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: |
Таможенное оформление контейнеров москва — всё вовремя
https://gitea.codersquack.nl/mitziqvt90127
ссылка на сайт https://cryptocloud.club/forums/poslednie-kriptonovosti.36/
такой https://progunsupply.com
Great site. Lots of helpful information here. I’m sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks in your sweat!
Официальная страница компании в сети — https://www.ikonu.ru/
Wonderful site. A lot of useful info here. I am sending it to a few pals ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you for your effort!
этот контент Нанять спортиков
этот контент Спортики заказать
important link regulated brokers low spreads
другие krab1at
подробнее здесь Силовые акции
This post is absolutely glowing with passion!
Modern Market Hub – Quick navigation and neat display of trendy products make exploring enjoyable.
GreenChoiceStore – Clean layout, earth-inspired items, and enjoyable browsing.
TrendSelect Market – Browsing feels effortless and the products are showcased beautifully.
Fashion Trend Market – The marketplace is user-friendly, with modern styles clearly arranged.
посмотреть на этом сайте kraken вход tor
пин ап получить бонус http://www.pinup5010.ru
Magnificent site. Lots of useful info here. I am sending it to a few buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you in your sweat!
GoldenField Picks – Neatly arranged products and straightforward navigation create an easy shopping experience.
FieldStore Picks – Simple, organized pages allow shoppers to find items with ease.
Wonderful site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thanks for your sweat!
можно проверить ЗДЕСЬ Нанять спортиков
Magnificent website. A lot of helpful information here. I’m sending it to several buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you on your effort!
Fantastic website. Lots of useful information here. I am sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks in your sweat!
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence
on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening
to read?
купить диплом it специалиста купить диплом it специалиста .
Вместо того чтобы гнаться за трендами, иногда эффективнее заглянуть в статистику своего сайта и развивать то, что уже находит отклик, о таком data-driven подходе и пишут: https://yana-troyanova.ru/stati/jeffektivnoe-prodvizhenie-sajtov-i-razvitie-biznesa-v-internete/
Excellent site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And naturally, thank you in your sweat!
Wonderful website. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to some pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you in your sweat!
Fantastic website. Plenty of useful info here. I am sending it to some buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks for your effort!
Подробнее здесь Нанять спортиков
This made me feel genuinely motivated — thank you!
читать Спортики
узнать больше Здесь https://progunsupply.com/
узнать https://cryptocloud.club/threads/athtrade-sliv-zakrytogo-kanala.14/
Excellent web site. Lots of useful information here. I am sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you on your effort!
WildBrook Modern Creations – Loved the fresh selection and well-organized presentation.
Обучение Xrumer 19 телеграм xrumer телеграм: xrumer телеграм – это использование программного обеспечения Xrumer для продвижения в Telegram (каналов, групп, ботов).
Wonderful web site. Plenty of helpful information here. I am sending it to some friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you for your sweat!
Wonderful web site. Plenty of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you for your sweat!
здесь Заказать Спортиков
Fantastic site. Plenty of useful information here. I’m sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks in your effort!
Magnificent website. Plenty of useful information here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you in your effort!
Magnificent web site. A lot of useful info here. I am sending it to some friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you to your sweat!
I appreciate the depth and thoughtfulness in this post.
Wonderful site. Lots of useful info here. I am sending it to some buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks on your effort!
Great web site. Plenty of helpful information here. I am sending it to some friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you for your effort!
Fantastic site. Plenty of useful information here. I am sending it to a few buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks in your effort!
みんなの fx