Thursday 15 December 2016

Saigon Dark by Elka Ray


Saigon Dark by Elka Ray 
Published by Crime Wave Press on the 15th November 2016.

Where to buy this book:


How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good and bad. Life and death. Some choices aren't black and white.
A grief-stricken young mother switches her dead child for a Vietnamese street kid, then spends the next decade living a lie. She remarries and starts to feel safe when she gets a note: 'I know what you did'. Can she save her daughter from her dark secret?

Saigon Dark is a satisfying psychological thriller which, due to its Vietnam setting and its unusual storyline, manages to step away from crime fiction norms. I liked that the emphasis was on the family and Lily's state of mind as her actions cause her world to unravel around her. Lily Vo is a wonderfully damaged lead. A successful career woman - a plastic surgeon - she is also a single mother to two young children and still grieving the collapse of her marriage which has left her isolated in Saigon. Brought up in America, Lily speaks Vietnamese but is culturally a foreigner with few, if any, friends even on the same continent. When her daughter dies as the result of an accident, Lily's shock leads her to make a series of impulsive decisions, each one leading her further into a deception from which it is ever more difficult to extricate herself.

I was gripped by this process especially because Ray keeps Lily completely believable throughout. I could always understand her choices, however insane they seemed! Following Lily and 'her' children as they become a tight family made for a good novel in itself so when the note appears, I was as anxious as Lily! Ray has already set up numerous suspects which kept me guessing as to the truth until it is revealed and I liked her conclusion although I did feel that this part of the tale swept past far too quickly. Maybe I was page-turning too fast in order to find out what happens next?


Search Lit Flits for more:
Books by Elka Ray / Crime fiction / Books from Canada

4 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for your thoughtful & insightful review, Stephanie Jane! Happy holidays!

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    1. Cheers Elka! Looking forward to reading more of your work :-)

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  2. It sounds like this was really a thriller which gripped you from the beginning and kept you addictedly wanting to read until you knew all the answers!

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    1. Yes! This thriller kept me guessing all the way through

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