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: |
смотреть здесь vodka bet
найти это kush casino
содержание водка казино регистрация
For the reason that the admin of this site is working, no doubt very rapidly it will be famous, due to its feature contents.
здесь vodka bet
betman casino app – https://betman-casino-au.com/betman-casino-app/
http://saturn.forumex.ru/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=1109
ссылка на сайт vodka bet
В этом интересном тексте собраны обширные сведения, которые помогут вам понять различные аспекты обсуждаемой темы. Мы разбираем детали и факты, делая акцент на важности каждого элемента. Не упустите возможность расширить свои знания и взглянуть на мир по-новому!
Подробнее можно узнать тут – https://crickpicks.com/new-zealand-vs-sri-lanka-dream-11-picks
I personally find that this platform exceeded my expectations with responsive team and fast transactions. The updates are frequent and clear.
подробнее казино хани мани зеркало
Читать далее kush casino
https://rusere.ru/communication/club/user/7604/forum/message/9430/11697/#message11697
Продолжение honey money casino промокод
Urban Outfit Picks – Attractive urban fashion displayed neatly with fast, user-friendly browsing.
Color Mea Online Store – Items arranged thoughtfully, browsing feels natural and satisfying.
GlobalRidge Studio – Clear item arrangement and intuitive navigation create seamless browsing.
https://www.pinta.kiev.ua/wp-content/pages/melbet_promokod_pri_registracii.html
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful article.
Thanks for providing this info.
Path Forward Picks – Clear sections with an encouraging theme, everything felt easy to explore.
TPF Life Path – Clear, encouraging setup, and moving through sections was smooth.
можно проверить ЗДЕСЬ honey money casino зеркало
http://tfpforum.ru/forum/post.php?mode=post&f=1472
Grand River Corner – Neatly presented products make browsing simple and fun.
As the admin of this web site is working, no doubt very shortly it will be renowned, due to its feature contents.
подробнее здесь водка казино вход
https://pentvars.edu.gh/vc-raps-up-pentecost-universitys-management-staff-retreat-2023/
https://clinicamaxima.ru/endokrinolog-i-nutricziolog-v-moskve-kak-pravilno-vybrat-vracha-dlya-zdorovya/
http://irk-florist.ru/forum/post.php?mode=post&f=53
Главная зеркало водка бет
Since the admin of this web site is working, no hesitation very shortly it will be well-known, due to its feature contents.
продолжить казино куш
интернет водка казино зеркало
кликните сюда водка казино официальный сайт
Источник казино хани мани зеркало
dan-mebel.ru Аренда подушек разных дизайнов. Мягкие подушки в наличии.
содержание хани мани казино
аренда vps
Color Mea Corner – Unique and inspiring designs arranged neatly, making browsing comfortable.
http://armgame.forumex.ru/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=1095
Trend Market Online Store – Nice clean interface, navigating the site felt simple and fast.
GlobalRidge Picks Hub – Neatly arranged items and smooth navigation make browsing simple and pleasant.
проверить сайт водка бет
Источник куш казино официальный
этот сайт казино хани мани зеркало
веб-сайте казино хани мани зеркало
Эта разъяснительная статья содержит простые и доступные разъяснения по актуальным вопросам. Мы стремимся сделать информацию понятной для широкой аудитории, чтобы каждый мог разобраться в предмете и извлечь из него максимум пользы.
Заходи — там интересно – https://www.articulategroove.com/2015/12/21/world
As the admin of this web page is working, no question very rapidly it will be famous, due to its quality contents.
посмотреть на этом сайте honeymoney casino промокоды
кликните сюда вотка бет