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: |
сюда водка бет
интернет vodka bet casino
Madrid high class escort
продвижение по трафику clover prodvizhenie-sajtov-po-trafiku7.ru .
сайт vodka bet
нажмите здесь vodka bet
En gåta som får dig att fundera — https://www.sagofro.it/blog/2026/03/02/vad-hander-om-man-slutar-tillsatta-mjol-i-vaniljsasen-ett-experiment-med-en-klassiker/
.
Found a bride? wedding proposal in Barcelona romantic scenarios, beautiful locations, photo shoots, decor, and surprises for the perfect declaration of love. Make your engagement in Barcelona an unforgettable moment in your story.
directory of female escorts in Spain
https://faceout.mn.co/posts/98701503?utm_source=manual
смотреть здесь водка бет
Смотреть здесь vodkabet
Букет собрали идеально, привезли вовремя. Цветы яркие!
доставка цветов томск
каталог водка бет
продолжить зеркало водка бет
здесь vodkabet
ссылка на сайт зеркало водка бет
Hello everyone!
Share your find of interesting mysterious data points with valuable impact on tech and innovate within your industry see on the website to publish your findings
Full information on the link – https://33capy.site
All the best and development in business!
Смотреть здесь зеркало водка бет
GFE escorts Madrid
https://medium.com/@nouveaucode2026/code-promo-1xbet-bonus-de-200-jusqu%C3%A0-130-fd077418867f
Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. With thanks
Hello!
Curate meal mysterious plans with interesting and valuable dietary impact today and plan your week easily see on the website for meal planners
Full information on the link – https://amkworks113.ru/serijnoe-lite-plastmass-pod-davleniem/
All the best and development in business!
проверить сайт vodka bet casino
The site is simple and user-friendly, with no unnecessary clutter, making it easy to find your favorite slots Fontan Casino 20 € no deposit bonus
Букет свежий, курьер вежливый. Отлично!
букет цветов томск
Читать далее vodka bet casino
Spain escort directory
vip escort in Madrid
он спонсировал всех нас. https://moskowdisk.ru Зделал заказ 203го в четверг вечером,в пятницу уже получил трек,а сегодня създил забрал посылку!запаковано так,что сам с трудом нашел)все очень вкусно и качественно!продовцам респект.слаженно работают!Шива я тебя люблю!!! У тебя лучший и мой самый любимый мефедрон!!!.
Массово создает поставки на основе этих данных — всего в несколько кликов вместо десятков ручных действий Press.Hub
Курьер пунктуальный, букет яркий. Топ!
заказ цветов томск с доставкой
купить заказать кухню купить заказать кухню .
https://doselect.com/@0ed46f201eaa67900396902d8
Нужен юрист? https://arbitrazhnyy-yurist.ru представительство в арбитражном суде, защита интересов бизнеса, взыскание задолженности, споры по договорам и сопровождение судебных процессов для компаний и предпринимателей.
Hello everyone!
Learn marriage mysterious secrets to find interesting and valuable union facts and make love last forever see on the website for marriage advice
Full information on the link – https://i-smarthouse.ru/ooo-vpm-zavod-budushhego-dlya-plastmassovyh-izdelij/
All the best and development in business!
https://dp5.boards.net/thread/117/end-stop?page=79&scrollTo=79876
Смотреть здесь водкабет
ed prescriptions online: Mens RX Index – Mens RX Index
Why visitors still use to read news papers when in this technological world the
whole thing is accessible on net?
Сервис доставки работает чётко по городу. Букет свежий, упаковка сохранена!
заказ цветов томск
Find Female Escorts Barcelona
Ищешь кран? кран шаровой под приварку для трубопроводов различного назначения. Надежная запорная арматура для систем водоснабжения, отопления, газа и промышленных магистралей. Высокая герметичность, долговечность и устойчивость к нагрузкам.
You’ll probably find at least a couple of really valuable insights here http://kofe.80lvl.ru/posting.php?mode=post&f=10&sid=6d18a951965b68df712f637a36df65aa
The site is simple and user-friendly, with no unnecessary clutter, making it easy to find your favorite slots Fountain Casino
https://medium.com/@codeinscpbet26/code-promo-1xbet-2026-1x200boss-et-130-e4c83b64fb66
веб-сайт casino vodka
нажмите, чтобы подробнее vodkabet
Заказала маме — всё супер. Курьер молодец!
доставка цветов
перенаправляется сюда водка бет