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: |
view it now gta san andreas apk download
visit this page geometry dash apk download
see this site cap cut apk
browse around here gta sa apk
link capcut apk download
this link cap cut apk
he said gta sa apk
you can try this out gta san andreas apk download
Jogo do Tigrinho tá pegando fogo em 2026! Quem já levou x200+ na cartinha misteriosa hoje?
my latest blog post geometry dash apk
advice capcut apk download
you can check here gta san andreas apk
insight. The clarity, flow, and passion in your writing make the entire
you can try this out geometry dash apk
read this post here capcut apk
read this geometry dash apk
see here capcut apk download
blog here geometry dash apk download
visit this page geometry dash apk
Homepage geometry dash apk download
try this website geometry dash apk download
i thought about this capcut mod apk
my sources cap cut apk
go to my blog capcut apk download
important source gta sa apk
view website capcut premium apk
important site geometry dash apk download
PG Slot 2026: Fortune Tiger ou Fortune Rabbit, qual vocês estão jogando mais?
click here for more info capcut premium apk
site web capcut apk download
he said geometry dash apk
helpful site capcut premium apk
from this source geometry dash apk
try this gta sa apk
review geometry dash apk download
discover this info here capcut apk download
Hello, I enjoy reading through your post.
I like to write a little comment to support you.
page geometry dash apk
article geometry dash apk
Recommended Site capcut premium apk
go to this site gta san andreas apk download
view publisher site gta sa apk
Wild Bandito sticky wilds: o roubo tá bom demais!
Clicking Here capcut mod apk
find out here now gta san andreas apk download
visit here gta san andreas apk
Fortune Tiger no Pix R$15: deposita agora e sai com 200 giros grátis + cashback!
navigate to this web-site capcut premium apk
hop over to this web-site gta sa apk
check my site geometry dash apk