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: |
электрокарниз электрокарниз .
центр наркологической помощи центр наркологической помощи .
Каждый камлок (Camlock) состоит из двух частей, которые образуют замок кулачкового типа https://telegra.ph/CHto-takoe-kamlok-i-kak-on-rabotaet-12-04
Soft Blossom Online – The site’s light aesthetic and intuitive structure made exploring relaxing.
Это супер приз, победитель определяется случайным образом. Чем больше сумма Jackpot, тем больше шанс его выиграть Лото Клуб
экстренное вытрезвление http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
карниз для штор с электроприводом карниз для штор с электроприводом .
go to website https://navigator-exchange.org
have a peek here https://navigator-exchange.org
электрокарниз двухрядный http://www.elektrokarniz98.ru .
наркологическая клиника в москве наркологическая клиника в москве .
электрокарниз москва elektrokarnizy77.ru .
автоматические карнизы для штор автоматические карнизы для штор .
карнизы с электроприводом купить карнизы с электроприводом купить .
https://mednab39.ru/user/Juwuxomem/
Harbor Flower Finds – Attractive images and tidy layout made exploring products enjoyable.
my blog https://alchemix.center
наркологическая услуга москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru/ .
wooden finds – Fast-loading items and tidy interface improved exploring products.
трезвая жизнь http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru/ .
sunlit wood shop – Browsing was easy and items were clearly displayed.
view website https://theo.exchange/
нарколог психолог narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru .
useful source https://kittenswap.buzz
Здравствуйте!
Хотите больше контроля — купите виртуальный номер. Мы предлагаем надёжные решения, чтобы купить виртуальный номер. Вы получаете удобство, когда решаете купить виртуальный номер. Всё, что нужно — просто купить виртуальный номер онлайн.
Полная информация по ссылке – https://mirdizajna.ru/5-prichin-kupit-virtualnyj-nomer-udobstvo-bezopasnost-i-gibkost-kommunikaczij/
виртуальный номер навсегда, постоянный виртуальный номер для смс, купить виртуальный номер навсегда
купить номер телефона навсегда, купить виртуальный номер для смс навсегда, купить виртуальный номер
Всего наилучшего и комфорта в общении!!
sunlit wooden boutique – Fast-loading pages and organized layout made shopping simple.
частная наркологическая клиника частная наркологическая клиника .
wooden store – Well-arranged items and clear layout made exploring simple.
наркология наркология .
наркологические клиники https://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
клиника наркологическая клиника наркологическая .
наркологическая клиника trezviy vibor https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru .
official source https://berapaw.org
You explained this very clearly. https://n93stc3.top/iqbals-second-coming/
More hints https://kinetiq.lat
вывод из запоя клиника москва https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
центр наркологии москва http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
наркологическая служба https://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
адреса наркологических клиник narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
центр наркологии москва https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru/ .
I found this post very helpful. https://7yuej66u.icu/
Это супер приз, победитель определяется случайным образом. Чем больше сумма Jackpot, тем больше шанс его выиграть Lotoclub
экстренное вытрезвление в москве https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
наркологическое отделение наркологии narkologicheskaya-klinika-37.ru .
Appreciate the content you put out! https://p7t1y.icu/man-utd-believe-they-could-strike-deal-for-unstoppable-40m-bayern-target/
наркологические клиники наркологические клиники .
наркологические услуги москвы http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
кулеры
Appreciate the content you put out! https://2q6gczf.top/page/51/
прокарниз https://elektrokarniz-dlya-shtor499.ru/ .