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: |
tim nasional sepak bola myanmar – https://tim-nasional-sepak-bola-myanmar.com
Источник https://krab3a.at/
betty wins – https://betty-wins-us.com
https://tuikhoeconban.com/wp-content/pgs/?1xbet_promo_code__free_vip_bonus.html
Good information. Lucky me I recently found your website by accident (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later!
8g bet – https://8gbet-br.com
fair go casino – https://fair-go-au.com
Главная https://bonus-betting.ru/pokerdom-promokod/
проверить сайт https://krab3a.at
directionanchorsprogress home – Clean layout, information is clear and simple to navigate throughout
Good information. Lucky me I came across your website by chance (stumbleupon). I have saved it for later!
a fantastic read download jaxx wallet
our website jaxx app
здесь https://krab3a.at/
проверить сайт https://bonus-betting.ru/play-fortuna-bonus-code/
nixra.click – Great resource, pages are simple and everything loads smoothly
Good info. Lucky me I discovered your site by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve bookmarked it for later!
pop over to this site jaxx liberty wallet
Good info. Lucky me I discovered your website by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
этот сайт https://kinogo.blue/filmy-2025/
betty wins casino app – https://betty-wins-us.com/betty-wins-casino-app/
Good information. Lucky me I ran across your website by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve saved it for later!
victor96 casino app – https://victor96-casino-au.com/victor96-casino-app/
pgwin app – https://www.pgwin-br.com/pgwin-app/
подробнее здесь https://kinogo.blue/filmy/1959-malysh-na-drayve.html
Source jaxx liberty wallet
visit our website jaxx wallet
ремонт разбтитого стекла на iPhone 17 Pro Max в Казани
lucky land casino login – https://lucky-land-us.com/lucky-land-casino-login/
Very good information. Lucky me I recently found your website by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve saved it for later!
здесь https://bonus-betting.ru/irwin-casino-promokod/
https://sanad.org.sa/img/pgs/index.php?vliyanie_interneta_na_detey.html
I value the accurate charts and clear transparency. This site is reliable. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
international business alliance – Name conveys broad-scale partnerships among global companies.
Great information. Lucky me I found your blog by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
Very good information. Lucky me I discovered your site by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
на этом сайте https://krab3a.at
The using the mobile app process is simple and the low fees makes it even better. The mobile app makes daily use simple.
This platform exceeded my expectations with clear transparency and responsive team.
Good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later!
Всем привет! Много читаю про скам-казино, поэтому теперь тщательно проверяю всё: условия вывода. Лучшие онлайн казино 2025 года с моментальным выводом — здесь: казино Ретро. Делитесь своим опытом!
finish because the clarity, structure, and passion in your writing
Very good info. Lucky me I discovered your website by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve bookmarked it for later!
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас реально получить кэш в онлайн-казино? После десятков проверок остановился на лицензированных площадках. Важно: вывод без комиссии. Актуальный рейтинг с джекпотами и кэшбэком — по ссылке: [url=https://avts.vn/voydite-v-onlaynkazino-i-nachnite-igrat-za-kilogramm-nalichnykh/]Килограмм[/url]. Обсуждаем!
reef hotel casino – https://reef-hotel-casino.com
I believe everything typed was actually very reasonable.
But, what about this? what if you added a little information? I ain’t saying your
information isn’t solid., however suppose you added a post title to possibly get a person’s attention? I mean Taxed to Death (Book Review),
Debra Purdy Kong is a little plain. You could glance at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they write post headlines to grab viewers interested.
You might try adding a video or a related picture or two to get people interested about everything’ve written. Just my opinion, it could make your blog a little livelier.
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your site by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
на этом сайте https://bonus-betting.ru/redstar-kod-registracii/
посмотреть на этом сайте https://kinogo.blue/filmy/1251-dzhejson-born.html
ricky casino login – https://ricky-casino-77.com/ricky-casino-login/