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: |
рулонные шторы виды механизмов rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom177.ru .
управление шторами с телефона управление шторами с телефона .
проверить сайт Mega даркнет
автоматическое открывание штор http://www.prokarniz23.ru .
Hello, I check your blog on a regular basis. Your writing style is witty, keep it up!
опубликовано здесь Мега сайт
Смотреть здесь Мега ссылка
Rustic River Harbor – Clean layout and intuitive navigation made browsing effortless and enjoyable.
умные шторы умные шторы .
Hello there, I believe your site might be having web browser
compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari, it
looks fine however, when opening in I.E., it has some
overlapping issues. I just wanted to provide you with
a quick heads up! Besides that, excellent site!
Brilliant article! https://stake-de88.com/comunio-check-union-neuzugang-rick-van-drongelen-startet-zweiten-anlauf-2/
Loved the points you made here. https://h3jgj7n.top/ferment-furore-and-indias-future-on-the-mend/
Harvest Hub Finds – Logical layout and clear product presentation improved the shopping flow.
электропривод рулонных штор http://rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom177.ru/ .
ролевые шторы ролевые шторы .
Very well written, thanks! https://udtds.icu/author/h79snht-top/
для рулонных штор http://www.rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom177.ru .
можно проверить ЗДЕСЬ Мега даркнет
Услуги таможенного брокера москва — экономия времени и денег
https://play.ayooka.com/@orvilleboddie1?page=about
oakmodernhub – Smooth browsing experience, site feels tidy and intuitive.
ссылка на сайт Mega onion
brightoakmarket – Shopping feels smooth, layout is neat and intuitive.
Urban Market Hub – Smooth navigation and well-laid-out listings made browsing enjoyable.
можно проверить ЗДЕСЬ Mega сайт
кожаные жалюзи с электроприводом prokarniz23.ru .
выберите ресурсы Mega сайт
рулонные шторы с автоматическим управлением http://rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom177.ru .
найти это Mega онион
В этом тексте собрано множество случайных сведений и довольно неопределённых мыслей, которые могут чем-то заинтересовать. Мы отмечаем моменты, которые не особенно важны, но всё же занимают своё место в повествовании.
Вот – falsifikaciya
Urban Studio Hub – Clean pages with organized listings made exploring products enjoyable.
умные шторы с алисой http://prokarniz27.ru .
перенаправляется сюда Мега сайт
https://edpillsafib.com/# Ed Pills Afib
умные шторы с алисой http://www.prokarniz27.ru .
умные шторы умные шторы .
умный дом шторы умный дом шторы .
умные шторы с алисой prokarniz27.ru .
умные шторы купить https://prokarniz23.ru/ .
oaktrendhub – Well-structured site, finding products is quick and intuitive.
выберите ресурсы Mega ссылка
здесь Mega онион
This was inspiring and genuinely enjoyable.
You’ve turned a complicated topic into something enjoyable.
I really appreciate your thoughtful approach to writing.
You’ve clearly done your research, and it shows.
You’ve done an amazing job explaining this.
Your energy is magnetic — this was amazing!
EverHollow Highlights – The browsing experience felt smooth, with neatly organized categories.
Rustic River Collection – Items load quickly and layout is clean — very convenient shopping.
ссылка на сайт Mega онион