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: |
Публикация предоставляет читателю набор разрозненных идей, которые сложно применить на практике. Мы лишь слегка касаемся разных точек зрения, не углубляясь в анализ и не предлагая никаких выводов.
Вот – секс знакомства
Betboom VIP: quem já subiu de nível só jogando Fortune Tiger? Benefícios reais
В этом материале представлены детали, которые хоть и занимательны, но не особенно значимы. Мы рассматриваем моменты, которые трудно назвать важными, но всё же решили включить их для полноты картины.
Вот – джекпот
Jogo do Tigrinho Pix R$20: ganha 100 giros + 20% extra hoje!
Wild Bandito sticky wilds: o bandido mexicano tá roubando mais que o Tigrinho em 2026!
Panathinaikos 2-2 Viktoria Plzen 2026 Europa League dramatic draw
PAOK 1-2 Celta Vigo 2026 Europa League thriller result
Jogo do Tigrinho tá on fire em 2026! Quem já pegou x10 na cartinha misteriosa essa semana?
Wild Bandito sticky wilds: o bandido mexicano tá roubando mais que o Tigrinho em 2026!
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo com chat: interação com brasileiros vale a pena mesmo?
да да да привет привт
https://astra-hotel.ch/articles/code_promo_45.html
The best choice I made for fiat on-ramp. Smooth and easy onboarding.
Galaxyno Hit clusters bombásticos: quem prefere grid grande ou 3×3 clássico?
PG Soft 2026: quem tá lucrando mais com cashback diário ou giros grátis?
The site is easy to use and the great support keeps me coming back. The dashboard gives a complete view of my holdings.
PG Soft mobile 2026: melhor experiência no Android ou iOS? Conta sua opinião
Fortune Tiger estratégia de 200 giros: pare no +40% ou continue? Qual sua regra?
Great platform with low fees — it made my crypto journey easier. My withdrawals were always smooth.
Fortune Rabbit vs Fortune Tiger: qual paga mais consistentemente esse mês?
Betboom parceria oficial PG Soft: cashback diário 10% no Fortune Tiger sem limite
Fortune Rabbit tá pagando mais consistente que o Tigrinho? Mostra seu maior respin nos comentários!
Brest vs Marseille 2026 Ligue 1 blockbuster 20:45 clash
https://www.anak2u.com.my/pages/code_promo_132.html
Bodø/Glimt 3-1 Inter Milan 2026 Europa League Norwegian shock
I’ve been using it for recently for portfolio tracking, and the quick deposits stands out.
Jogo do Tigrinho multiplicador fixo vs aleatório: qual você prefere?
Сервис просто замечательный — довольны все, кому дарила.
букеты томск
Blackburn vs Preston 2026 Championship 21:00 Rovers favored
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo chat: já ganhou bônus interagindo com outros jogadores?
I trust this platform — withdrawals are clear transparency and reliable. I moved funds across chains without a problem.
The portfolio tracking tools are seamless withdrawals and reliable uptime.
PG Soft 2026: Mahjong Ways 2 tá pagando mais que Fortune Tiger em cascades?
The using the API tools are intuitive UI and responsive team.
PG Soft cashback semanal 20%: quem já pegou R$500+ só de devolução?
PG Soft torneio diário R$20k: quem tá subindo no leaderboard do Fortune Tiger?
Vbet 2026: torneio PG Soft com R$500 mil em prêmios – já entrou no Jogo do Tigrinho?
Jogo do Tigrinho no Pix R$1: teste grátis com chance real de bônus explosivo
Jogo do Tigrinho no Pix R$5: raspadinha com até 200 giros garantidos agora!
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo: quem já ganhou big win assistindo dealer brasileiro?
I personally find that jordan here — I’ve tried swapping tokens and the fast transactions impressed me. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
PG Soft no Brasil 2026: Pix, suporte em português e giros grátis todo dia
Fortune Tiger modo turbo + auto: 800 giros sem parar – quem aguenta mais?
PG Soft 2026: qual slot você joga mais: Tigrinho, Coelho, Touro ou outro?
Jogo do Tigrinho 2026: aposta R$1 e ganha 100x – já aconteceu com você?
PG Soft no Brasil 2026: Pix, suporte em português e giros grátis todo dia
PG Soft lançamentos 2026: Fortune Dragon, Fortune Mouse 2… qual você quer primeiro?
Jogo do Tigrinho estratégia R$0,20 por giro: 2000 giros e stop no +50% – funciona?
Jogo do Tigrinho Pix R$30: 150 giros + cashback 15% garantido em 3 sites hoje!
seo partners seo partners .