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: |
Curated Daily Essentials – Products feel carefully chosen, and exploring the site is seamless.
Continue Reading https://toast-wallet.net/
click here now https://jaxx-web.org
go russian traditional clothing
Stylish Home Emporium – The store offers trendy items, and exploring feels effortless.
visit this page https://toast-wallet.net/
Related Site https://jaxx-web.org
blog here https://jaxx-web.org/
go to website https://toast-wallet.net/
official site russian traditional clothing
Refined Commerce Collection – Refined curation that supports easy and professional navigation.
i loved this russian traditional clothing
pin up yangi domen pinup5014.ru
Daily Quality Marketplace – Browsing is intuitive, and every product feels carefully curated and useful.
Worldwide Commerce Shop – Offers a global perspective with easy navigation and organized presentation.
Refined Essentials Marketplace – Browsing is fast, with carefully selected products that are practical and stylish.
milf porno
click for more russian traditional clothing
her response https://toast-wallet.net
Refined Daily Finds – Smooth layout highlights practical, high-quality items for everyday use.
check this https://toast-wallet.net
Curated Essentials Marketplace – Smooth interface with thoughtfully selected daily products.
YourDaily Corner – Organized layout, well-displayed items, and fast, enjoyable browsing flow.
you could try this out https://jaxx-web.org/
go right here russian traditional clothing
https://ralphouensanga.com/read-blog/61400
Your Daily Finds Hub – Well-arranged items, smooth navigation, and a clean, easy-to-use layout.
Read Full Report [url=https://russian-traditional-clothes.com]russian traditional clothing[/url]
International Market Hub – International products presented with clean structure and simple navigation.
I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and entertaining, and let me tell you,
you’ve hit the nail on the head. The problem is something not
enough people are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that
I stumbled across this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Daily Picks Collection – Each product is functional and thoughtfully presented for easy browsing.
milf porno
review russian traditional clothing
milf porno
мелбет официальная контора мелбет официальная контора .
visit this web-site https://toast-wallet.net/
pin up bonus https://pinup5014.ru
view https://toast-wallet.net/
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from
PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on numerous websites for about
a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it?
Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
Trendy Living Emporium – Smooth interface combined with a well-curated modern collection.
melbet website russia melbet website russia .
useful link https://toast-wallet.net
Quality Commerce Picks – High-quality selections shown in a layout that’s easy to follow.
Inspired Modern Living – The store feels organized, stylish, and effortless to explore.
Check This Out https://jaxx-web.org
Visit This Link https://jaxx-web.org/
Refined Commerce Marketplace – Each product feels thoughtfully chosen, and exploring the store is easy.
visit homepage https://toast-wallet.net/
Таможенный представитель москва реально знает своё дело
https://git.jasonxu.dev/dorothywaldock
read this post here https://jaxx-web.org