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: |
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you need to publish more about this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people don’t discuss these topics. To the next! All the best!!
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you need to write more on this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!
Услуги с шармом Европы путаны калуги
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you need to publish more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but generally folks don’t discuss such issues. To the next! Cheers!!
palmer bet login – https://palmer-bet.com/palmer-bet-login/
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you should write more on this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t discuss these issues. To the next! Cheers!!
1win-partner 1win-partner
cafe – https://cafe-us.com
mega bonanza – https://mega-bonanza.com
ww88 – https://ww88-th.com
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you ought to write more on this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people do not speak about such subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you should write more on this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but usually people don’t discuss these subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you ought to publish more about this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people don’t talk about these subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!
This is a topic that is close to my heart…
Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but usually folks don’t talk about such issues. To the next! Kind regards!!
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you need to write more on this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t discuss these topics. To the next! Cheers!!
bet 4 – https://bet-4-br.com
What’s up all, here every one is sharing these knowledge, therefore it’s pleasant to read this webpage, and I used to pay a visit this
weblog daily.
backlinkhub.click – Pages loaded fast, images appeared sharp, and formatting stayed consistent.
uol ao vivo placar – https://uol-ao-vivo-placar.com
أحذية كرة القدم – https://football-shoes-eg.com
1 win casino https://1win3002.mobi/
crown – https://crown-casino-us.com
ozwin casino – https://ozwin-casino-77.com
rhino – https://rhino-de.com
Футбольные дерби всегда захватывают дух, и сегодня мы…
Для тех, кто ищет информацию по теме “Хроники и тактика футбольных дерби”, есть отличная статья.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://tottenham-army.ru
Футбольные дерби — тема, которая никогда не потеряет актуальности…
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you ought to write more about this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but usually people don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! All the best!!
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to publish more on this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but typically people do not speak about these issues. To the next! All the best!!
lu88 – https://lu88-vi.com
oxbet – https://oxbet-vn.com
Go to the verified website — http://www.medtronik.ru/
supertv ao vivo – https://supertv-ao-vivo.com
1 win casino 1 win casino
7xm – https://7xm-ph.com
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I believe that you need to publish more on this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people do not speak about such topics. To the next! All the best!!
Remarkable things here. I am very happy to see your article.
Thank you a lot and I am looking forward to contact you.
Will you please drop me a mail?
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you should write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t discuss these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you need to write more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people do not speak about such issues. To the next! Many thanks!!
1win mx http://www.1win3002.mobi
купить пылесос дайсон проводной купить пылесос дайсон проводной .
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but usually people do not talk about such topics. To the next! Kind regards!!
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to write more on this issue, it might not be a taboo matter but generally folks don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! All the best!!
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I believe that you should publish more about this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people do not discuss such topics. To the next! Kind regards!!
Your thing regarding creating will be practically nothing in short supply of awesome. This informative article is incredibly useful and contains offered myself a better solution to be able to my own issues. Which can be the specific purpose MY PARTNER AND I has been doing a search online. I am advocating this informative article with a good friend. I know they are going to get the write-up since beneficial as i would. Yet again many thanks.
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you need to publish more on this subject, it may not be a taboo subject but usually people don’t talk about such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!
كأس دوري كرة القدم – https://football-league-cup.com
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you need to write more on this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people do not discuss these topics. To the next! Many thanks!!
launceston casino – https://launceston-casino.com
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you ought to publish more on this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Kind regards!!
onabet – https://onabet-88.com