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: |
dyson пылесос купить спб pylesos-dn-6.ru .
пылесос дайсон беспроводной купить в спб вертикальный пылесос дайсон беспроводной купить в спб вертикальный .
dobrowin – https://dobrowin-br.net
great site jaxx crypto
Выгорание — это плата за неверность себе. Верните драйв через понимание механики.
Каждая ошибка — это шрам на Сакрале.
-тип личности генератор дизайн;
-дизайн человека генератор;
-генератор тип личности дизайн человека;
-генератор в хьюман дизайне;
-генератор это в дизайне человека;
-хьюман дизайн генератор;
-генератор это дизайн человека;
Your attention to detail really shines through.
Try an exciting new game at 100cuci that has already won the hearts of millions of players worldwide.
This dual action ensures your wardrobe stays fresh and safe for daily wear.
дайсон пылесос купить спб pylesos-dn-9.ru .
find this https://toast-wallet.net
пылесос дайсон спб dn-pylesos-2.ru .
Hi everybody, here every person is sharing these experience, therefore it’s nice to read this webpage, and I used to pay a visit this weblog daily.
пылесос дайсон спб pylesos-dn-7.ru .
доставка алкоголя в москве 24/7 доставка алкоголя в москве 24/7 .
site web https://toast-wallet.net/
I’m gone to say to my little brother, that he should also pay a visit this web site on regular basis to take updated from hottest news.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My blog is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would really benefit from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Many thanks!
дайсон пылесос дайсон пылесос .
marjack bet – https://marjackbet-br.com
дайсон официальный сайт в санкт петербург pylesos-dn-8.ru .
сайт дайсон спб dn-pylesos-kupit-5.ru .
doce888 – https://doce888-br.com
pinup bet – https://pinupbet-br.com
jojobet – https://jojobet-mx.com
алкоголь на дом круглосуточно алкоголь на дом круглосуточно .
mostbet nu funcționează http://mostbet2008.help/
esoccer bet – https://esoccerbet-br.com
roleta online – https://roletaonline-br.com
stands out.
infinity bet – https://infinitybet-br.com
dyson пылесос спб dn-pylesos-kupit-5.ru .
пылесос dyson спб pylesos-dn-8.ru .
купить пылесос дайсон спб dn-pylesos-4.ru .
пылесос dyson купить в спб dn-pylesos-kupit-4.ru .
This info is worth everyone’s attention. Where can I find out more?
дайсон официальный сайт спб дайсон официальный сайт спб .
Magnificent beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a blog web site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea
vm777 – https://vm777-44.com
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all folks you actually realize what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also talk over with my web site =). We may have a hyperlink exchange agreement between us
gg999 – https://gg999-bonus.com
finish because the clarity, structure, and passion in your writing
check jax wallet
wingdus – https://www.wingdus-br.com
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and the rest of the site is also really good.
winner mx – https://winner-mx-mx.com
dyson пылесос pylesos-dn-6.ru .
пылесосы dyson спб dn-pylesos-4.ru .
сервис дайсон в спб dn-pylesos-kupit-4.ru .
дайсон спб официальный дайсон спб официальный .
купить пылесос дайсон в санкт петербурге беспроводной dn-pylesos-2.ru .
пылесосы dyson спб пылесосы dyson спб .