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: |
Panathinaikos 2-2 Viktoria Plzen 2026 Europa League dramatic draw
нажмите blacksprut ссылка
Fortune Tiger x Fortune Rabbit: qual você joga mais em 2026? Vote nos comentários!
Следующая страница кракен актуальная ссылка
Jogo do Tigrinho multiplicador aleatório: melhor que respins fixos ou não? Opine!
здесь кракен
здесь https://slon4-at.at/
продолжить blacksprut ссылка
https://petmedsmonitor.shop/# pet meds for dogs
Jogo do Tigrinho estratégia baixa aposta: R$0,25 por 1000 giros – funciona?
Panathinaikos 2-2 Viktoria Plzen 2026 Europa League dramatic draw
Jogo do Tigrinho no Pix: depósito R$10 e ganha 80 giros na hora – testado!
Cassino PG Soft com roleta diária: 50–300 giros grátis no Fortune Tiger
такой slon5 at
Betboom VIP: quem já subiu de nível só jogando Fortune Tiger? Benefícios reais
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo com narração: já jogou versão com locutor em português?
Jogo do Tigrinho cashback sem limite: qual site tá pagando mais em 2026?
Jogo do Tigrinho multiplicador 10x: já ativou 3 vezes na mesma sessão? Mítico!
посылка упакована оригинально =)) и скорость сборки удивила! https://soul-power.ru но за долгое сотрудничество с этим203 вообще шикарный ) мне понравился. спасибо Вам)
сайт bs2best at ссылка
PG Soft 2026: quem tá lucrando mais com cashback ou giros grátis?
В статье представлены ключевые моменты по актуальной теме, дополненные советами экспертов и ссылками на дополнительные ресурсы. Цель материала — дать читателю инструменты для самостоятельного развития и принятия осознанных решений.
Как это работает — подробно – https://golf.wpxblog.jp/%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%81%AE%E8%A9%B1%E9%A1%8C
Ludogorets 2-1 Ferencvaros 2026 Europa League Bulgarian edge
каталог bs2best at
PG Soft cashback semanal: quem já pegou R$300+ só de devolução?
Смотреть здесь kra ссылка
PG Soft mobile 2026: melhor experiência no Android ou iOS? Conta sua opinião
веб-сайт кракен ссылка
Fortune Tiger no Pix R$10: deposita agora e já sai com 120 giros grátis + cashback 12%
посмотреть на этом сайте kraken marketplace
https://ruptur.com/libs/photo/promokod-fonbet.html
Jogo do Tigrinho Pix R$5: recebe raspadinha com até 150 giros garantidos
перейти на сайт сайт kraken onion
Vbet 2026: torneio PG Soft com R$500 mil em prêmios – já entrou no Jogo do Tigrinho?
Fortune Tiger cartinha x10: melhor sensação do ano ou só sorte pura? Vote!
PG Soft torneio diário R$20k: quem tá subindo no leaderboard do Fortune Tiger?
посмотреть на этом сайте kraken ссылка тор
Читать далее 2fa blacksprut
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo: quem já ganhou big win assistindo dealer brasileiro?
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo com dealer: já jogou versão live? Vale a pena?
Fortune Rabbit tá pagando mais consistente que o Tigrinho? Mostra seu maior respin nos comentários!
в этом разделе кра сайт
страница kraken актуальные ссылки
перейти на сайт kraken зеркало рабочее
нажмите здесь https://slon4-at.at
PG Soft torneio diário R$30 mil: quem tá lucrando todo dia no Fortune Tiger?
PG Soft 2026: qual slot você joga mais: Tigrinho, Coelho, Touro ou outro?
Fortune Ox explodiu tudo ontem! Quem já limpou a tela com 12+ touros dourados?
Типография «повсюду» предлагает полный спектр полиграфических услуг в москве — от визиток и листовок до сувенирной продукции и наружной рекламы. Современное оборудование позволяет выполнять заказы любой сложности в кратчайшие сроки с гарантией качества. Ищете подарки оптом москва? Заказать печать можно на сайте povsyoudo.ru, где представлен полный каталог услуг с расчетом стоимости. Типография принимает персональные макеты, оказывает дизайнерские услуги и организует доставку по столице и подмосковью.
Подробнее кракен войти