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: |
pop over to these guys https://unchainx.org
Full Report https://kyros.my/
Diving into this, it’s worth noting that navigating regulatory hurdles https://www.icehockeypage.net/index.php/16-Nachrichten/del-del2-oberliga/47727-erc-ingolstadt-die-aktuellsten-geruechte-und-prognosen-fuer-2026
компании занимающиеся продвижением сайтов компании занимающиеся продвижением сайтов .
1win lisenziyası https://1win5760.help
統一獅賽程、戰績、球員數據，運用先進AI預測演算法一應俱全，讓您隨時掌握最愛球隊的最新動態。
оптимизация и продвижение сайтов москва оптимизация и продвижение сайтов москва .
Привет! Недавно искал онлайн-платформу, где можно спокойно вывести выигрыш, и понял: главное — скорость выплат. Собрал рабочие варианты с поддержкой QIWI — ссылка: mellstroy game. Кто уже пробовал?
read review https://blnk.lat
Друзья, расскажу по-честному: я долго искал надёжный слот-сайт, и наконец нашёл рабочие варианты. Советую смотреть на скорость обработки вывода и избегать тех, где ограничения на вывод. Актуальный список лучших платформ на 2025 — по ссылке: [url=https://votre-opticien-paris.fr/uznayte-kak-igrat-v-melstroyigry-v-onlaynkazino-na-russkom-yazyke/]mellstroy game[/url]. Пишите в комментариях, какие казино вам зашли!
explanation https://kyros.wtf
find more https://agents-land.org
1win aviator qeydiyyat http://1win5760.help
vovoteca placar ao vivo – https://vovoteca-placar-ao-vivo.com
pop over to these guys https://agents-land.org/
financial hub – Clear sections and tidy presentation give confidence in the platform.
click here to investigate https://elara.cfd
hb88 – https://hb88-vn.com
Merchandise news, kit releases and official product updates
amunra casino – https://amunra-casino-77.com
Стоматологическая сеть Севастополя оказывает широкий перечень услуг по уходу за полостью рта для всех. Квалифицированные специалисты работают на новейшей технике с проверенными европейскими материалами. Учреждение предоставляет услуги терапии, ортопедии, имплантологии и эстетики улыбки с использованием прогрессивных методов. Запись на прием доступна на сайте https://24antosplus.ru/ в любое удобное время суток. Пациентам гарантируется индивидуальный подход и комфортные условия лечения без боли и стресса.
this link https://cytonic.cc/
оптимизация сайта франция оптимизация сайта франция .
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас дают кэшбэк? Я проверил десятки казино, оставил только те, где реально можно вывести. Ссылка на подборку: СЃСѓРєР° xtgamers.com. Обсуждаем!
rocketply – https://rocketply-de.com
Привет! Хочу предупредить новичков: не все онлайн казино одинаково полезны. Ищите те, где есть прозрачные правила, и обязательно сверяйтесь с сообществом игроков. Я нашёл несколько платформ 2025 года с бонусами без вейджера — всё собрано здесь: ЛЕВ казино лев официальный сайт. Кто уже успел попробовать?
Ребята, не верьте громким обещаниям! Настоящее слот-сайт должно иметь прозрачную политику выплат. Я отсеял все подозрительные площадки и оставил только топовые варианты — смотрите здесь: Bollywood. Кто уже выводил оттуда?
раскрутка сайта франция раскрутка сайта франция .
visite site https://colend.tech
this website https://cwap.xyz/
сколько стоит курсовая работа по юриспруденции kupit-kursovuyu-41.ru .
Diving into this, it’s worth noting that navigating regulatory hurdles https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-press-release/altcoin-rotation-and-ai-crypto-surge-in-q1-2026
Champions League livescore updates, follow your favorite European clubs in real time tonight
Get the facts https://elara.ink/
article source https://prismagent.org
Activewear brands. Best creatine supplement. Pantaleo dell’orco age. Cny to usd. Sonic weapon. Cool disco songs. New southpark. Richie rich. https://bit.ly/4qt76ND
Matt gaetz net worth. Logo original starbucks. Wicked streaming free. Smci. Dei boycott.
Army shirt nyt crossword. Minato ward. Largest land animal ever existed on earth. Floyd mayweather net worth. Inner mongolia ordos. Ssa. Transportation services. Lebron james. Cheap dinner ideas. Best creatine brands. Beckley wv weather.
Amari cooper. Who plays deadpool. Xau/usd gold price. Cast of monster: the ed gein story. Mike rubin. https://bit.ly/4qt76ND
Women with influence. Executive tracks associates. Mackinac. Tomljanovic tennis. Los gatos silicon valley. Gaming.
Best time to buy airfare. Pumpkin pie and. Employee retention strategies. Best router modem combo. Colon broom reviews. Cost of living index by city. Walid talal. The little mermaid overbudget. Tecate. Brook lopez stats. H-1b news. Safest big cities in the us.
1win az promo ilə qeydiyyat https://www.1win5760.help
從英超、西甲、德甲到中超，全球各大足球聯盟的7m足球即時比分都在這裡。
1win az giriş https://www.1win5760.help
Us navy news. Malcolm jamal warner. Srfm stock. Hanna stalking. List of richest people on earth. Hotels com. https://bit.ly/4qt76ND
Parish show. Richest person in every state. When does landman return. Trump economy approval rating voters poll. Nyt connections hints june 14.
Nyt connections may 10 2025. Quincy jones. Pebbling. Cost of living per state. Cheers boston. Cathie wood ai stock purchase. Best car shipping companies. Gladiator rocky moonlight. Who owns aston martin. Good s&p index funds. Association of tennis. Offering at a summer cookout nyt.
Cricket livescore updates, IPL and international matches with ball-by-ball commentary
fairgo casino app – https://fairgo-casino-77.com/fairgo-casino-app/
интернет раскрутка prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-moskve113.ru .
Bitcoin. Brad m kelley. Ai forbes. Online universities. Jack doherty net worth. Sentinelese tribe island. https://bit.ly/4qt76ND
Snow white budget. Companies dei. Pam shriver. What does 6 7 mean on tiktok. Winter solstice 2025. They might end with etc nyt. Best laser hair removal.
Utah football score. South park new season. Siobhan sean daniel. Richest person in the world 2024. Wave accounting. The batman part ii. The richest woman of the world. Black owned businesses. Today’s connections. American lion. George b kaiser. Price of walmart stock.
аудит продвижения сайта аудит продвижения сайта .
seo агентство seo агентство .
news https://astherus.us/
kubet – https://kubet-vi.com
visit this site https://colend.tech/