Here is review of Paradise Harbour and interview done with me by Literary Titan.
Review.
“Paradise Harbour by Alexander Semenyuk is a riveting noir thriller about a missing med school student. A private detective is hired and tasked with finding her. Her father is wealthy and influential and avails to the detective the resources he needs. It turns out there is a serial killer in Rhode Island, coupled with a few more unsavory suspects – the KKK, a sea god cult, a banker and a Madame who both double in prostitution. As he narrows down the search, the story takes a harrowing twist.
Paradise Harbour is a captivating thriller that takes readers on an unpredictable but deeply intriguing investigation.
I like the way the author uses songs to tell the stories of both the cult followers and their survivors. I also enjoyed the pacing of the novel. While the novel takes some wild turns, readers are given enough time to take in the details and appreciate the subtly in the story, characters, and scenes, all of this makes this mystery easy to follow, however complex it seems to get.
The story explores a variety of themes in creative ways that give this story surprising depth. Themes such as the occult, racism, gender-based violence, prostitution, gangs, psychopathy, immorality, and corruption all come together to uniquely describe this secretive town’s traits and gives readers a relatable depiction of the most corrupt societies. I really enjoyed the characters in this novel. They were intriguing and well developed and fit within this dark and moody thriller in unique ways.
Paradise Harbour is an enthralling crime thriller that fans of noir novels will easily devour. With slick story telling and a compelling plot, this is a mesmerizing horror story that I highly recommend.”
Literary Titan
Interview.
Author Interview - Alexander Semenyuk
Paradise Harbour follows a young private investigator on a case that tests his sanity, humanity, and body. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I suppose something like this was a long time coming for me, and inspiration came suddenly. I always liked noir and investigator stories, especially from first person perspective, but always felt I wasn’t ready to write one myself. I am glad that it finally happened, I found my true style of writing.
Luc Nistage is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character's development?
To get into the proper creation of the character and his surroundings I completely dove into the right atmosphere. I ate some similar things, I drank black tea late at night, only listened to 1920s jazz music, learned a lot about the style and history of those times. It was an incredible experience.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The book is filled with moral questions and dilemmas. I address things such as greed, selfishness, faith, confidence, individuality, loyalty, friendship. Sometimes there is a very thin line between right and wrong, sometimes it is very obvious as well. A lot of the the times questions we must answer in life do not have a simple answer.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have contracts for both sequels to Paradise Harbour. Paradise Shores and Paradise Symphony, readers can expect those to come their way next year.
Get the book here! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09JXP1BV6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=