Fiction
A Friend Indeed
"How far would you go to help a friend in need?"
Some time back, Elka saw a meme going around social media: a drawing of two women in faux-antique dress wielding shovels. The caption read: “Real friends help you hide the bodies.” It got Elka thinking: How far would I go to help my best friend?
What emerged from that meme was a novel about old friends, loyalty, and the corrosive power of dark secrets.
Ingenious and twisty, fresh and darkly comedic, A FRIEND INDEED is a meditation on social disparity, the weight of secrets, and the power of female friendships. Follow best friends Jo and Dana as they put their friendship to the ultimate test in a story that explores what it means to be a good wife, mother, and friend.
“It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”
– Marlene Dietrich
Fiction
Killer Coin
"A wealthy socialite goes missing… a battered body is found in her abandoned cabin…
At the center of it all lies the witty and down-to-earth divorce lawyer, Toby Wong. How did she manage to get wrapped up in all of this…again?
All Toby wanted was to settle into island life and start working on her own love story—torn between the wealthy and charismatic Josh Barton, and the adorable and dependable detective Colin Destin.
But Toby’s romantic prospects take the back burner when her mom’s best friend, Daphne Dane, disappears. Toby soon discovers that Daphne’s latest boyfriend is both an alleged conman and the cheating husband of her newest client. Could he be behind Daphne’s disappearance? What about Daphne’s children, vying for their aging mother’s money?
When a dead body is uncovered that entwines both Colin and Josh with the Dane family drama, Toby begins to realize her own life may be in danger as well.
Equal parts cozy mystery and romantic suspense, the second novel in Elka Ray’s Vancouver Island mystery series will keep you up late with a twisty tale of rivalry, love, money, and murder.”
“An enjoyable and engaging romp through gorgeous—and rainy—Victoria, B.C with a cast of characters who will make you want more Toby Wong mysteries!”
—Deborah Goodrich Royce,
bestselling author of Finding Mrs. Ford
Fiction
Divorce is Murder
Vividly realized with memorable characters
Toby Wong visits her quiet hometown in British Columbia, where nothing ever happens–until her old high school rival is found murdered. Shortly after returning to her sleepy hometown on Vancouver Island, Chinese-Canadian divorce lawyer Toby Wong runs into Josh Barton, who broke her heart as a teen at summer camp. Now a wealthy entrepreneur, Josh wants to divorce Tonya, the mean girl who made Toby’s life hell all those years ago. Not long after Toby takes Josh’s case, Tonya is found murdered. Josh is the prime suspect. Together with her fortune-teller mom and her pregnant best friend, Toby sets out to clear Josh, whom she still has a guilty crush on. While he seems equally smitten, can Toby trust him? The handsome cop charged with finding Tonya’s killer doesn’t think so. Since Tonya stayed in touch with everyone from that lousy summer camp, Toby keeps running into ex-campers she’d rather forget. Could one of Tonya’s catty friends be her killer? Are Toby’s old insecurities making her paranoid? Only too late does she realize that she really is in danger.
"A little romance, a little murder, and mean girls galore. A delicious mystery set on Victoria's stunning shores."
—C.S. O’Cinneide, host of She Kills Lit
Fiction
What you Don't Know
Tales of obsession, mystery & murder in Southeast Asia
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?
Elka Ray takes you on a journey from the jungles of Sumatra throughout Bangkok’s seedy bars to the seemingly sedate streets of Singapore. Your traveling companions are a slew of dark emotions – fear, jealousy, greed, lust and revenge. Your destination? The dark side.
With flashes of black humor and hard-to-forget characters, these ten “Elka has a writing style that’s very passionate and detailed… Her storytelling is compelling and enjoyable…full of juicy tension. The movie in your head never gets interrupted.” shine light into the dark corners of Southeast Asia.
Unabridged Andra Book Reviews
Fiction
Hanoi Jane
HOLD ON - The road to love can get bumpy!
Just months after moving to Hanoi with her banker fiancé, Wyatt, Jane Moxley learns that he’s cheating on her. Unable to accept that their relationship is over, Jane sets out to discredit his new girlfriend – a sexy French-Vietnamese aid worker named Lindy Tran. Hot, smart and accomplished, Lindy looks like the perfect woman. Or is she? The more Jane discovers, the less plausible Lindy seems. Not only is she dating three guys at once, but the charity she manages looks awfully shady.
What starts as a desperate bid to win Wyatt back turns into the adventure of Jane’s life. With its exotic locale and memorable characters, Hanoi Jane is a fun “holiday read” – whether or not you’re on holiday…
"It zips along at a cracking pace with a compelling plot and fun characters."
– Jo Parfitt, Expat Book Reviews
