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: |
другие водка бет
Дубликаты государственных номеров на авто в Москве доступны для заказа в кратчайшие
сроки изготовить дубликат номера на авто цена
обращайтесь к нам для получения надежной помощи
и гарантии результата!
взгляните на сайте здесь vodkabet прямо сейчас
узнать больше Здесь водка казино бет
узнать больше Здесь vbet poker онлайн
нажмите, чтобы подробнее vodkabet водкабет казино
Смотреть здесь vbet brazil
в этом разделе водкабет
Reese here — I’ve tried testing new tokens and the scalable features impressed me.
I was skeptical, but after almost a year of exploring governance, the great support convinced me.
The trading tools are fast transactions and great support.
нажмите vbet poker вход
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this
website with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking
and will be tweeting this to my followers! Superb blog and superb design and style.
взгляните на сайте здесь водка бет казино
смотреть здесь vodkabet
на этом сайте vodka bet
нажмите зеркало водка бет
Смотреть здесь vodkabet водка бет казино
I personally find that finley here — I’ve tried learning crypto basics and the reliable uptime impressed me. My withdrawals were always smooth.
I personally find that i value the reliable uptime and responsive team. This site is reliable.
I switched from another service because of the stable performance and reliable uptime.
Смотреть здесь vodkabet водка бет казино
здесь водка бет
I personally find that the interface is useful analytics, and I enjoy exploring governance here.
I’ve been using it for half a year for trading, and the low fees stands out. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
The testing new tokens tools are seamless withdrawals and stable performance. The dashboard gives a complete view of my holdings.
premier bet login – https://premier-bet-au.com/premier-bet-login/
подробнее vodkabet
sportzino casino app – https://sportzino-us.com/sportzino-casino-app/
fair go casino – https://fair-go-casino-77.com
Если вы ищете готовые решения для строительства своего жилища, посетите наш сайт по адресу проекты готовых домов, чтобы найти подходящий для вас проект.
представляют собой комплексное решение для строительства жилья . Эти проекты обеспечивают быстрое и качественное строительство. Благодаря этому, заказчики могут получить готовый дом в короткие сроки .
Готовые проекты домов разработаны архитекторами и инженерами . Они содержат полное описание всех этапов строительства . Это позволяет заказчикам быть уверенными в результатах своего строительства.
Готовые проекты домов обеспечивают быстрое и качественное строительство. Они содержат полное описание всех этапов строительства . Благодаря этому, заказчики могут быть уверены в результате своего строительства .
Готовые проекты домов созданы опытными архитекторами и инженерами . Они позволяют заказчикам получить высококачественный дом . Это упрощает процесс строительства и снижает риски.
Готовые проекты домов представляют собой комплексное решение для строительства жилья . Они разработаны опытными архитекторами и инженерами . Благодаря этому, заказчики могут сэкономить время и ресурсы.
Готовые проекты домов предлагают заказчикам возможность получить высококачественный дом . Они предоставляют заказчикам возможность осуществлять контроль над строительным процессом. Это дает заказчикам возможность получить готовый дом в короткие сроки .
Готовые проекты домов включают в себя полный набор документации для создания нового дома . Они разработаны опытными архитекторами и инженерами . Благодаря этому, заказчики могут получить высококачественный дом.
Готовые проекты домов обеспечивают быстрое и качественное строительство. Они включают в себя подробную документацию и чертежи . Это упрощает процесс строительства и снижает риски .
fbbet – https://fb-bet-br.com
посмотреть в этом разделе водка бет
веб-сайт vodka bet
интернет vodkabet водкабет казино
проверить сайт vodkabet водкабет казино
такой vbet casino
Следующая страница vodka bet casino
tim nasional sepak bola spanyol – https://tim-nasional-sepak-bola-spanyol.com
QQ88 là điểm đến quen thuộc của cược thủ yêu thích sự minh bạch, ổn định và nhiều ưu đãi mỗi ngày.
веб-сайт казино водка бет
عالم كرة القدم – https://world-of-football-eg.com
nice88 – https://nice88-8.com
интернет vodka bet casino
промокоды 1хбет Используйте действующий купон на https://m-g.wine/pags/code-promo-1xbet.html и получите бонус 100% на депозит, чтобы получить стартовый капитал для игры.
jovem pan ao vivo – https://jovem-pan-ao-vivo.com
интернет водка бет
здесь водка казино
кликните сюда водка казино
Discover exciting slot games at lobangking68 и наслаждайтесь выгодными бонусами!
The variety of services offered by lobangking68 is impressive and tailored to user demands.