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: |
Good answer back in return of this matter with firm arguments and describing everything about that.
dyson оригинал спб dn-pylesos-4.ru .
blackjack online – https://blackjackonline-br.com
go to my site https://universalx.buzz/
дайсон пылесос спб pylesos-dn-7.ru .
пин-ап казино
you can try here https://tophat.cc/
игра в риобет
I used to be able to find good info from your blog articles.
betcris – https://www-betcris.com
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
купить пылесос дайсон в санкт петербурге беспроводной pylesos-dn-8.ru .
Modern online casinos offer a wide selection of games, from classic slots to innovative video games https://bsnss.net/novosti-biznesa/vhod-v-pin-up-rukovodstvo-dlya-novichkov.html
spin casino – https://spin-casino-mx.com
Thank you, I have just been looking for info about this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have discovered so far. But, what concerning the bottom line? Are you positive about the source?
bet master – https://bet-master-mx.com
leadnest.click – Found practical insights today; sharing this article with colleagues later.
https://theshaderoom.com/
gg999 – https://gg999-bonus.com
Wonderful goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely magnificent. I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it wise. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is really a great website.
pragmatic – https://pragmatic-mx.com
I appreciate your work, thanks for all the great blog posts.
After I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
lobo888 – https://www.lobo888-br.com
his response https://agents-land.org/
official site https://askthehive.org
onebra – https://onebra-br.com
mx casino – https://mx-casino-mx.com
my sources https://kingprotocol.net/
esport bet – https://esportbet-br.com
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Many thanks
You’ve made some really good points there. I looked on the
internet for more information about the issue and found most individuals
will go along with your views on this site.
Visit my blog :: Modded Goldfish Casino Apk
Modern online casinos offer a wide selection of games, from classic slots to innovative video games https://rupor74.ru/razvitie-mobilnyh-prilozheniy-v-sfere-razvlecheniy/
пылесос дайсон pylesos-dn-6.ru .
алкоголь на дом 24 алкоголь на дом 24 .
Free kick goals, direct and indirect set piece conversions tracked
caliente – https://caliente-777.com
1bet – https://1bet-mx.com
spicy bet – https://spicybet-br.com
jogowin – https://www.jogowin-br.com
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.
http://xn--h1a1ab.xn--p1ai/index.php?name=account&op=info&uname=vacuousmarsh82
пылесосы dyson pylesos-dn-7.ru .
pin up онлайн официальный
why not try this out https://universalx.lat/
I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This piece
of writing posted at this site is genuinely fastidious.
Also visit my web blog – entain responsible gambling – Gerardo,
La recompense d’inscription 1xBet offre aux utilisateurs inscrits de reclamer un bonus equivalent a 100 % avec un plafond de 100 €. Sans necessiter de code specifique, l’offre classique est ajoutee apres le premier depot. Meme sans code, l’utilisateur peut profiter de la promotion. Pour plus de details, cliquez ici pour continuer : https://fmiguild.org/pags/code_promotionnel_21.html
riobet официальный сайт
Set piece efficiency, corner and free kick conversion rates
pin-up autenticación pin-up autenticación