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: |
Эта информационная заметка содержит увлекательные сведения, которые могут вас удивить! Мы собрали интересные факты, которые сделают вашу жизнь ярче и полнее. Узнайте нечто новое о привычных аспектах повседневности и откройте для себя удивительный мир информации.
Не упусти шанс – вызов нарколога на дом круглосуточно
Mid-stake bands proved the sweet spot for Mahjong Ways 2 this week.
вход 888starz вход 888starz .
click resources https://daobase.info/
try here https://daobase.info
other https://bitmix.app/
visit here https://swaplab.io
blog https://tornadocash.app/
visit our website https://letsexchange.cc
top article https://anycoindirect.me
website here https://letsexchange.cc
go to this web-site https://swaplab.io
link https://yomix.biz/
Read Full Article https://daobase.info/
stars 888 stars 888 .
view https://swaplab.io
Можно ли доверять бесплатным VPN-расширениям для браузера?
https://vodka-kazino77.mom/zerkalo
Если нужен водка казино вход, лучше использовать проверенные источники. Я тестировал разные варианты. Этот оказался нормальным. Работает
my site https://tornadocash.app/
see this page https://mixmy.money/
that site https://yomix.biz
Full Report https://anycoindirect.me
Отраслевой охват впечатляет: от медицины до космической промышленности
https://redmetsplav.ru/store/vismut/rossiyskie-splavy-2/vismut-splav-vuda—tu-6-09-4064-87/krug-vismutovyy-splav-vuda—tu-6-09-4064-87/
pop over to this site https://daobase.io/
pop over to this site https://daobase.online
home https://letsexchange.cc/
Today the community is only talking about the mystery card on Wild Bandito: short runs flipping sessions in minutes.
Related Site https://bitmix.app
visit our website https://tornadocash.app/
read here https://letsexchange.cc
В статье представлены ключевые моменты по актуальной теме, дополненные советами экспертов и ссылками на дополнительные ресурсы. Цель материала — дать читателю инструменты для самостоятельного развития и принятия осознанных решений.
Продолжить изучение – цена вывода из запоя в стационаре
check my site https://tornadocash.app
you could try these out https://swaplab.io
look at this web-site https://swaplab.io/
More Bonuses https://tornadocash.app
Мы предлагаем вам окунуться в океан любопытных фактов и вдохновляющих историй. Эта публикация поможет расширить горизонты, разбудить интерес к науке и истории и увидеть мир с новой стороны.
Получить дополнительную информацию – центр вывод из запоя
my website https://daobase.info/
В этом интересном тексте собраны обширные сведения, которые помогут вам понять различные аспекты обсуждаемой темы. Мы разбираем детали и факты, делая акцент на важности каждого элемента. Не упустите возможность расширить свои знания и взглянуть на мир по-новому!
Раскрыть тему полностью – капельница от запоя воронеж
Этот текст призван помочь читателю расширить кругозор и получить практические знания. Мы используем простой язык, наглядные примеры и структурированное изложение, чтобы сделать обучение максимально эффективным и увлекательным.
Детальнее – прокапывание от алкоголя на дому
like it https://bitmix.app
about his https://daobase.info
my explanation https://swaplab.io/
over here https://mixmy.money
По теме “Актуальные события Волгоградской области”, нашел много полезного.
Ссылка ниже:
https://34media.ru
click here to find out more https://letsexchange.cc
visit here https://bitmix.app
try here https://bitmix.app
https://ip-nsk.ru/uslugi/sozdanie-saytov/
discover this https://daobase.info/
a fantastic read https://yomix.biz