевозможные бонусы и акции становятся магнитом, привлекают новых бетторов, но в то же время вносят разнообразие в игру тех, кто уже считает, что их нечем удивить. Чтобы новый игрок получил на счет приветственный бонус, он должен ввести рабочий промокод мелбет на депозит в соответствующее поле в регистрационной анкете. Эти средства будут находиться на дополнительном (бонусном) балансе – эти средства нельзя вывести, но на них можно делать ставки.
ролет штора ролет штора .
https://intelicode.com/
melbet „verificare documente” https://melbet5015.ru
melbet „cum să” ghid melbet „cum să” ghid
купить рулонные шторы москва купить рулонные шторы москва .
Meadow Market Select – Clean website and the order came with perfect timing.
melbet сайт https://www.melbet5005.ru
serviciu clienți melbet serviciu clienți melbet
peacefulpath – The interface is intuitive, I could browse without confusion.
ссылка на сайт водка казино
zenmarket – The interface is clean, shopping around was a smooth experience.