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Elka Ray

Autor de Hanoi Jane

10 Obras 24 Miembros 5 Reseñas

Obras de Elka Ray

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Well written but I hoped for more suspense. Good read in general, but (for me) it just isn't one of those books that you can't put down. I liked that the story is told in first person as we get an insight into Lily's head. Loved the last chapter, not so much the ending.

 
Denunciada
jakatomc | otra reseña | Dec 30, 2020 |
Divorce is Murder by Elka Ray is a 2019 Seventh Street Books publication.

Great start to a new mystery series!

Family law attorney, Toby Wong, is stunned to learn that her newest client is none other than Josh Barton, a guy she had a massive crush on as a teen. Josh and Toby met while attending a summer camp together, but Toby’s experience at the camp was marred by bullying, mainly from a group of girls whose ringleader, Tonya, ended up marrying Josh. Now Josh wants to divorce Tonya and needs a good attorney.

Although Josh threw Toby under the bus way back at summer camp, she still finds him attractive. Against her better judgment, she agrees to take his case. However, it seems Tonya has pulled a disappearing act. Their worst fears are finally confirmed when Tonya is found murdered. Now Josh is suspect number one and the evidence against him just keeps piling up. Toby joins forces with Josh’s criminal attorney hoping to clear him.

As Toby’s memories of that long -ago summer resurface, her feelings for Josh remain conflicted. However, Colin Destin, the detective working the case, might be the distraction she needs to get over her teenage crush. Meanwhile, Toby’s best friend and her fortune-telling mother offer help and advice, whether Toby wants it or not.

The further Toby digs into Tonya’s life, the murkier the case becomes, as shocking revelations come to light about Tonya, her friends, and possible lovers. Is Josh innocent or is Toby’s judgement clouded by her feelings for him? Could she be putting herself in danger?

This is a fun romantic mystery, packed with humor, zany characters, with just a small amount of poignancy, and a dollop of romance on top. While this is a solid whodunit, there is a gentle message about the lasting effects of bullying.

The story moves at a quick pace, with several interesting twists and curve balls tossed in, keeping me on my toes.

I think I’m going to really like Toby. I love the diversity in the book, and feel the series has a lot of potential. This book falls within the perimeters of the cozy mystery genre, but any fan of pure mysteries will enjoy this one. I’m interested in seeing how the series develops from here and what adventures Toby will encounter next!

4 stars
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Denunciada
gpangel | Oct 22, 2019 |
On the same night her young daughter dies Lily finds a beaten neglected child, around the same age as her daughter, on her doorstep. Citing ‘fate’ as her motivation she decides to keep the child.
The story follows Lily’s life over the next 11 years as she walks a fine line between right and wrong, good and bad. She is always trying to justify her actions while hiding a terrible secret that leaves a heavy burden on her life.

The story is full of raw emotion and tension. Lily runs from her old life and starts over where no-one knows her but there is always that foreboding feeling that her past will one day catch up with her.

The narration is mainly in short, sharp sentences which perfectly portrays the way Lily’s mind is thinking; fast, sharp and erratic. She is always despairing about life and thinking worse case scenarios.

When the note appears that someone knows what she did there are already a few likely suspects that kept me guessing and changing my mind constantly. I never did actually guess right!

I couldn’t read this book fast enough. I was anxious to see what Lily would do next and if she would ever get out of her dilemma.

A tension filled story of lies, betrayal and blackmail. A real sense of foreboding is felt throughout.
Highly recommended!

I received an ERC from the publisher.
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Denunciada
Ronnie293 | Jun 20, 2017 |
It's taken an age to get this review to the point where it can be published, because it's it's been so hard to clearly identify what about SAIGON DARK really worked for this reader, and why there were some niggling doubts remaining.

A seemingly straight-forward story where Lily, a competent, respected surgeon has returned to her native Saigon, two children with her - leaving behind a failed marriage to an American Vietnamese man. When her young daughter dies in a drowning accident, she buries the body in her garden - never telling anyone what happened. Then grief-stricken Lily kidnaps (rescues) an abused child from the house next door, raising her as her dead daughter. Suddenly not so straight-forward.

Guilt, sadness and paranoia abound in this novel, which quite often feels like a long-running train crash, as Lily spirals out of control. The portrait of this woman is interesting and particularly well done as you have a seemingly competent, assertive woman in her professional life, who, from the moment she finds the body of her daughter, does so many inexplicable things. But it's not just the daft decisions, it's the absolute refusal to take stock / to consider the potential consequences / to stop and breathe until, as the reader just knows will happen, reality turns around and bites back hard.

Obviously there's an unreliable narrator at the centre of SAIGON DARK. Or is it perhaps the sinister echo of the ex-husband or her the best friend, miles away and somehow complicit in something. Perhaps this is where the niggling doubts come from. There's a lot of belief being suspended here. Sure you might think a little boy would accept a sudden change in sister without dropping his mother into it too deep, and you might sort of expect that an isolated, recently arrived family could hide a switch like this. And you can live with the idea that the guilt would be partly because Lily's dead daughter was a handful, and the hiding of her death by a seemingly intelligent, educated woman was all explainable. And the flitting, and returning, and the new husband, the ex-husband, and the odd interventions from the best friend, and and and. The batting away of disbelief is undoubtedly helped by the pace of the novel, and the cleverly sympathetic nature of the woman at the centre of it all, and fortunately, the unravelling starts early enough to give you hope that any doubts you might be experiencing aren't completely unreasonable.

All in all it's an interesting one this. SAIGON DARK is styled as a psychological thriller, with a central highly unreliable character who is oddly sympathetic and utterly infuriating all at the same time. Bought up in America, but with Vietnamese ancestry, she's both an insider and outsider. She's isolated without many friends or strong local connections, and she's profoundly impulse driven. With each wrong-turn she erects more and more hurdles to the point where you just know she's going to trip. And for most of SAIGON DARK this reader could not decide if that was a good or a bad thing. Definitely worth reading if you're looking for something that's outside the box by a long way.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-saigon-dark-elka-ray
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Denunciada
austcrimefiction | otra reseña | Feb 16, 2017 |

Estadísticas

Obras
10
Miembros
24
Popularidad
#522,742
Valoración
½ 3.5
Reseñas
5
ISBNs
14
Idiomas
2