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: |
see this page https://yomix.biz
discover this info here https://anycoindirect.me/
Ganesha Gold on auto-spin works best with a pre-defined limit.
right here https://swaplab.io/
visit this website https://anycoindirect.me
read what he said https://letsexchange.cc
additional reading https://daobase.info/
more helpful hints https://anycoindirect.me/
index https://daobase.info/
hop over to here https://daobase.info
view website https://daobase.online/
view https://mixmy.money
why not try these out https://anycoindirect.me
browse around this web-site https://daobase.online
view it https://daobase.info/
click here now https://letsexchange.cc/
Click This Link https://letsexchange.cc/
Bonuses https://bitmix.app
https://propterest.com.au/user/81065/betviepcodd26
Bu arada, eger 6 metrekare hal? olcusu nedir konusuyla ilgileniyorsan?z, buray? inceleyin. Link burada: https://evhobileri.com/articles/6-metre-kare-hali-olcusu-ve-uygulamalari/
pop over to this web-site https://yomix.biz/
check this site out https://swaplab.io/
linked here https://bitmix.app/
why not look here https://anycoindirect.me
https://www.mubis.ru/media/pgs/kreativnye_sochetaniya_odnoletnih_i_mnogoletnih_rasteniy.html
browse around these guys https://swaplab.io/
pop over to this website https://bitmix.app/
read the article https://mixmy.money/
visite site https://swaplab.io/
why not check here https://yomix.biz/
Bonuses https://bitmix.app
Playing with real funds can make each digital session feel
more dynamic and immersive. At ann online cwsino for real money, players
cann experience a livelier laying rhythm. Modern audiences often look ffor easy-to-read
account information, smooth paqyment features, and a user-friendly layout.
Together, these elements create a positiove environment.
more https://swaplab.io
https://oazis-tour.com/pgs/kreativnye_idei_dlya_organizacii_prostranstva_v_chemodane.html
look here https://bitmix.app/
anonymous https://tornadocash.app/
why not try this out https://swaplab.io/
their website https://bitmix.app/
why not try here https://letsexchange.cc
click this site https://yomix.biz/
Bonus terms readability is the new ranking factor for casinos.
my company https://tornadocash.app
Туси слишком долго прёт купить кокаин, мефедрон, бошки, марихуану Ребята с 11го года магазин работает на отлично, сомнений не у кого не должно быть!!!И все бы ничего, да вот только доставка стоит 1490 рублей, я по собственному опыту знаю что почта уже в пятницу вручила бы мне посылку, за Гораздо меньшие деньги, а кроме почты у нас и нет ничего, поселок в сибири! Зачем было выбирать эту курьерку непонятно, тем более что отзывы про нее никакие! Неужели непонятно что дрога ложка к обеду, да и вообще, не понятно до сих пор была ли вообще отправка!!!
Visit Website https://tornadocash.app/
click reference https://daobase.online
top article https://swaplab.io
http://givestation.org/
Givestation apresenta-se como uma consultora experiente dedicada ao tecido empresarial portugues, que proporciona solucoes personalizadas a empresas e particulares, destacando-se por na transparencia e confianca. Saiba mais aqui.
Source https://daobase.online
basics https://swaplab.io
her comment is here https://daobase.online/