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: |
Silver Moon Treasures Online – The layout is clean and helped me find everything quickly.
электрокарнизы купить в москве http://elektrokarniz1.ru/ .
автоматический карниз для штор https://elektrokarniz1.ru .
карнизы для штор с электроприводом https://elektrokarniz1.ru .
карнизы для штор с электроприводом карнизы для штор с электроприводом .
shopselection – Fast navigation, clear product display, and shopping was effortless.
smileselection – Pages load quickly, items are organized, and browsing is natural.
электрокарнизы в москве elektrokarniz1.ru .
You always bring a unique and valuable perspective.
электрические карнизы для штор в москве http://www.elektrokarnizmoskva.ru .
оценка мебели после залива оценка мебели после залива .
I always feel like I’m gaining new insights from your posts, it’s amazing!
электронный карниз для штор электронный карниз для штор .
1цшт официальный сайт войти https://www.1win12042.ru
wild collection hub – Fast pages and tidy layout made browsing pleasant and quick.
филлер цена http://www.filler-kupit.ru .
Silver Moon Hub Online – Well-laid-out pages and logical menus helped me navigate quickly.
Растаможка москва — без проблем и лишних звонков
https://www.seasideapartments.co.za/author/bettinaroof76/
электрокарнизы цена http://www.prokarniz36.ru/ .
автоматические карнизы https://prokarniz36.ru/ .
электрокранизы https://elektrokarniz1.ru/ .
электрокарнизы для штор купить в москве http://www.prokarniz36.ru/ .
электронный карниз для штор elektrokarniz1.ru .
оценка ущерба после залива оценка ущерба после залива .
brightcoastgallery – Smooth scrolling and clear organization make this shop easy to use on mobile as well.
1вин официальный сайт регистрация https://www.1win12041.ru
магазин филлеров москва http://www.filler-kupit.ru/ .
оценка ущерба от залива квартиры оценка ущерба от залива квартиры .
autumnbreezehub – Pleasant flow throughout the site, everything is orderly.
lucky jet на деньги http://www.1win12041.ru
https://viagranewark.com/# Viagra Newark
оценка ущерба от залива квартиры оценка ущерба от залива квартиры .
cozycorneremporium – Everything is neatly organized, site feels pleasant to browse.
mapleleafmarket – Layout is tidy and comfortable, shopping flows nicely.
aviator игра aviator игра
1win вход с компьютера 1win вход с компьютера
залив с крыши оценка ущерба залив с крыши оценка ущерба .
timber hub – Items loaded quickly and categories were easy to navigate.
Silver Moon Corner Shop – Organized categories and intuitive menus made exploring items fast.
автоматические гардины для штор https://www.prokarniz36.ru .
brightcoastgallery – Items display nicely, images load fast — really good browsing experience so far.
заказал rcs-4, чет не радует отзывы, как придет со дня на день посмотрим, что выйдет отпишусь, буду делать 1к 10-ти… купить онлайн мефедрон, экстази, бошки Хочу сказать большое спасибо за бонус за помошь сайту, зе бестРебят всё приготовил ребятам дал попробовать пробники всё ровно на высшем уровне)
1він http://www.1win12041.ru
оценка залива квартиры оценка залива квартиры .
оценка мебели после залива оценка мебели после залива .
оценка ущерба после залива оценка ущерба после залива .
brightcoastgallery – Items display nicely, images load fast — really good browsing experience so far.
список seo агентств http://www.reiting-seo-kompanii.ru .
бонусы спорт 1win http://1win12041.ru
seo агентства seo агентства .