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: |
official source https://toast-wallet.net
I always used to read post in news papers but now as I am a user of net therefore from now I am using net for
content, thanks to web.
автобус санкт петербург 11 avtobusnye-ekskursii-po-spb.ru .
Awesome article.
betfair – https://betfair-777.com
Ребята, а вы знаете, где сейчас реально выиграть в онлайн-казино? После десятков проверок остановился на лицензированных площадках. Важно: минимальный депозит. Актуальный рейтинг с джекпотами и кэшбэком — по ссылке: казино клубника. Обсуждаем!
туры по россии на 3 4 дня из спб tury-v-piter.ru .
luckia – https://luckia-mx.com
today – https://www.today-br.com
esport bet – https://esportbet-br.com
риобет онлайн
http://www.fanart-central.net/pictures/user/InvadrKet1/487220/Nny
Друзья, не тратьте время на левые сайты! Играйте только в честные казино с быстрым выводом. Мой личный топ с реальными выплатами — по ссылке: [url=https://telegra.ph/Promokody-dlya-topovyh-kazinon-Luchshie-promokody-2024n-EHksklyuzivnye-promokody-kazinon-Bonusy-i-promokody-onlajn-kazinon-Poluc-01-07]онлайн казино[/url]. Кто что может порекомендовать?
read this post here jaxx
caliente – https://www-caliente.com
pop over to this website jaxx
read this post here https://toast-wallet.net/
Узнай больше на официальном сайте компании — https://only-most.ru/pages/1xbet_promokod_55.html
yak casino – https://yak-casino-mx.com
https://juicedmuscle.com/forum/general/news-announcements/267835-classifiedseo-the-best-platform-for-classified-ads-in-india
bingo – https://bingo-br.com
турне как пишется турне как пишется .
official site jaxx liberty
wonderful points altogether, you simply won a new reader. What would you recommend in regards to your post that you just made a few days ago? Any certain?
This is a really good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate information… Thank you for sharing this one. A must read article!
pixbet – https://pixbet-login.com
First of all I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I’ve had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Kudos!
winbrl – https://winbrl-br.com
vm777 – https://vm777-99.com
right here jax wallet
I personally find that the best choice I made for cross-chain transfers. Smooth and intuitive UI. The updates are frequent and clear.
I blog frequently and I seriously appreciate your content. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I’m going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.
https://brief.alaskawebgeeks.com/why-fortunica-casino-is-exceptional-a-detailed-assessment/
https://www.cobocards.com/pool/de/card/74063047/online-karteikarten-anreizkompatibilitaet/
I’m very pleased to find this great site. I want to to thank you for your time just for this wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every little bit of it and I have you saved to fav to look at new stuff on your blog.
bet esporte – https://betesporte-br.com
visit this website jaxx app
Hello there, I found your website via Google while searching for a related subject, your site came up, it appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks
Simply wish to say your article is as amazing. The clearness in your post is just great and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the gratifying work.
dicasbet – https://dicasbet-br.com
brapub – https://www.brapub-br.com
esportesdasorte – https://esportesdasorte-br.com
This platform exceeded my expectations with accurate charts and fast transactions. My withdrawals were always smooth.
играть на деньги riobet
Hi! I know this is sort of off-topic however I had to ask. Does managing a well-established blog such as yours require a lot of work? I am brand new to blogging however I do write in my diary on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!
For newest information you have to pay a quick visit the web and on the web I found this site as a best web page for newest updates.
visit this site jax wallet
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this hike.
Друзья, не тратьте время на левые сайты! Играйте только в лицензированные казино с быстрым выводом. Мой личный топ с реальными выплатами — по ссылке: килограм казино. Кто что может порекомендовать?
Currently it looks like WordPress is the best blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?