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: |
check over here https://noon.gay
кракен маркет
как зайти на кракен
click over here https://flaunch.my/
1win virtual idman 1win virtual idman
internet seo prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-moskve224.ru .
you can check here https://heyanon.lat/
go to website https://verio.buzz/
Related Site https://upshift.cfd
Discover More Here https://blnk.lat/
I was skeptical, but after since launch of fiat on-ramp, the stable performance convinced me.
сео агентство сео агентство .
https://socialmediainuk.com/story25452257/code-promo-1xbet-afrique-2026-1xtax200-bonus-vip
net seo net seo .
جالا غويال – https://yalla-goal-eg.com
official statement https://upshift.ltd/
official statement https://cytonic.cc
casinos leon login – https://casinos-leon.com/casinos-leon-login/
victor96 casino – https://victor96-casino-au.com
company website https://prismagent.xyz
Друзья, расскажу по-честному: я долго искал надёжный слот-сайт, и наконец нашёл рабочие варианты. Советую смотреть на наличие демо-режима и избегать тех, где скрытые комиссии. Актуальный список лучших платформ на 2025 — по ссылке: онлайн казино. Пишите в комментариях, какие казино вам зашли!
why not find out more https://nucleusearn.ink/
seo продвижение и раскрутка сайта seo продвижение и раскрутка сайта .
Привет! Если вы ищете клуб с частыми выплатами — не гонитесь за громкими названиями. Лучше смотрите статистику. Мой проверенный список — тут: [url=http://creativesneelu.com/nachnite-igrat-v-populyarnuyu-onlaynigru-mellstroy-game-instruktsiya-i-obzor/]Mellstroy game[/url]. Кто что добавит?
over at this website https://blend.ad/
Learn More https://universalx.lat
Fast onboarding, accurate charts, and a team that actually cares. The updates are frequent and clear.
kraken
кракен официальный сайт
https://www.notebook.ai/users/1249883
從英超、西甲、德甲到中超，全球各大足球聯盟的7m足球官方即時比分都在這裡。
paris match – https://paris-match-us.com
https://hashnode.com/@melwinbet
1win az etibarlıdırmı https://www.1win5762.help
Диплом магистра. Мы можем предложить дипломы любой профессии по приятным ценам: worksale777.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog-post_8.html
Друзья, расскажу по-честному: я долго искал надёжный слот-сайт, и наконец нашёл рабочие варианты. Советую смотреть на лицензию и избегать тех, где скрытые комиссии. Актуальный список лучших платформ на 2025 — по ссылке: лев казино. Пишите в комментариях, какие казино вам зашли!
have a peek here https://perena.lat/
Привет! После череды обманов наконец нашёл платформу, где реально не задерживают выплаты. Смотрите на наличие лицензии. Список надёжных вариантов — тут: Мелстрой гейм. Кто уже играл?
blog link https://heyanon.my/
nomini – https://nomini-br.com
my blog https://agents-land.xyz
Всем здравия! Недавно искал, где реально можно вывести деньги в онлайн казино. Оказалось, что многое зависит от RTP автомата. Проверяйте лицензию, читайте обзоры. Составил актуальный рейтинг на 2025 год с прямыми ссылками: arcania-game.ru. Интересно, кто из вас уже играл здесь?
secure finance portal – Information is well-organized, making it feel reliable.
crown coin – https://crown-coin-us.com
кракен даркнет
кракен онлайн
1win bonus 1win bonus
ملعب كرة قدم – https://football-court.com
Situs Bonaslot adalah bandar judi slot online terpercaya di Indonesia. Ribuan member sudah merasakan Maxwin sensasional disini. Transaksi super cepat kilat. Situs resmi п»їhttps://bonaslotind.us.com/# Bonaslot link alternatif jangan sampai ketinggalan.
find https://agents-land.xyz/
click https://cytonic.cc
check my source https://upshift.ink/
go to website https://astake.lat