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: |
наркологические клиники в москве частные narkologicheskaya-klinika-36.ru .
электрокранизы provorota.su .
this content https://terminal.credit/
частный наркологический центр https://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-36.ru .
view https://alchemix.center/
электрокарниз двухрядный elektrokarniz98.ru .
Meadow Collection – I could explore everything quickly because the site is well organized.
Растаможка москва без скрытых платежей
https://shrtlnk.ink/carrispargo76
карниз для штор электрический elektrokarniz2.ru .
карнизы для штор купить в москве карнизы для штор купить в москве .
гардина с электроприводом https://elektrokarniz495.ru .
Urban Wild Fabrics – Clean layout and well-arranged products made finding items quick and easy.
электрокарнизы для штор цена электрокарнизы для штор цена .
прокарниз http://www.elektrokarniz-dlya-shtor15.ru .
Web Site https://avalonfinance.cc
электрокарнизы для штор купить электрокарнизы для штор купить .
look at more info https://arch.credit/
aviator игра скачать http://1win12043.ru
Wild Finds – Neatly structured listings and intuitive design helped me shop efficiently.
TrendyLifeUpdates – Loved the fresh posts, engaging content and smooth navigation.
read this article https://avalonfinance.cc
important source https://kinetiq.lat/
автоматические карнизы provorota.su .
Urban Fabric Finds – Logical layout and tidy product listings enhanced usability.
карниз с приводом для штор http://www.elektrokarniz98.ru .
электрокарнизы электрокарнизы .
helpful hints https://avalonfinance.cv/
check that https://liquity.cfd/
I know this web page offers quality based content and extra information, is
there any other website which presents such data in quality?
you could try here https://navigator-exchange.org/
check that https://etherealtrade.xyz
электронный карниз для штор http://elektrokarniz2.ru/ .
карниз моторизованный http://elektrokarniz495.ru .
карниз электроприводом штор купить http://elektrokarniz495.ru/ .
you can try this out https://boros.cfd
emporium selection – Pages were responsive and products were easy to locate.
Meadow Gallery – Clear layout and smooth browsing made exploring the shop simple.
1win зеркало скачать на андроид http://1win12043.ru
you can check here https://unich.icu
Bookmarking this for later. https://3nz9f.icu/
электрокарнизы для штор цена электрокарнизы для штор цена .
river store – Navigation felt natural and products were easy to find.
shop wild river – Items are well organized and browsing felt effortless.
digitalperformancelab.shop – Content reads clearly, helpful examples made concepts easy to grasp.
ViagraNewark: Viagra Newark – Viagra Newark
Lush Meadow Art – Very easy to navigate, and the items were beautifully displayed.
электрические карнизы для штор в москве http://www.elektrokarniz-dlya-shtor499.ru/ .
как вывести бонусы с 1win на карту http://www.1win12043.ru
электрокарниз купить в москве электрокарниз купить в москве .
Urban Fabrics – Smooth navigation with clearly organized items improved my shopping experience.