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: |
betvip – https://betvip-88.com/
939 bet – https://939-bet-br.com
After I originally commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. There has to be a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
1win партнерка – https://1win-affiliate-program-ru.com
профессиональное продвижение сайтов профессиональное продвижение сайтов .
kraken darknet
kraken6 +at
learn about zaviro capital – Simple and concise design allows for easy understanding of key details.
FAQ – Questions and answers are concise, structured logically, and easy to access.
When I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
seo аудит веб сайта prodvizhenie-sajtov13.ru .
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I receive four emails with the same comment. There has to be a means you are able to remove me from that service? Many thanks!
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment. There has to be an easy method you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
1win app http://www.1win5740.help
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Many thanks!
When I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I get four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a means you can remove me from that service? Thank you!
1win ug http://1win5740.help/
After I initially left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
When I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Many thanks!
1win download apk https://1win5740.help
написать курсовую на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-49.ru .
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the same comment. There has to be a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
brlwin – https://www.brlwin-br.com/
After I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Many thanks!
When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Thank you!
kraken официальный
официальная ссылка кракен
1win ug https://1win5740.help
72bet – https://72bet-br.com/
umbet – https://um-bet-br.com
Ищете ремонт балконных дверей? Восстановление пластиковых окон в Минске с гарантийными обязательствами. Зайдите на портал рамонт.бел – изучите наш перечень услуг, включая реставрацию окон, смену фурнитуры, починку балконных дверей и другие работы. Стоимость ремонта и регулировки окон на сайте, а мастер выезжает на срочный ремонт окон в Минске в любой день и погоду в течение часа. Имеются комплектующие от всех изготовителей профильных оконных конструкций. Обеспечиваем высокое качество и долговечность восстановления Ваших оконных систем.
Community – Sections are structured clearly, pages load quickly, and exploring content is simple for users.
sbobet – https://sbobet-de.com
When I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the same comment. Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
Thanks , I’ve recently been looking for information approximately
this topic for a while and yours is the greatest I have found out till now.
However, what in regards to the bottom line?
Are you sure about the supply?
phwin – https://phwin-ph.com
1win bet app 1win bet app
After I initially left a comment I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
globo ao vivo agora – https://globo-ao-vivo-agora.com
brdice app – https://brdice-br.com/brdice-app/
When I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you are able to remove me from that service? Many thanks!
kraken тор
кракен маркет
bet365 – https://bet365-us.com
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Kudos!
After I originally commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a means you are able to remove me from that service? Thank you!
After I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Thank you!
Bond portal – Clear menus, quick page loads, and information is straightforward for users.
After I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. There has to be an easy method you can remove me from that service? Thank you!
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Thank you!