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: |
нажмите, чтобы подробнее Mega onion
умные шторы умные шторы .
умный дом шторы умный дом шторы .
Hi, I read your blog on a regular basis. Your humoristic style is witty, keep up the good work!
https://www.2imu.com/vhod-v-lichnyy-kabinet-melbet-2025/
умные шторы с алисой http://www.prokarniz27.ru/ .
forest finds – Clean interface and quick response times made browsing enjoyable.
Продолжение [url=https://www.neurokc.com]Mega onion[/url]
Hi there, I log on to your blog on a regular basis. Your story-telling style is witty, keep it up!
умные шторы с алисой http://prokarniz27.ru .
перенаправляется сюда Mega ссылка
What’s up, I read your blogs daily. Your humoristic style is witty, keep up the good work!
электронные шторы prokarniz23.ru .
умные шторы с алисой http://www.prokarniz27.ru .
умные шторы с алисой http://prokarniz27.ru .
Loved the points you made here. https://wn1jgvi.top/dawson-vows-to-take-back-control/
умные шторы с алисой http://www.prokarniz27.ru .
https://packmandisposables.co.uk/melbet-2025-promokody-bonusy-obzor/
Loved the points you made here. https://lay70ysx.com/newcastle-saintmaximins-bleak-future/
подробнее здесь Мега даркнет
product zone – Everything appeared almost instantly and the overall layout kept things easy to follow.
https://www.medvidha.com/skachat-melbet-zerkalo-2025/
eco mart – Easy to move between pages and discovering items was simple.
умные шторы с алисой http://www.prokarniz27.ru .
fresh picks – Quick load time and a minimal layout made checking products enjoyable.
Brilliant article! https://7yyyl7pm.icu/six-reasons-why-inter-can-do-the-impossible-and-beat-man-city-in-the-champions-league-final/
сюда Мега ссылка
I am not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this info for my mission.
green marketplace – I could explore products easily thanks to the intuitive design.
grove selection – Fast pages and organized interface made finding products simple.
Great read with such practical insightsyour tips are actionable and exactly what I needed. Ill definitely be applying these to my own projects soon.
Смотреть здесь Мега даркнет
умные шторы с алисой https://prokarniz27.ru .
умные шторы с алисой http://prokarniz27.ru .
умные шторы с алисой prokarniz27.ru .
жалюзи на пульте жалюзи на пульте .
кожаные жалюзи с электроприводом http://www.prokarniz23.ru/ .
future hub link – Clean layout and intuitive design made browsing comfortable.
жалюзи на пульте жалюзи на пульте .
купить электрические рулонные шторы http://www.rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom499.ru/ .
You have an incredible ability to inspire and excite!
рулонная штора автоматическая rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom.ru .
умные шторы с алисой https://www.prokarniz27.ru .
ролевые шторы ролевые шторы .
지속적으로 저는 더 작은 리뷰를 읽곤
했는데, 그 또한 그들의 동기를 명확히 하고, 지금 제가 읽고 있는 이 글에서도 마찬가지입니다.
Hi there, just wanted to mention, I loved this article.
It was funny. Keep on posting!
Wow, what an outstanding site! Your posts on 비아그라 여성효과 are spot-on. I love how you break down complex topics into easy-to-understand points.
I’ll be sharing this with my friends. Many thanks for the great content!
이 블로그는 정말 놀라운 곳이에요! healthcare jobs 관련 콘텐츠가
너무 유익해요. SEO를 강화하기 위해 키워드 최적화 팁이 있다면 공유해 주세요.
멋진 포스트 감사합니다! 고맙습니다!
ко ланта на карте Ко Ланта пляжи — главный акцент для отдыхающих: здесь встречаются просторные длинные песчаные линии и укромные бухточки с прозрачной водой. Long Beach (Pra Ae) тянется вдоль длинной береговой линии и идеально подходит для прогулок и ужинов у моря, Klong Dao Beach радует спокойной лагуной и пологим входом, что нравится семьям с малышами, а Kantiang Bay окружён зеленью и скалами, создавая романтичную обстановку для вечеров. В окрестностях встречаются quieter участки, например Ba Kantiang Beach и пляжи у маяка, где можно насладиться моментами тишины и дайвинга в небольших точках. Важно помнить: часть пляжей лучше рано утром или за полдень — тогда вода наиболее чистая и безмятежная, а к вечеру уровень волн может возрастать, превращая побережье в красочное полотно закатов.
здесь Мега сайт
рулонные шторы с электроприводом на пластиковые окна http://rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom.ru/ .
автоматические рулонные шторы на окна https://rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom499.ru .
рулонные шторы с электроприводом купить в москве http://rulonnye-shtory-s-elektroprivodom.ru/ .