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: |
betway login – https://betway-login-mx.com
lottoland – https://lottoland-mx.com
strendus – https://www-strendus.com
Our site https://toast-wallet.net/
her response https://web-breadwallet.com
estafa – https://estafa-mx.com
favoritos champions Apuestas españa eurocopa
las mejores Apuestas Colombia Brasil (Warisan168.Org) deportivas para hoy
estafa – https://estafa-mx.com
gogowin – https://gogowin-br.com
A current mirror of the official Pin A p website. For example, lines вход в Pin Up
7slots – https://7slots-mexico.com
Fast onboarding, low fees, and a team that actually cares. Charts are accurate and load instantly.
gg999 – https://gg999-bonus.com
apuestas f1 canada
Look into my web site – basketball-wetten.com
my response https://web-breadwallet.com/
Upsports Bet – https://upsportsbet-br.com
DFB Pokal live scores, German cup matches with Bundesliga teams competing
onebra – https://onebra-br.com
Click Here https://web-breadwallet.com
gg999 – https://gg999-id.com
https://lafermedelabourgade.be/wp-content/pgs/pryschi_v_zrelom_vozraste_kakie_byvayut_prichiny_i_kak_ot_nih_izbavitysya.html
Reflex saves, reaction stops and point blank denials tracked
https://strannik36.ru/includes/pgs/?ozimyy_chesnok_proros_katastrofa_ili_net.html
Hey guys, I just found a great source from India to buy generics. If you want to buy cheap antibiotics cheaply, this store is worth checking. You get lowest prices worldwide. More info here: this site. Good luck.
https://cgprayagnews.com/articles/rukovodstvo_po_igre_darkest_of_days_glava_6_antietan_krik_merilend_16_sentyabrya_1862_g.html
https://silalawyers.com/wp-content/pages/sovety_po_prohoghdeniyu_batman_arkham_city_osnovnye_missii_054.html
爱一番海外版，专为华人打造的高清视频平台结合大数据AI分析，支持全球加速观看。
https://byokna.ru/plus/pgs/?tekstilyno_vspomogatelynye_veschestva_boycy_nevidimogo_fronta.html
bet7k – https://www.bet7k-br.com
stakes – https://stakes-mx.com
모두에게 안녕하세요, 저는 이 웹사이트의
포스트를 정기적으로 읽는 데 진심으로 열망합니다.
훌륭한 정보를 포함하고 있습니다.
I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog.
Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway
keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice
blog like this one today.
my website https://toast-wallet.net/
Derby match live scores, rivalry games with extra intensity tracked live
yak casino – https://yak-casino-mexico.com
read what he said https://web-breadwallet.com/
casas casa de apuestas mas segura (Xedichvusadecdongthap.com) apuestas uruguay
Como se juega apuestas deportivas formula
check here https://toast-wallet.net/
netbet – https://netbet-mx.com
juntosbet – https://www.juntosbet-br.com
find out https://web-breadwallet.com/
william hill – https://william-hill-mx.com
I’m impressed by the stable performance. I’ll definitely continue using it. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
i loved this https://web-breadwallet.com
I personally find that the site is easy to use and the stable performance keeps me coming back. The mobile app makes daily use simple.
Distance covered, player workload and fitness data tracked
sportium – https://sportiummx.com
casa de que es un handicap en apuestas (Hong) ingreso minimo
bwin – https://bwin-mx.com