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: |
нажмите https://tripscan01.cc
школа онлайн школа онлайн .
онлайн школа 10-11 класс shkola-onlajn11.ru .
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on รับทำวุฒิการศึกษา.
Regards
выпрямитель дайсон airstrait купить выпрямитель дайсон airstrait купить .
main zaviroplex – Click worked fine, page layout logical and content helpful.
backlinkboss.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
Hurrah, that’s what I was searching for, what a information! existing here at this website, thanks admin of this website.
этот сайт https://tripscans01.cc/
получить короткую ссылку google seo-kejsy7.ru .
в этом разделе https://tripscan01.cc
Привет всем! Решил поделиться, как найти платящее онлайн казино в 2025 году. Главное — не гнаться за большими бонусами, а смотреть на юрисдикцию и отзывы реальных игроков. Я собрал список проверенных площадок с минимальным депозитом — вот тут: Мелстрой казино. Кто уже пробовал?
You actually make it appear really easy with your presentation however I find this
topic to be really something that I think I would never
understand. It seems too complicated and extremely huge for me.
I am looking forward on your subsequent put up, I’ll attempt to
get the hang of it!
Привет! Если вы ищете клуб с частыми выплатами — не гонитесь за громкими названиями. Лучше смотрите статистику. Мой проверенный список — тут: [url=https://profsnhcollegefarakka.in/nachnite-igrat-v-onlaynkazino-gold-kasino-segodnya-i-vyigryvayte-zolotye-dengi/]голд казино[/url]. Кто что добавит?
продолжить https://tripscan01.cc
Wow, that’s what I was exploring for, what a data! present here at this blog, thanks admin of this website.
Zavirobase Express – Pages load promptly, browsing effortless and content clearly displayed.
вы могли написать похожему нику , таких пруд пруди. Купить наркотики | Где купить наркотики? Ха ха ребята смотрите беспредел! попробуйте написать правильно жабу ТСа и получится то что у меня, как бы с ошибкой! СКРИПТ!не плохой товар
создать сайт прогнозов на спорт в москве seo-kejsy7.ru .
Hurrah, that’s what I was looking for, what a data! existing here at this webpage, thanks admin of this web site.
Всем здравия! Недавно искал, где реально можно получить честный выигрыш в онлайн казино. Оказалось, что многое зависит от RTP автомата. Проверяйте статистику выплат, читайте комментарии. Составил актуальный рейтинг на 2025 год с прямыми ссылками: онлайн казино. Интересно, кто из вас уже играл здесь?
Привет, форумчане! Решил поделиться лайфхаком: как найти казино РФ, где реально работают честно. Главное — не верить рекламе, а смотреть на официальные документы и реальные комментарии игроков. Я собрал проверенные варианты с выводом на QIWI — ссылка тут: Мелстрой. Кто уже пробовал?
Привет! Хочу предупредить новичков: не все клубы одинаково полезны. Чтобы не слить депозит и получить выигрыш, проверяйте наличие лицензии и изучайте отзывы. Я составил подборку рабочих вариантов с минимальным депозитом от 10 рублей — смотрите тут: Мелстрой гейм. Делитесь опытом!
Wow, that’s what I was exploring for, what a information! present here at this weblog, thanks admin of this site.
Главная https://tripscan01.cc
https://casperelijamesmeshfor.bboard.it/t105-1xBet-Promo-Code-2026-1X200RED-Bonus-EUR130.htm#p694
Wow, that’s what I was seeking for, what a material! present here at this webpage, thanks admin of this website.
Hurrah, that’s what I was exploring for, what a information! existing here at this website, thanks admin of this web site.
курсы стриминг shkola-onlajn12.ru .
Wow, that’s what I was searching for, what a data! present here at this web site, thanks admin of this web site.
пояснения https://tripscans01.cc
многоуровневый линкбилдинг seo-kejsy7.ru .
Kryvox Bonding online hub – User-friendly pages, clean structure, and the site feels reliable overall.
ломоносовская школа онлайн shkola-onlajn13.ru .
Wow, that’s what I was exploring for, what a material! present here at this website, thanks admin of this website.
Wow, that’s what I was seeking for, what a data! existing here at this blog, thanks admin of this web page.
Hurrah, that’s what I was exploring for, what a stuff! present here at this website, thanks admin of this web page.
Hurrah, that’s what I was seeking for, what a stuff! present here at this webpage, thanks admin of this web site.
опубликовано здесь https://tripscans01.cc
Wow, that’s what I was looking for, what a stuff! present here at this weblog, thanks admin of this website.
школа онлайн дистанционное обучение школа онлайн дистанционное обучение .
qavon info – Easy browsing, modern appearance, and content is organized
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account
it. Look advanced to far added agreeable from you!
However, how can we communicate?
Hurrah, that’s what I was looking for, what a stuff! existing here at this web site, thanks admin of this web site.
onpagefix.click – Color palette felt calming, nothing distracting, just focused, thoughtful design.
Это приносит бизнесу удобство и оптимизацию расходов на транспорт.
купить сельхозтехнику в лизинг купить сельхозтехнику в лизинг.
Morixo Trustee official page – Navigation is simple, content is clear, and users can trust the site.
Wow, that’s what I was seeking for, what a material! existing here at this blog, thanks admin of this site.
Hurrah, that’s what I was exploring for, what a stuff! existing here at this web site, thanks admin of this web site.
Hey there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m
having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!