Today author Elka Ray takes over our blog to tell us about Trust Issues in Fiction, and about her latest novel, Divorce Is Murder (11 June 2019, Seventh Street Books , 216 pages), a Romantic Suspense, book one of Vancouver Island Mysteries series.
"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
"With humour, friendship, intrigue, murder and a whodunnit, this is a clever, twisty cosy crime thriller that is thoroughly entertaining." – Amazon Reviewer
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Trust issues in fiction
by Elka RayI write mysteries and suspense. Yet in my latest novel, Divorce Is Murder, a whole lot of romance crept in. I shouldn't be so surprised. Love, after all, is a key theme in life, as in books. Like Death, Love can take us by surprise. It can feel magical and mysterious. It can be scary.
In the book, divorce lawyer Toby Wong returns to the sleepy hometown where she was bullied as a kid. There, she's hired by Josh, the gorgeous, popular guy who broke her heart when they were teens. Josh wants to divorce Tonya, who bullied Toby, back when they were kids. When Tonya is found murdered, Josh is the prime suspect.
Toby doesn't want to have romantic feelings for Josh. As well as being a murder suspect, he's a client. Plus he married Tonya - whom Toby knows was a horrible person. But attraction doesn't always follow logic. We can fight against it but we don't always win.
To complicate matters further, another enticing man enters Toby's life. He's the lead detective charged with solving Tonya's case. He's also increasingly worried for Toby's safety. It's clear that one of the people who bullied her as a teen has grown up to become a killer.
Why do readers love Mystery and Romance - i.e. stories about Death and Love? I think we're all trying to understand more about other people and ourselves. These stories show us who we should and shouldn't trust.
Tracking a killer is dangerous. Most of us wouldn't do it. But romance brings risks too. Even when we're not in physical danger, falling in love is risky. Hearts break. A lot of trust is involved - in this other person and, most of all, in our own judgement. Is our trust misplaced? In every love story, that's the mystery.
As Toby unravels the story of Tonya's murder the reader discovers the answer to another puzzle - what traumatized Toby as a kid? In learning to confront her past, Toby learns to trust herself again, which is something many of us need to relearn. In the book, Toby is very logical, in contrast to her fortune teller mom, who trusts intuition. This balance is another thing we must learn to navigate when we make choices, constantly asking ourselves - Does this make sense? and - How do I feel? Trust is a theme I revisit again and again in my fiction. I hope you'll join me and Toby.
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