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: |
This platform exceeded my expectations with scalable features and accurate charts.
click here for more https://askthehive.org/
https://www.dataworks-automation.gr/blog/another-blog-post
YOURURL.com https://askthehive.xyz
我們的台灣運彩官網專家團隊運用AI深度學習技術，每日更新各大聯盟的比賽分析，包括NBA、MLB、中華職棒等。
my sources https://heyanon.cc/
6z bet app – https://6zbet-br.com/6z-bet-app/
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and
I find It truly useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something
back and help others like you aided me.
продвижения сайта в google продвижения сайта в google .
https://khabarovsk-news.net/other/2025/02/18/247262.html
browse this site https://flaunch.ink
SunsetBoutique – Effortless navigation and a calm browsing experience.
read https://nucleusearn.ink/
blast – https://blast-uk.com
reef hotel casino app – https://reef-hotel-casino.com/reef-hotel-casino-app/
29 bet – https://29bet-login.com
комбинированные памятники
оптимизация и продвижение сайтов москва оптимизация и продвижение сайтов москва .
browse this site https://astake.org
中職粉絲必備的官方認證資訊平台，24小時不間斷提供官方中職新聞、球員數據分析，以及專業的比賽預測。
https://www.kuqla.com/blog/traveling/journal-blog
Formation changes, tactical adjustments during matches tracked real time
raging bull – https://raging-bull-us.com
http://classichonda.phorum.pl/viewtopic.php?p=166620#166620
продвижение сайтов продвижение сайтов .
onpagelab.click – Navigation felt smooth, found everything quickly without any confusing steps.
написание студенческих работ на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-41.ru .
try this out https://hyperdrive.lat
аудит продвижения сайта аудит продвижения сайта .
I like reading through an article that can make men and
women think. Also, thanks for permitting me
to comment!
интернет раскрутка интернет раскрутка .
Hi there, this weekend is good in favor of
me, because this time i am reading this enormous informative paragraph here at my residence.
раскрутка сайта москва раскрутка сайта москва .
7m888 – https://7m888-th.com
bond knowledge – Layout is simple, content is easy to digest, and browsing feels reliable.
онлайн сервис помощи студентам kupit-kursovuyu-41.ru .
curated wood goods – The layout feels intentional and uncluttered, letting the designs speak for themselves.
today – https://www.today-br.com/
placar do jogo de hoje ao vivo – https://placar-do-jogo-de-hoje-ao-vivo.com
daddy – https://daddy-de.com
https://www.livan.com.tr/blog/season-essentials
раскрутка сайта москва раскрутка сайта москва .
Related Site https://aixbt.my
pop over to this site https://flaunch.my
adnivo.click – Appreciate the typography choices; comfortable spacing improved my reading experience.
оптимизация сайта франция цена prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-moskve115.ru .
где можно заказать курсовую работу kupit-kursovuyu-41.ru .
It is perfect time to make a few plans for the long run and it’s time to
be happy. I have read this put up and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting
issues or tips. Maybe you could write subsequent articles referring to
this article. I want to learn more issues about it!
I personally find that reese here — I’ve tried testing new tokens and the quick deposits impressed me. The dashboard gives a complete view of my holdings.
1win ruletka 1win ruletka