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: |
Recommended Reading dmail airdrop
Подробнее здесь вотка бет
check this dmail airdrop
useful content https://www.houseofnova.nl/collections/lysergamides
Thanks for expressing your ideas with this blog. Also, a misconception regarding the finance institutions intentions while talking about foreclosure is that the loan company will not take my payments. There is a fair bit of time that the bank will need payments every now and then. If you are also deep in the hole, they’ll commonly call that you pay that payment in whole. However, that doesn’t mean that they will not take any sort of installments at all. In case you and the standard bank can manage to work anything out, your foreclosure approach may stop. However, if you ever continue to skip payments under the new plan, the property foreclosure process can just pick up from where it left off.
Following a few of the internal links revealed more posts of similar quality, and a stop at alfornephilly added more to that growing pile, sites where internal links lead to more good content rather than to more of the same recycled material are sites with depth and this one has clearly built that depth carefully.
Click This Link https://www.houseofnova.nl/collections/lysergamides
выберите ресурсы водка бет
В этой статье мы обсудим процесс восстановления после зависимостей, акцентируя внимание на различных методах и подходах к реабилитации. Читатели узнают, как создать план выздоровления и использовать полезные ресурсы для достижения устойчивых изменений.
Получить исчерпывающие сведения – выезд нарколога на дом круглосуточно
В данной статье рассматриваются проблемы общественного здоровья и социальные факторы, влияющие на него. Мы акцентируем внимание на значении профилактики и осведомленности в защите здоровья на уровне общества. Читатели смогут узнать о новых инициативах и программах, направленных на улучшение здоровья населения.
Погрузиться в детали – donetsk detox24
O multiplicador estourou no Candy Bonanza! Foi um Multiplicador de 50x absurdo, coisa de R$ 12.000.
hop over to these guys https://www.houseofnova.nl/collections/liquid-rcs
browse around these guys dmail usdt
aviator mw aviator mw
1win иваз кардани почта https://1win74120.help
original site https://www.houseofnova.nl/sitemap.xml
вывод из запоя на дому телефоны вывод из запоя на дому телефоны
click this site https://www.houseofnova.nl
Tive uma intuição com o Bikini Paradise agora à tarde e batata: R$ 2.000 de lucro.
Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and all. However just imagine if you added some great visuals or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this blog could undeniably be one of the very best in its niche. Good blog!
https://irenastyle.ru/pags/1win_promokod_pri_registracii_4.html
Picked this up while looking for something else and ended up reading every paragraph because it was actually informative, and after danebase I was sure I would come back, that does not happen often when most sites bury the useful parts under endless ads and pop ups today and across most categories online.
check my source https://www.houseofnova.nl/collections/pellets
visit the site https://www.houseofnova.nl/sitemap.xml
view publisher site https://www.houseofnova.nl/
additional resources https://www.houseofnova.nl/collections/tryptamines
Хочу выделить материал про Новости футбола и спорта Северной столицы.
Ссылка ниже:
https://fantottenham.ru
Today, taking into consideration the fast life style that everyone is having, credit cards get this amazing demand throughout the market. Persons throughout every arena are using the credit card and people who are not using the card have arranged to apply for one. Thanks for expressing your ideas about credit cards.
Se tá buscando Multiplicador 100x, vai de Treasures of Aztec. Peguei mais de 10k agora pouco.
выезд на дом нарколога анонимно выезд на дом нарколога анонимно
Эта публикация раскрывает психологические механизмы зависимости и их роль в развитии расстройств. Читатель узнает о том, как психология влияет на формирование зависимостей и как профессиональная помощь может изменить ситуацию.
Интересует подробная информация – детокс24
click this link now dmail depin union partnership
Going Here https://www.houseofnova.nl/sitemap.xml
Discover More Here https://www.houseofnova.nl/
check this dmail usdt
В данной статье рассматриваются физиологические и эмоциональные аспекты зависимости. Мы обсудим, как организм реагирует на зависимое поведение, и какие методы помогают восстановить здоровье и внутреннее равновесие.
Открыть полностью – детокс24
https://dancewiki.site/wiki/Code_promo_1XBET_Bonus_de_100_jusqu_130
Смотреть здесь вотка бет
Lucrando e sacando.
1win sayt orqali tikish 1win sayt orqali tikish
Galera, Roleta tá imperdível depois do almoço. Já fiz minha forra diária.
É mega win que fala.
Эта публикация обращает внимание на важность профилактики зависимостей. Мы обсудим, как осведомленность и образование могут помочь в предотвращении возникновения зависимости. Читатели смогут ознакомиться с полезными советами и ресурсами, которые способствуют здоровому образу жизни.
Изучите внимательнее – детокс24
look at this site dmail mail
Подробнее здесь vodka bet casino
http://avrio-communication.fr/
Le projet Avrio Communication est une structure experimentee focalisee sur le public en France, qui apporte des solutions sur mesure a ceux qui recherchent des resultats, en valorisant sur la confiance et la transparence. Decouvrez davantage sur cette page.
Meta batida.
Alavancagem perfeita no Bikini Paradise hoje de manhã. O segredo? O mercado premia a consistência.
Meu saldo tava baixo, mas o Hood vs Wolf me salvou ontem à noite.
Foi só aumentar a bet um pouquinho e o Candy Bonanza soltou um Mega Win. lucro de 5 meses na conta!