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: |
winbra – https://www.winbra-br.com
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success. If you know of any please share. Many thanks!
You made some really good points there. I looked on the web
for additional information about the issue and found most individuals will go
along with your views on this web site.
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with
Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank
for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success.
If you know of any please share. Kudos!
Кент казино ориентировано на стабильность и доступность. Онлайн платформа работает круглосуточно. Пользователь может играть в удобное время. Техническая часть не отвлекает от процесса. Все проходит плавно: kent casino скачать
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked
submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say
excellent blog!
continue reading this jaxx liberty
omgbet – https://www.omgbet-br.com
Fine way of describing, and good article to take information concerning
my presentation focus, which i am going to present in institution of higher education.
flames bet – https://flamesbet-br.com
That is very interesting, You are an overly professional blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and stay up for in quest of extra of your magnificent post.
Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks
strendus – https://www-strendus.com
Awesome blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a
paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed ..
Any tips? Many thanks!
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your
article seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I
thought I’d post to let you know. The design and
style look great though! Hope you get the problem
resolved soon. Kudos
Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using?
I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most
blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S Apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
sol casino – https://sol-casino-mx.com
Yes! Finally someone writes about sweeps casinos.
description jaxx crypto
over here https://toast-wallet.net/
1win Мбанк http://1win12048.ru
discover here https://toast-wallet.net/
imp source jax wallet
get redirected here https://toast-wallet.net/
I think everything composed made a lot of sense. But, what about this?
suppose you added a little information? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website,
however what if you added something to possibly grab a person’s attention? I
mean Taxed to Death (Book Review), Debra Purdy Kong is a little plain. You could look at Yahoo’s front page and note how they write
post titles to grab viewers to click. You might add a related video or a pic or two to grab people excited about everything’ve written. Just my opinion, it might bring your
website a little bit more interesting.
betleao – https://www.betleao-br.com
betway login – https://betway-login-mx.com
roleta online – https://roletaonline-br.com
Chao c? nha, bac nao mu?n tim ch? n?p rut nhanh d? g? g?c Tai X?u thi vao ngay con hang nay. Khong lo l?a d?o: https://pacebhadrak.org.in/#. V? b? thanh cong.
crasher – https://crasher-mx.com
Why visitors still use to read news papers when in this technological world everything
is available on net?
her explanation download jaxx wallet
click for source jaxx liberty
Great site you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any community forums
that cover the same topics discussed in this article?
I’d really love to be a part of community where I can get advice from other
knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any
suggestions, please let me know. Kudos!
сайт azino777
Hi, I do believe this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I
may come back once again since i have bookmarked it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to
change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.
my explanation jaxx app
see https://toast-wallet.net/
sol casino – https://sol-casinomx.com
Thanks for every other informative web site. The place else could I get that kind of information written in such
an ideal method? I have a undertaking that I’m just now running on, and I have been on the look out
for such info.
https://laneiudks.wikififfi.com/2131376/the_fact_about_1xbet_promo_code_new_user_saudi_arabia_that_no_one_is_suggesting
betobet – https://betobet-br.com
It’s genuinely very difficult in this busy life to listen news on Television, so
I just use the web for that purpose, and take the hottest news.
stake – https://stake-br.com
1win login – https://1win-login-mx.com
Wow, that’s what I was searching for, what a information!
existing here at this weblog, thanks admin of this web page.
Immerse yourself in an incredible spectacle with drones sky show.
In the last few years, drone shows have gained significant popularity.
не плохой товар купить кокаин мефдрон и бошки Но в свое время с 250м было время за месяц перед запретом:Не сыы! Я во вторник постучался в скайп, сразу же оплатил. На след день тобиш в среду получил трек, а сегодня посыль уже приехала! Скоро отпишусь за кач-во фа. Не моросите, контора ровная
image source jaxx wallet
What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this
I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads.
I hope to contribute & aid different customers like its
helped me. Good job.
bet sport – https://betsport-br.com