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: |
Mahjong Ways 2 continua dando cascades boas? Quem já viu um cluster grande?
navigate to this site toast wallet passphrase
go to this web-site jax wallet
article source jax wallet
visit homepage https://jaxx-web.org
Wild Bandito tá mais quente que o Tigrinho essa semana!
he has a good point jaxx wallet
Trusted and honest online casinos from the TOP 10 rating Олимп Казино
visit site toast wallet passphrase
go to website jaxx liberty
important link https://jaxx-web.org/
check my site jaxx
Fortune Dragon novo lançamento, já testaram? Tá valendo a pena?
visit this site right here jaxx crypto
Мир онлайн-игр динамично смещается к смартфонам, обеспечивая гибкость к функционалу. драгон мани скачать предоставляет мобильную версию, повышая пользовательский опыт доступным.
Этот сборник информации привлекает множеством мелких деталей и необычных ракурсов. Мы предлагаем взгляды, редко полезные, но способные немного разнообразить знакомство с темой.
Подробнее читать – плитка для ванны
my latest blog post https://jaxx-web.org/
recommended you read toast wallet recovery
Wild Bandito: quem acha que ele está mais quente que o Tigrinho?
hop over to these guys https://jaxx-web.org
sites https://jaxx-web.org
It functions as a system-wide service integrating with macOS’s SiriKit to add custom voice commands for controlling application windows and managing workspaces.
You should see:
terminal utility to test storage performance m2 mac
View info:
This utility enhances macOS drag-and-drop by adding spring-loaded folder navigation with configurable delay timings and visual feedback for hierarchical directory structures.
from this source https://toast-wallet.net
view it now jaxx liberty wallet
click this site jaxx liberty wallet
Homepage toast wallet passphrase
check out here https://jaxx-web.org/
find out this here https://jaxx-web.org/
their explanation jax wallet
Для тех, кто ищет информацию по теме “скачать вавада онлайн казино”, там просто кладезь информации. Вот, можете почитать: https://vavadasloty.com
hop over to this website jaxx liberty wallet
try this jaxx
go to website https://jaxx-web.org
Get More Information https://jaxx-web.org
try these out toast wallet download
click https://jaxx-web.org
more tips here https://jaxx-web.org/
explanation jaxx liberty wallet
Get More Information https://jaxx-web.org/
try this web-site https://jaxx-web.org
navigate here jaxx crypto
Our site https://jaxx-web.org/
here jaxx liberty
Рады вашей работе) https://vstroimmebel.ru Заказ пришёл, все ровно)тоже самое оплатил 3.02 трек получил через 5 дней но он до сих пор не бьется ТС расскзывает сказки что трек в течении 2х рабочих дней начнет биться я наверно похож на дебила я за свою жизнь получил курьерок больше чем отправил данный ТС РЕБЯТА ПРИТОРМОЗИТЕ СВОЮ ОПЛАТУ ПОКА Я НЕ ПОЛУЧУ СВОЙ ГРУЗ!!!!! Я кругосуточно в сети и буду держать Вас в курсе своих событий!!!!
website link jaxx liberty wallet
read the article https://jaxx-web.org/
moved here jaxx liberty wallet
Казино 888starz радует игроков разнообразием слот-автоматов, . В рамках этой статьи мы рассмотрим, как онлайн-казино 888starz работает в Узбекистане и какие преимущества предоставляет раздел ставок на спорт 888starz. Платформа лицензирована и регулируется, .
Пользователи Узбекистана могут легко зарегистрироваться на сайте 888starz, . Процесс верификации прост и позволяет начать играть в считанные минуты, . Основные плюсы сервиса — мгновенные выплаты и внушительный каталог игр, . Абзац 2: Коллекция слотов на сайте 888starz формируется ведущими студиями и независимыми разработчиками, . Игровые автоматы отличаются захватывающим дизайном и показательными бонусами. Раздел настольных игр на платформе также обширен: рулетка, блэкджек, бинго и прочие варианты, .
888star https://888starzuzz.com/
link jaxx
you can try this out https://jaxx-web.org/