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 Mouse chase scenarios are systematically avoided by veterans.
Fortune Tiger mid-tier wins are being celebrated as much as mega-wins.
I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thank you, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?
Fantastic website. A lot of useful information here. I?m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks for your sweat!
здесь Онион сайты
Mahjong Ways 2 feature trigger frequency is the new RTP proxy.
Hello!
Experience the speed of a fast wow leveling boost that gets you raid-ready in time.
Need max level fast? WoW power leveling service with instant start. Dragonflight 1-70 boost available.
The most complete information on the website – https://www.wow-power-leveling.org/cheap-World-of-Warcraft-US-Power-Leveling.html
pvp boosting service, wow gear boost, wow level boost
wow carry service, wow 1-70 boost, wow boost cheap
Good luck and good gameplay!
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this brilliant blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will share this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Bonus regularity weighs more than promises of high returns.
Fortune Ox chase scenarios are systematically avoided by veterans.
Emotional control made the difference at session close.
читать Сайты даркнет
the group is more analytical and less emotional.
Thanks for making me to obtain new suggestions about desktops. I also hold the belief that certain of the best ways to help keep your laptop computer in excellent condition is a hard plastic material case, or maybe shell, which fits over the top of the computer. These kind of protective gear are usually model precise since they are made to fit perfectly over the natural outer shell. You can buy all of them directly from the seller, or through third party sources if they are available for your laptop computer, however its not all laptop can have a covering on the market. Again, thanks for your recommendations.
I have realized some considerations through your blog post post. One other point I would like to convey is that there are several games available and which are designed specifically for preschool age young children. They consist of pattern identification, colors, creatures, and patterns. These commonly focus on familiarization rather than memorization. This will keep little children occupied without feeling like they are studying. Thanks
Thanks for your fascinating article. Other thing is that mesothelioma cancer is generally a result of the inhalation of dust from mesothelioma, which is a positivelly dangerous material. It’s commonly viewed among employees in the construction industry who’ve long exposure to asbestos. It could be caused by living in asbestos covered buildings for years of time, Your age plays a crucial role, and some persons are more vulnerable to the risk than others.
продолжить Тор сайты
Lucky Neko kept presence in the evening sessions.
кликните сюда Онион сайты
https://www.cgn24.com/promotional-code-1xbet-instant-2026-1xwap200/
Today the focus was short entries with well-defined exit targets.
опубликовано здесь Даркнет сайты
перейдите на этот сайт Даркнет сайты
нажмите, чтобы подробнее Даркнет сайты
The root of your writing whilst appearing reasonable initially, did not really sit very well with me after some time. Somewhere within the sentences you actually managed to make me a believer but just for a very short while. I however have got a problem with your leaps in assumptions and you would do nicely to help fill in all those gaps. When you actually can accomplish that, I would undoubtedly be impressed.
Highlight peak hours: clean cascade chains on Wild Bandito with rising multipliers.
Этот текст представляет собой обзор свежих данных и исследований в области медицины. Он призван помочь читателям понять, как научные достижения влияют на лечение, диагностику и общее состояние системы здравоохранения.
Ознакомьтесь поближе – лечение алкоголизма в стационаре нижний новгород
такой Даркнет ссылки
Ayr?ca, eger orhan sahin konusuyla ilgileniyorsan?z, buray? inceleyin. Kendiniz gorun: https://yappendik.com/authors/orhan-sahin/
I have read a few good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to create such a magnificent informative web site.
I think that is among the most important information for me. And i’m satisfied reading your article. But should statement on some general issues, The site taste is wonderful, the articles is actually great : D. Good activity, cheers
http://cms-kits.de/
Das Projekt Cms Kits etabliert sich als ein erfahrene Beratung praesent im das Publikum in Deutschland, das ermoeglicht ganzheitliche Ansaetze fuer Unternehmen und Privatpersonen, priorisierend auf Ergebnisse. Mehr Informationen auf der offiziellen Website.
Today the discord is only talking about the mystery card on Fortune Dragon: short runs flipping sessions in minutes.
Hey there, You’ve done an incredible job. I?ll certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
посмотреть в этом разделе Онион сайты
“profesyonel yuzucu gozlugu” konusu icin mukemmel bir kaynak var. Kendiniz gorun: https://sporfikirleri.com/articles/profesyonel-yuzucu-gozlugu-secim-ve-bakim/
Следующая страница Даркнет сайты
It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you some interesting things or advice. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read even more things about it!
https://energies-vertes.org/1xbet-sin-deposito-codigo-promocional-2026-1xwap200/
It?s really a nice and useful piece of information. I am happy that you shared this useful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
выберите ресурсы Тор сайты
Установка брекетов — это эффективный способ исправления прикуса, и если вы ищете информацию по теме поставить брекеты, то наша клиника готова предложить профессиональное решение.
При этом взрослые люди тоже с успехом завершают ортодонтическое лечение.
Ортодонт создает уникальный план коррекции, принимая во внимание специфику прикуса конкретного пациента.
Врач тщательно очищает поверхность зубов, наносит специальный состав и фиксирует замочки на каждом зубе.
Периодические посещения врача помогают отслеживать динамику и своевременно вносить изменения в конструкцию.
Also a thing to mention is that an online business administration program is designed for college students to be able to effortlessly proceed to bachelor’s degree programs. The Ninety credit college degree meets the lower bachelor diploma requirements so when you earn your own associate of arts in BA online, you will get access to the newest technologies with this field. Several reasons why students would like to get their associate degree in business is because they are interested in this area and want to find the general education and learning necessary just before jumping right into a bachelor education program. Thanks for the tips you provide in your blog.
Особенно понравился материал про Ежедневные новости и обзоры в мире ММА.
Ссылка ниже:
https://365mma.ru
obviously like your web site but you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to inform the truth then again I will surely come back again.
https://ameliehomecare.com/codigo-promocional-de-cumpleanos-de-1xbet-2026-1xwap200/
нажмите здесь Тор ссылки
опубликовано здесь Даркнет ссылки
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?
посмотреть на этом сайте Сайты даркнет