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: |
Fortune Ox became the option for those wanting fast impact.
Best setup of the day: defined bankroll, time cap, no loss chase.
Врач уточняет длительность запоя, тип употребляемого алкоголя и наличие сопутствующих заболеваний. Тщательный анализ этой информации позволяет оперативно определить степень интоксикации и подобрать наиболее эффективные методы терапии, минимизируя риск осложнений.
Получить больше информации – вывод из запоя недорого в ярославле
Fortune Tiger feature trigger frequency is the new RTP proxy.
samantha killington escort Elite escort services Belek, Fethiye, Kusadasi ladyboy mos escort
Fortune Tiger demo runs of $100-equivalent are being benchmarked weekly.
https://roskaz-energo.kz/ru-kz/
https://8ua.ru/hsCHAA6a/
Наркологическая информационная сеть «Narkology» предлагает профессиональную помощь в преодолении зависимостей и восстановлении психоэмоционального равновесия. Наши эксперты проводят комплексную диагностику, разрабатывают индивидуальные программы лечения и предоставляют всестороннюю психологическую поддержку. Мы используем новейшие методики и актуальные подходы, чтобы помочь вам вернуть уверенность в себе и начать путь к здоровью. Доверьтесь профессионалам «Narkology», и мы окажем всю необходимую информационную помощь на пути к выздоровлению.
Получить дополнительную информацию – патологическое опьянение характеризуется
https://majesticway.kz/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://1xbetpromocodefreebets.com/codigo-de-desconto-1xbet-2026-zanos24-aposta-gratis-130/
http://abitotrade.com/
A empresa Abitotrade posiciona-se como uma empresa profissional orientada para panorama nacional portugues, que entrega solucoes personalizadas a empresas e particulares, destacando-se por na excelencia do servico. Veja a oferta completa atraves do link.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
Удобство и современный дизайн обеспечат вентиляционные жалюзи с электроприводом прокарниз, которые легко управляются с помощью пульта или смартфона.
Такая автоматизация выгодно отличает их от традиционных моделей, которые требуют ручного регулирования.
Tournament leaderboards on Fortune Tiger are filled with steady-volume players.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://8ua.ru/hsCHAA6a/
Auto-spin caps are now standard practice across the discord.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
Не сотрудничайте с Мариновой Татьяной директор компании ГК Арте Дизайн и ООО «Студия дизайна Нуволе Бьянке», ИНН/КПП 7203498458/720301001 у нее в проекте много технических ошибок, которые привели к переделки стен, плитки, сан технического узла, причем многое исправляли за свой счет, по итогу пропала и не доделала ремонт квартиры
Lucky Neko signaled hard during the afternoon with features triggering in short sequences.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
Players rotating titles found more opportunities than those sticking to one game.
best online foreign pharmacies best no prescription pharmacy canada pharmacy not requiring prescription
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around
on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed
in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to
get there! Thanks
Fortune Mouse on auto-spin works best with a pre-defined limit.
به صورت جمعبندی
برای اون گروه از کاربرا که
بازیهای آنلاین پولی
وقت صرف میکنن
این سرویس آنلاین
کاملاً میتونه
بهدرد بخوره
نکته مثبت اینه که
وبسایتهایی مثل
еnfejɑronline حرفهای
و
شبکه sibbet
محبوبیت دارن
نتیجه نهایی اینکه
ارزش داشت
و
احتمالا
دوباره سراغش میام
Also viѕit my web page سایت قانونی – Isobel –
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
http://abitotrade.com/
A empresa Abitotrade posiciona-se como uma agencia especializada com forte presenca no panorama nacional portugues, que disponibiliza servicos de qualidade a empresas e particulares, valorizando no atendimento personalizado. Descubra todos os detalhes atraves do link.
8starz 8starz .
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
online viagra pharmacy reviews buying prescription drugs from canada compounding pharmacy low dose naltrexone
Fortune Dragon kept presence in the late night sessions.
Hello everyone!
Found an awesome slot platform!
Been playing at Joe Fortune Casino and I’m impressed: read the reviews here
They offer fast payouts. Reviewed on Trustpilot.
Have you played there?
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
Instant card made same-day entry and exit easier.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/
Short daily targets are working better than ambitious goals.
the discord shifted from hype reposts to data-driven debate.
Fortune Rabbit is back delivering full-screen wins, drawing attention morning.
A $50 crypto unlocked the bonus round and left budget to test Fortune Rabbit after.
https://pinterest.com/pin/1043075963713376846/