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: |
dota 2 skin changer бесплатно – коды на амбреллу дота 2, кфг для umbrella dota 2
Нужна работа в США? truck dispatcher course usa : работа с заявками и рейсами, переговоры на английском, тайм-менеджмент и сервис. Подходит новичкам и тем, кто хочет выйти на рынок труда США и зарабатывать в долларах.
усиление проему http://www.usilenie-proemov1.ru .
Contemporary Fashion Outlet – Easy to navigate and the collection felt fresh and stylish.
усиление проема оконного усиление проема оконного .
Следующая страница https://weekpay.ru/
FreshTrend Online – Enjoyed the modern feel here, easy to check out items without hassle.
I visit day-to-day some web sites and websites to read articles or reviews, however this web site presents
feature based articles.
усиление проема в квартире усиление проема в квартире .
плинко плинко вход, плинко играть, плинко играть онлайн, плинко вход на сайт, плинко официальный сайт, плинко онлайн игра, плинко запуск игры, плинко вход сегодня, плинко регистрация, плинко без блокировки, плинко мобильная версия, плинко вход мобильный, плинко личный кабинет, плинко новый вход, плинко вход онлайн, плинко сайт вход, плинко доступ к игре, плинко игра онлайн
подробнее здесь https://weekpay.ru
Таможенное оформление в домодедово москва — быстро и дёшево
https://git.bpcspace.com/brianne72z658
Creativity Hub – Lots of inspiring ideas, and navigating the site felt effortless.
Trend Buy Picks – Plenty of options to choose from, and moving through pages was smooth.
коды оверплюс – порно дота 2, dota 2 battle
Explore PureHarborStudio – The site felt intuitive and navigating products was easy.
аренда экскаватора москва и московская http://www.arenda-ekskavatora-pogruzchika-5.ru .
купить диплом москва какие купить диплом москва какие .
обмазочная гидроизоляция цена работы обмазочная гидроизоляция цена работы .
гидроизоляция цена за рулон гидроизоляция цена за рулон .
гидроизоляция цена за работу гидроизоляция цена за работу .
перейти на сайт https://weekpay.ru
гидроизоляция цена гидроизоляция цена .
ForestChoice Online – The browsing experience was great thanks to quick loading and tidy layouts.
Fresh Trend Picks – Found some cool modern items, the site feels easy to move around.
усиление проема в панельном доме усиление проема в панельном доме .
усиление проема металлом усиление проема металлом .
FindDailyDeals – Clean visuals, navigation was straightforward.
Fresh Trend Shop – Loved browsing the styles here, everything felt super smooth and updated.
усиление проема в панельном доме усиление проема в панельном доме .
FTC Modern Styles – Very fresh-looking items, with a clean and easy-to-follow layout.
Нужна работа в США? онлайн обучение диспетчера грузоперевозок для снг с практикой : работа с заявками и рейсами, переговоры на английском, тайм-менеджмент и сервис. Подходит новичкам и тем, кто хочет выйти на рынок труда США и зарабатывать в долларах.
FT Collection – Nice variety of trendy picks, the whole vibe is clean and fresh.
Innovative Picks Hub – Browsing was simple, and content feels fresh and inspiring.
Нужна работа в США? школа трак диспетчинга в сша отзывы : работа с заявками и рейсами, переговоры на английском, тайм-менеджмент и сервис. Подходит новичкам и тем, кто хочет выйти на рынок труда США и зарабатывать в долларах.
DailyFindsShop – Neat layout, easy to move between categories.
BestDailyFinds – Simple interface, finding products was fast.
TAB Online Store – Loved the mix of items, browsing experience was very straightforward.
DailyFindsZone – Pleasant visuals, navigation was effortless.
гидроизоляция цена за работу гидроизоляция цена за работу .
dota 2 ru – тесте дота 2, скины майнкрафт дота 2
Inspired Creativity Hub – Easy to explore and content was engaging and motivating.
гидроизоляция подвала цена гидроизоляция подвала цена .
как использовать чит в доте – как использовать чит в доте, дота 2 про трекер
гидроизоляция подвала цена за м2 гидроизоляция подвала цена за м2 .
Нужна работа в США? курсы трак диспетчера отзывы : работа с заявками и рейсами, переговоры на английском, тайм-менеджмент и сервис. Подходит новичкам и тем, кто хочет выйти на рынок труда США и зарабатывать в долларах.
Нужна работа в США? курс трак диспетчера онлайн в америке онлайн с сертификатом : работа с заявками и рейсами, переговоры на английском, тайм-менеджмент и сервис. Подходит новичкам и тем, кто хочет выйти на рынок труда США и зарабатывать в долларах.
усиление проема москва усиление проема москва .
инъекционная гидроизоляция многоквартирный дом http://www.inekczionnaya-gidroizolyacziya.ru .
Fashion Corner Online – Clean layout and stylish pieces made browsing a pleasant experience.