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: |
see this here https://hypperswap.cloud
https://g4sky.ru/ – интернет-магазин для поклонников игр, аниме, кино, сериалов и музыки. Здесь вы найдёте уникальный мерч, хендмейд, фигурки и реквизит. Присоединяйтесь!
go to website https://jaxx-web.org/
check my reference https://defi-money.cc
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a
amusement account it. Look advanced to more
added agreeable from you! However, how can we
communicate?
Grand Forest Online – Impressive studio collection, easy to explore with smooth navigation.
browse around this web-site https://snake.credit/
где купить в москве диплом где купить в москве диплом .
hop over to these guys https://toast-wallet.net
sportzino – https://sportzino-us.com
Curated Design Collection – The layout highlights well-crafted items, making browsing pleasant.
go to website https://kittenswap.buzz/
Your Domain Name https://hyperliquid-wiki.cv
helpful hints https://toast-wallet.net
mj bet – https://mjbet-br.com
tim nasional sepak bola yunani – https://tim-nasional-sepak-bola-yunani.com
Click Here https://navigator-exchange.org/
Design-Centric Picks – Browsing is smooth, with each item reflecting thoughtful design.
Find Out More https://toast-wallet.net/
Stylish Home Collective – Navigation feels smooth, and the modern design is visually appealing.
tab – https://tab-de.com
pin up futbol tikish https://pinup5014.ru
I can’t get over how good this is — seriously impressive!
modernartisanmarket – ModernArtisanMarket offers a smooth shopping experience with a perfect mix of modern and handmade pieces.
Grand Forest Selection – Items showcased beautifully, providing a comfortable shopping experience.
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your
blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect
with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or
two pictures. Maybe you could space it out
better?
visit this website https://jaxx-web.org/
Modern Living Picks – A sleek, modern design with intuitive browsing throughout.
over here https://beraborrow.cc/
Discover More Here https://hypperswap.cloud/
CreampieCash
click this site https://cakepad.digital/
try these out https://jaxx-web.org
redirected here https://hypperswap.space/
CreampieCash
this website https://hlp0.cloud
look at this website https://yieldfi.pro/
stake – https://stake-888.com
look at here https://toast-wallet.net
like it https://terminal.credit/
juju – https://juju-us.com
https://medium.com/@atonestructure
7up gaming – https://7up-gaming-ph.com
Homepage https://kinetiq.buzz/
kraken маркет
кракен рабочая
see page https://plasma.credit/
pg bet – https://pgbet-login.com
have a peek here https://gluex.io/
https://dominofrastanz.org/pgs/izmereniya_napryagheniya_poragheniya_elektricheskim_tokom.html
More Info https://prjx.online