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: |
Bài viết này triển khai khá gọn gàng, đọc không bị cảm giác quảng cáo quá tay. Phần nói về trải nghiệm người chơi khá sát thực tế. Hi88 thường được nhắc tới khi bàn về độ ổn định lâu dài.
Подробнее https://krab4a.at/
https://www.inatyrau.kz/list/507632
original site https://web-breadwallet.com/
взгляните на сайте здесь https://krab4a.at/
Throw in goals, long throws and their dangerous outcomes
https://branko-print.ru/virtualnyj-nomer-dlya-telegram/
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been conducting a little homework on this.
And he in fact ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I found it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this issue here on your blog.
раскрутка сайта франция prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-moskve231.ru .
Мы можем предложить дипломы любой профессии по выгодным ценам. Важно, чтобы дипломы были доступными для большого количества граждан. Приобрести диплом института link.peds.to/velda750569590
узнать больше https://krab4a.at/
bond resources hub – Clear, reliable, and helpful for managing investments.
что же это за дела то…..? https://mefedronkypit.store четко, без слов !Магазин работает на 5+++++, я уже раз 5 беру у данного сейлера все ровно все катит, качество на высоте!
казино мелбет
https://svbeloglazov.ru/ svbeloglazov
5e bet – https://5ebet-br.com
melbet зеркало рабочее на сегодня
I appreciate the positive energy you bring to your posts.
I’m gone to inform my little brother, that he should also visit this web site on regular basis to get updated from hottest reports.
byueuropaviagraonline
https://2rugamer.ru/klyuchevye-osobennosti-iphone-17-pro-max/
мелбет зеркало казино
Всем привет! Уже третий год играю в онлайн казино, и за это время понял главное: выбирайте площадки с честными условиями. Избегайте тех, где требуют паспорт или тормозят с выводом. Лучшие платформы 2025 с поддержкой ЮMoney собрал здесь: ретро казино. Кто что может добавить?
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас реально выиграть в онлайн-казино? После десятков проверок остановился на платформах с аудитом RNG. Важно: возможность игры с телефона. Актуальный рейтинг с джекпотами и кэшбэком — по ссылке: [url=https://deluxedrivedubai.com/otzyvy-o-novoy-retroigre-onlaynkazino-sygray-seychas/]new retro casino[/url]. Обсуждаем!
A good web site with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters? I Can’t find it.
curve shopping hub – Sleek interface, browsing and buying items is hassle-free.
adelaide casino – https://adelaide-casino-au.com
Very good breakdown, learned a lot.
multicanal jogo ao vivo – https://multicanal-jogo-ao-vivo.com
over at this website https://toast-wallet.net
ссылка на сайт https://krab4a.at/
Привет всем! Решил поделиться, как найти честное онлайн игровой сайт в 2025 году. Главное — не гнаться за большими бонусами, а смотреть на официальную регистрацию и скорость выплат. Я собрал список проверенных площадок с быстрым кэш-аутом — вот тут: мелстрой гейм. Кто уже пробовал?
Всем привет! Поделюсь лайфхаком: чтобы не слить депозит впустую, выбирайте онлайн казино с честной рандомизацией. Я проверил десятки сайтов и оставил только те, где реально выводят. Список тут: мелстрой гейм. Кто уже играл — подтвердите?
helpful site https://web-breadwallet.com
Thanks for the good writeup. It in reality was once a leisure account it. Glance complicated to far brought agreeable from you! By the way, how could we keep in touch?
byueuropaviagraonline
Dribble success, take-on attempts and completion rates documented
sugar96 casino login – https://sugar96-casino-au.com/sugar96-casino-login/
right here https://web-breadwallet.com
I’m extremely inspired together with your writing talents and also
with the layout on your blog. Is that this a paid subject matter or did you
modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is uncommon to see a nice blog like this one today..
Aktual Pin Up giriş ünvanını axtaranlar, doğru yerdesiniz. Bloklanmayan link vasitəsilə hesabınıza girin və qazanmağa başlayın. Xoş gəldin bonusu sizi gözləyir. Keçid: Pin Up giriş qazancınız bol olsun.
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
byueuropaviagraonline
moved here https://web-breadwallet.com/
official site https://toast-wallet.net
he said https://toast-wallet.net/
useful source https://web-breadwallet.com/
premier league – https://premier-league-de.com
hit spin – https://hit-spin-de.com
casino rsm – https://casino-rsm.com
bovada login – https://bovada-casino-us.com/bovada-login/
rolling riches casino login – https://rolling-riches-us.com/rolling-riches-casino-login/
Crossing accuracy, wide players and their delivery statistics