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: |
адреса наркологических клиник https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru/ .
look at here now https://hyperliquid-wiki.cc/
частная наркологическая клиника в москве анонимное http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru/ .
Lush Grove Essentials – Well-structured pages and clear product photos made choosing items easy.
see this here https://hyperliquid-wiki.cv/
learn the facts here now https://defi-money.cc/
River Hub – Clean interface with neatly grouped products enhanced the shopping experience.
карнизы с электроприводом карнизы с электроприводом .
Website https://defi-money.cc
психолог нарколог в москве психолог нарколог в москве .
наркологический частный центр narkologicheskaya-klinika-40.ru .
наркологические клиники в москве частные http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-40.ru .
Lush Grove Picks – Simple navigation and clear visuals helped me find items without hassle.
электрокарнизы купить в москве электрокарнизы купить в москве .
центр наркологической помощи http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
internet https://arch.credit
частный вытрезвитель narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
карниз для штор с электроприводом карниз для штор с электроприводом .
browse around this website https://unich.icu/
MoonView Collections – Clean design with a contemporary feel, and products were easy to find.
click reference https://avalonfinance.cc
Look At This https://prjx.space/
наркологический анонимный центр https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
https://towing.com.pl
наркологическая клиника https://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
лечение зависимостей narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
прокарниз http://www.elektrokarniz495.ru .
анонимная наркологическая помощь анонимная наркологическая помощь .
электронный карниз для штор электронный карниз для штор .
Northern River Outlet – Well-organized products and easy navigation made shopping quick and enjoyable.
карнизы с электроприводом карнизы с электроприводом .
Outstanding quest there. What occurred after? Good
luck!
платный наркологический диспансер москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-39.ru/ .
адреса наркологических клиник narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
частная наркологическая клиника в москве анонимное https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-38.ru/ .
наркологические услуги в москве https://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-38.ru .
Northern River Lane – Simple navigation and clearly grouped products improved the shopping flow.
Northern River Finds – Simple layout and intuitive navigation made browsing effortless.
BrightGroveHub Official – I appreciated how quickly I could navigate between sections.
blog link https://looksrare.cfd
наркологический частный центр http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-38.ru .
article source https://beraborrow.cc
my sources https://snake.credit/
платный наркологический диспансер москва http://www.narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru/ .
клиника наркология https://narkologicheskaya-klinika-34.ru .
Таможенное оформление в внуково москва — быстро и чётко
https://gitlab.rails365.net/tyreestrock104
visite site https://prjx.online/
MoonView Online – A visually refreshing design, with items clearly displayed for quick navigation.
автоматические карнизы автоматические карнизы .
наркология лечение http://narkologicheskaya-klinika-38.ru/ .