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: |
If some one needs expert view about blogging after that i suggest him/her to pay a visit this blog, Keep up the nice job.
Jogo do Tigrinho continua forte, mas a disputa com Ox e Rabbit está mais equilibrada nesta semana.
Magnificent beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a weblog site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I have been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided brilliant clear concept
Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this website.
Wild Bandito apareceu forte no começo da semana com sticky wild em pontos bem pagos.
Quem alternou entre Tiger e Rabbit relatou sessões mais equilibradas.
Fortune Dragon entra forte no grupo de novidades quentes.
Каждый выезд нарколога включает в себя не только инфузионную терапию, но и полноценную оценку состояния пациента, анализ рисков, а также консультацию по дальнейшему лечению. Врач может назначить дополнительные препараты для снятия симптомов ломки, восстановления водно-электролитного баланса и улучшения общего состояния пациента. Также важно, что консультация включает рекомендации по реабилитации, психологической поддержке и кодированию, если это необходимо для пациента, страдающего хроническим алкоголизмом или наркоманией.
Детальнее – нарколог на дом анонимно воронеж
Hello, this weekend is pleasant for me, as this moment i am reading this great informative piece of writing here at my home.
Fortune Dragon chamou atenção de quem quer variar do padrão clássico.
Ребята, статья про то, что важно знать о продвижении сайтов в 2026 году и как сделать SEO эффективным. Автор разбирает ключевые изменения алгоритмов, роль E-E-A-T и поведенческих факторов, важность технической оптимизации (скорость, мобильная адаптация, Core Web Vitals). Есть практические советы по работе с семантикой, контентом и внешними ссылками. Также затронута тема локального SEO и голосового поиска. Рекомендую: https://dogvoyage.ru/2026/04/prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-2026-godu-chto-vazhno-znat-i-kak-sdelat-seo-jeffektivnym/
Quem alternou entre Tiger e Rabbit relatou sessões mais equilibradas.
Nice answer back in return of this difficulty with solid arguments and explaining all on the topic of that.
These are in fact enormous ideas in on the topic of blogging. You have touched some fastidious points here. Any way keep up wrinting.
Fortune Dragon está atraindo quem gosta de volatilidade mais alta.
What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this web site, and piece of writing is in fact fruitful in favor of me, keep up posting these content.
Entrada no Pix e saque rápido continuam liderando as escolhas.
Teve jogador que entrou com banca pequena no Pix e saiu no lucro sem aumentar risco no meio da sessão.
Платежи на Яндекс-кошелек принимаем как и раньше. https://usadba-nnov.ru Не-не, через форум заказы не принимаются. Заказывать нужно только через сайт, указанный в подписи.сайт не грузится, в пятницу меня кормил завтраками поитогу пропал на выходные и больше в бросикс не выходил.
I think the admin of this site is in fact working hard in favor of his website, as here every data is quality based stuff.
Mahjong Ways 2 entregou cluster grande em sequência e levantou o multiplicador sem travar ritmo.
Fortune Ox segue atraindo quem gosta de intensidade.
I just like the helpful information you supply in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at again here frequently. I am rather sure I’ll be told many new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the following!
Sessão curta e disciplinada está rendendo mais que maratona sem controle.
Sessões objetivas estão substituindo longas rodadas sem plano.
I every time spent my half an hour to read this web site’s articles or reviews everyday along with a mug of coffee.
Jogo do Tigrinho ao vivo voltou a trend por causa da experiência mais dinâmica com transmissão.
Капельница от похмелья — это один из наиболее эффективных методов экстренной медицинской помощи, который позволяет быстро снять симптомы алкогольной интоксикации и восстановить организм после злоупотребления алкоголем. В наркологической клинике «Частный медик 24» в Самаре мы предоставляем услугу выезда нарколога на дом и капельной терапии для пациентов, испытывающих тяжёлые симптомы похмелья. Это удобный способ получить необходимую помощь без лишнего стресса, сохраняя анонимность и комфорт пациента.
Подробнее – капельница от похмелья
Wild Bandito mostrou força em entradas calculadas.
Sessões objetivas estão substituindo longas rodadas sem plano.
https://strendus-bet.com.mx/
Strendus es una plataforma de juego mexicana inaugurado en 2020 por New Ads, S.A. de C.V. bajo el marco regulatorio de SEGOB, creado especificamente para el mercado mexicano y no como una mera adaptacion linguistica de sitios europeos.
Pix de valor baixo segue dominando as entradas rápidas.
такой kraken даркнет ссылка
Fortune Ox voltou a entregar tela cheia com frequência e chamou atenção da galera no fim da noite.
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
Fortune Rabbit sustentou boa performance em blocos curtos.
Meta diária curta está funcionando melhor que meta ambiciosa.
Mahjong Ways 2 segue firme para quem curte cascata e progressão.
Поставки титана и его сплавов востребованы в медицине, авиации и химическом машиностроении.
https://rms-ekb.ru/catalog/stalnoi-list/stalnoi-list-khn77tiu-3x1300x1800-gost-24982-81-zharoprochnyi-goriachekatanyi/
buy property in dubai south studio room for monthly rent in al quoz uber homes real estate dubai
Meta diária curta está funcionando melhor que meta ambiciosa.
Pix baixo continua sendo a porta de entrada favorita para testar novos slots.
Запрос на выезд врача связан не только с классическим запоем. На практике домашняя помощь нужна в разных ситуациях, когда организму уже трудно компенсировать последствия употребления, а откладывание визита увеличивает риск осложнений.
Детальнее – вызов нарколога на дом
O melhor setup do dia: banca definida, tempo limitado, sem chase de perda.
Buy Cialis online Cialis without a doctor prescription VeritasCare
Fortune Rabbit entregou respins curtos com boa regularidade.
https://strendus-bet.com.mx/
Strendus constituye un sitio de apuestas mexicano inaugurado en 2020 por New Ads, S.A. de C.V. bajo el marco regulatorio de SEGOB, desarrollado particularmente para el mercado local y no a modo de una mera adaptacion linguistica de operadores europeos.
https://strendus-bet.com.mx/
Strendus es un casino mexicano operativo desde 2020 de la mano de New Ads, S.A. de C.V. bajo la regulacion de SEGOB, pensado especialmente para los jugadores del pais y no en forma de una conversion literal de operadores europeos.
https://strendus-bet.com.mx/
Strendus representa un sitio de apuestas mexicano operativo desde 2020 a cargo de New Ads, S.A. de C.V. bajo el marco regulatorio de SEGOB, disenado expresamente para los jugadores del pais lejos de ser una simple traduccion de plataformas europeas.
Teve jogador que entrou com banca pequena no Pix e saiu no lucro sem aumentar risco no meio da sessão.