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: |
гидроизоляция подвала изнутри цена м2 гидроизоляция подвала изнутри цена м2 .
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
casino royale app – https://casino-royale-australia.com/casino-royale-app/
гидроизоляция подвала изнутри цена гидроизоляция подвала изнутри цена .
Since the admin of this website is working, no doubt very rapidly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.
DiscoverEndlessGrowth – Motivating theme throughout, navigation is easy and layout looks clean indeed.
сырость в подвале https://gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena1.ru .
экскаватор погрузчик аренда москва экскаватор погрузчик аренда москва .
Since the admin of this site is working, no doubt very quickly it will be well-known, due to its feature contents.
инъекционная гидроизоляция инъекционная гидроизоляция .
аренда экскаватора погрузчика цена аренда экскаватора погрузчика цена .
CozyLivingVault – Browsing was pleasant, and items are showcased nicely.
аренда экскаватора-погрузчика https://www.arenda-ekskavatora-pogruzchika-5.ru .
Подробнее здесь кракен onion сайт
стоимость услуг экскаватора погрузчика стоимость услуг экскаватора погрузчика .
Таможенный склад москва помог сэкономить на хранении
https://safepool.online/dannydtr5
Soft Grove Selection – Organized pages and well-laid-out categories helped me browse quickly.
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
стоимость услуг экскаватора погрузчика стоимость услуг экскаватора погрузчика .
SoftGrove Corner – The tidy layout and organized sections made browsing smooth and easy.
сырость в подвале многоквартирного дома http://gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena.ru/ .
Shop SoftGroveCorner – The interface was organized, allowing quick access to all items.
Silver Garden Browse – Fast response and clear layout gave a reliable and pleasant browsing experience.
подвал дома ремонт gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena1.ru .
vag сервис спб vag сервис спб .
Growth Resource Center – Smooth browsing and the site structure is very clear.
ремонт подвала ремонт подвала .
YourPowerSource – Bright visuals, motivating messages, and effortless site experience.
автосервис vag спб автосервис vag спб .
vag сервис спб vag сервис спб .
Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will be grateful if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
ремонт подвала ремонт подвала .
здесь kraken onion ссылка
ремонт ваг спб ремонт ваг спб .
As the admin of this site is working, no uncertainty very soon it will be famous, due to its feature contents.
отделка подвала http://www.gidroizolyacziya-podvala-iznutri-czena.ru .
Читать далее kraken ссылка тор
Нужно остекление? остекление балкона цена: тёплое и холодное, ПВХ и алюминий, вынос и объединение с комнатой. Бесплатный замер, помощь с проектом и документами, аккуратный монтаж и гарантия на конструкции и работу.
For the reason that the admin of this website is working, no question very quickly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.
Since the admin of this website is working, no uncertainty very rapidly it will be famous, due to its quality contents.
вертикальная гидроизоляция стен подвала вертикальная гидроизоляция стен подвала .
автосервис vag спб автосервис vag спб .
Online platform hyperliquid vs ethereum dex for active digital asset trading: spot trading, flexible order settings, and portfolio monitoring. Market analysis tools and convenient access to major cryptocurrencies are all in one place.
инъекционная гидроизоляция подвала инъекционная гидроизоляция подвала .
ремонт ваг спб ремонт ваг спб .
EmpowerYourself – Motivational pages, simple navigation, and encouraging articles.
Endless Growth Picks – Pages loaded quickly and layout is organized and clean.
инъекционная гидроизоляция холодных швов https://inekczionnaya-gidroizolyacziya.ru/ .
SimpleLifeShop – Layout is clean, items are appealing, and moving through pages was smooth.
ремонт бетонных конструкций жилой дом remont-betonnykh-konstrukczij-usilenie.ru .