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: |
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you need to publish more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but generally people do not speak about these topics. To the next! Cheers!!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I believe that you should publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Best wishes!!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to publish more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but usually folks don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you ought to write more on this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but generally folks don’t discuss such topics. To the next! Cheers!!
casinia – https://casinia-de.com
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but usually folks don’t speak about such topics. To the next! Best wishes!!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t talk about such subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you should publish more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! All the best!!
bet69 – https://bet69-vn.com
colorplay – https://colorplay-ph.com
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you ought to publish more on this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but generally folks don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!
rikvip – https://rikvip-vi.com
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I believe that you need to write more on this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t discuss these issues. To the next! All the best!!
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you should write more on this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t speak about such subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!
джет казино – https://jetcasino-ru.com
aaa bet – https://aaabet-br.com/
betpix – https://betpix-88.com
Отличный магазин) Купить наркотики | Где купить наркотики? С наступающим новым 2017 годом:happy2013::snegurochka: , фарта и удачи вашей команде! продолжайте в том же духе!”Думаю надо прогуляться, за Кооперативом еще кОоПератив,Захожу туда и тут описание сходиться бля Думаю тут то Полюбому”
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you should write more on this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t speak about such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!
limitless casino login – https://limitless-us.com/limitless-casino-login/
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you should publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t talk about such topics. To the next! Cheers!!
PSS Sleman – https://PSS-Sleman-id.com
application 1win http://1win3002.mobi/
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should publish more about this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people do not talk about such topics. To the next! Many thanks!!
betvisa – https://betvisa-ph.com
reef casino – https://reef-casino.com
Для малого бізнесу стабільність живлення має велике значення. Сучасна зарядна станція допомагає уникнути простоїв у роботі. Це інвестиція у безперервність процесів.
QQ88 là nhà cái cá cược trực tuyến uy tín, cung cấp casino live, nổ hũ, bắn cá và thể thao với hệ thống bảo mật cao, thanh toán nhanh.
Thanks in favor of sharing such a nice thinking, article is nice, thats why i have read it completely
tim nasional sepak bola rumania – https://tim-nasional-sepak-bola-rumania.com
cairns casino – https://cairns-casino-au.com
888 bet – https://888-bet-au.com
chumba login – https://chumba-us.com/chumba-login/
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you should publish more about this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t talk about such issues. To the next! All the best!!
1win casino online http://1win3002.mobi/
1win casino app https://1win3002.mobi
пылесос дайсон вертикальный беспроводной купить пылесос дайсон вертикальный беспроводной купить .
hello!,I love your writing very much! proportion we keep in touch more approximately your
article on AOL? I need a specialist in this house to unravel my problem.
Maybe that’s you! Looking ahead to see you.
A motivating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to write more about this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not discuss these subjects. To the next! Cheers!!
A motivating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to write more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but generally people do not talk about these subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!
1win apk download 1win apk download
Під час тривалих відключень електроенергії важливо зберігати зв’язок. У цьому допомагає зарядна станція, яка підтримує роботу гаджетів. Вона стає справжнім помічником у побуті.
fair to go casino login – https://fair-to-go-casino.com/fair-to-go-casino-login/
Мы можем предложить документы учебных заведений, которые расположены на территории России.
Купить диплом ВУЗа: iwork.youthfiji.org/profile/epifaniacrespi
royal partners партнерка – https://royal-partners-affiliate-program-ru.com
posh casino app – https://posh-us.com/posh-casino-app/
bet22 – https://bet22-de.com
купить пылесос дайсон в санкт петербурге купить пылесос дайсон в санкт петербурге .
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you should write more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Many thanks!!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you ought to write more about this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but generally people don’t speak about such subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!