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: |
her response https://ethereal.credit
take a look at the site here https://boros.cfd/
More about the author https://hypperswap.cloud
go https://unich.icu
canadian pharmacieswith no prescription https://edpillsafib.xyz/# EdPillsAfib
read this post here https://gluex.io
Nội dung trong bài rất sát thực tế. Anh em chọn Hi88 nhiều vì bắn cá rơi thưởng nhanh, slot dễ săn mini–major và ưu đãi theo game thay đổi liên tục.
Timeless Harvest Collections – Everything looked neat and structured, creating a stress-free browsing experience.
Sun Crest Online – Organized pages and intuitive navigation made shopping hassle-free.
Full Report https://boros.cfd
like it https://arch.credit/
useful reference https://liquity.cfd
hop over to this website https://usdai.cloud
Harbor Market – Smooth layout and tidy listings made finding items hassle-free.
the original source https://safeglobal.club/
Timber Harbor Shop – Easy navigation with organized products made browsing hassle-free.
YOURURL.com https://rangerfinance.xyz
Click Here https://dexrp.wtf/
find this https://kittenswap.cc
центр наркологии москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-35.ru .
If you desire to obtain a good deal from this paragraph then you have to apply these strategies to your won web site.
read the article https://kittenswap.cc
вывод из запоя клиника москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-35.ru/ .
best site https://dexrp.buzz
redirected here https://daodao.cfd/
You’ve made a complicated topic so much easier to understand, great job!
Timber Harbor Finds – Clear layout and neatly arranged items made shopping smooth and pleasant.
номер наркологии http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-35.ru/ .
брат, у меня ощущение что я с тобой работал, но название магаза было немного другим, тоже в доверенной ветке был))) почерк тот же, и порядочность. я прав или ошибаюсь?)) купить скорость, кокаин, мефедрон, гашиш отличный сервис, качество порадовало:)Все заказ пришел, не было времени отписаться, брали пробы, в аське вежливый,конкретный, все в сроки,просил отправить в день перевода денег, отправили, шла ровно 4 дня, как написанно на сайте, веса точные, не обманывают, все порадовало, консперация на высшем уровне, правда расчитывал на лучшее качество, мало держит, консентрация 1 к 6-8 самая лутая.. Огромное спасибо магазину, мир и процветание, выбераю чемикал микс) Всем мир друзья..
More about the author https://cakepad.digital/
buy ed pills online erectile dysfunction medications online EdPillsAfib
наркологические клиники москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-35.ru/ .
hop over to this web-site https://cakepad.digital/
link https://d2finance.cc
more https://yieldfi.pro/
I was very pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for your time for this wonderful read!!
I definitely really liked every little bit of it and I have you
saved as a favorite to see new information on your website.
click this link now https://d2finance.cv
more tips here https://hlp0.online/
see it here https://boros.cfd
visit this website https://hypperswap.space
купить диплом легкий https://r-diploma26.ru/ .
these details https://kinetiq.lat
Timber Lane – Well-structured pages and logical product placement enhanced the browsing experience.
you could try this out https://usdai.cloud
forestmoonstore – Navigation is simple, shopping is relaxing and straightforward.
click https://navigator-exchange.org
Learn More Here https://camelot.click/
I’ll definitely try this out. https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-transfer-news-on-folarin-balogun/
рейтинг онлайн казино
Одежда из Китая — таможенное оформление одежды москва без вопросов
https://lawrencewilbert.com/read-blog/21664_tamozhennoe-oformlenie-40f.html