Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Elka Ray and her new book, “What You Don’t Know: Tales of
Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions
Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this
post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card! Also, come back daily to interact with Elka
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous
giveaway!
What You Don't
Know: Tales of Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia
by Elka Ray
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Suspense, Short Stories
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BLURB:
An American
lawyer dreams of killing his trophy wife in Thailand. A Vietnamese soldier goes
mad in a haunted forest. A bereaved mother's trip to Cambodia ends in tragedy -
or does it?
Take a
spine-tingling journey from the jungles of Sumatra through Bangkok's seedy bars
to the seemingly sedate streets of Singapore. Your traveling companions are a
slew of dark emotions - fear, grief, jealousy, greed, lust and revenge. And
your destination? What you don't know can hurt you.
With flashes of
black humor and hard-to-forget characters, these ten stories shine light into
the dark corners of Southeast Asia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT THREE:
The
next day’s Bangkok Post is even worse. I read it on the plane to Krabi. There
are three separate stories, all of them short, but what it boils down to is
four dead tourists in less than twenty-four hours: a sixty-four year-old
Australian man found dead in an alley in Bangkok (drugs suspected, possibly not
self-administered); a thirty-one year-old Nigerian man stabbed, also in
Bangkok; and two Japanese drowning victims near Phuket, one a
twenty-one-year-old woman and the other her twenty-three-year-old male
companion.
Am
I here at an unusually unlucky time? Or is this normal?
It’s
not until my untouched in-flight meal has been cleared away that the idea comes
to me. At first, it’s just a crazy idea. But the more I think about it, the
more sense it makes.
I
am forty-nine years old. Candice is thirty-eight. We both have a lot of years
ahead of us.
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REVIEW:
This book is a
collection of ten short stories that all take place in Southeast Asia. Many of these stories are like 7-10 pages,
while some stories like, “Hot Flashes,” Story #5 is only two pages!
The stories in
this book concentrate around murder, mystery, revenge, loss, lust, infidelity, greed,
fear, grief, jealousy, ghosts, and other dark topics!
These stories
are short, but have strong storylines, intriguing plots, and well developed
characters.
Many of these
characters throughout the book are realistic, interesting, and relatable. For instance, in the first story, “Payback,” it’s
about a husband and wife vacationing in Thailand. While there, Martin, the husband learns of
many tourists dying in suspicious circumstances. Martin decides he is tired of his
gold-digging trophy wife and plots to kill her.
Unfortunately, this task is harder than expected and it is entertaining
to see the lengths he goes to accomplish this.
In Story #5, “Hot Flashes,” an older woman, Miriam, finds herself on a whimsical trip to Bali to meet her beau – a man she met on the internet. As many people know, people can pretend to be anybody online and this story, like life, show you that you never really know who you’re actually talking to on the internet. This story was interesting and very realistic. This story was super short, but enjoyable. It’s nice to know that even people in Southeast Asia play the Catfish game too lol.
Even though these stories
are on the darker side, Miss. Ray was able to find a way to add humor at just
the right spots. I think this is quite
hard for authors to do as it can come off as callous. However, it definitely added a bonus
dimension to these stories and made these stories that much better.
In Story #5, “Hot Flashes,” an older woman, Miriam, finds herself on a whimsical trip to Bali to meet her beau – a man she met on the internet. As many people know, people can pretend to be anybody online and this story, like life, show you that you never really know who you’re actually talking to on the internet. This story was interesting and very realistic. This story was super short, but enjoyable. It’s nice to know that even people in Southeast Asia play the Catfish game too lol.
In Story #7, “The
Secret Admirer,” Maddie and Moira visit a fortune teller. However, since the fortune teller doesn’t
speak any English they bring Maddie’s Assistant, Thuy, with them. In the telling the fortune teller predicts
that Maddie will move away from Saigon and get married. The fortune teller also predicts during Moira’s
telling that a man at her work has a crush on her. The rest of the story is about the two
friends trying to figure out who Moira’s secret admirer is. This story is hilarious and very entertaining! Also, this story has very likable and genuine
characters, and a very plausible storyline.
This book is
unique with such exciting, interesting, and intriguing stories! There are so many unexpected twists and turns
that keep you engaged to the very last page!
However, many
of the stories end somewhat abruptly.
This allows for the reader to draw their own conclusions. I usually prefer a tidier ending, but the
style of this writing held up and perhaps was more fitting for these kind of
stories.
I love short
stories, because it is so easy to read one over coffee in the morning, then
another later in the day, and another before bed, etc. I really enjoyed reading these stories and
found them to be the perfect length to read throughout my day.
My favorite
stories in this book were “Payback,” “Hot Flashes,” and “The Secret Admirer.”
Wow! The detail in this book is top-notch! Whether Miss. Ray is describing the beautiful
scenes of Southeast Asia or Candy’s hot red sandals – it is very easy to
picture! It is clear Miss. Ray knows
Southeast Asia! This was probably one of
the best parts of these stories! Every
detail was well described and thought-out.
I felt like I was reading the story just as Miss. Ray had envisioned it.
I would
absolutely recommend this book as these stories are highly entertaining,
intriguing, and engaging! You will enjoy
stepping into the intense and shocking realm of Southeast Asia and will find
these characters to be fascinating and thought-provoking!
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of
this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in
accordance with FTC regulations.**
Did you find this
review helpful?
If so, please, please,
please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1MTS4SGYWAKC2
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AUTHOR BIO:
At the age of
eleven, Elka Ray co-founded the Double Trouble Detective Agency. She’s been on
the lookout for mysteries ever since. Elka’s latest book, “What You Don’t Know:
Tales of Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia”, takes readers on a
darkly suspenseful tour of the Far East. Her first novel, a fast-paced romantic
adventure titled “Hanoi Jane”, was published by Marshall Cavendish in English
and DT Books in Vietnamese. Elka’s next novel, the thriller “Saigon Dark”, will
come out with Crimewave Press in November 2016. Elka is also the author and
illustrator of a popular series of bilingual kids’ picture books about Vietnam.
Elka divides
her time between Hoi An in Central Vietnam and Canada’s scenic Vancouver
Island. When she’s not writing, drawing or reading she’s in - or near -the
ocean.
Agent: Elka is
represented by Amy Tipton at Signature Literary Agency
Check out Elka’s
full biography here: http://elkaray.com/542-2/
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CONNECT WITH ELKA:
Email:
elka.k.ray@gmail.com
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
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AMAZON BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Elka will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the
tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
