The hero and the arch-nemesis — the one who turns the hero’s life upside down.
An arch nemesis… When I began the Hannah Walker Mystery Series, I knew I wanted a true Arch Nemesis—someone to haunt and challenge not just Hannah but also the people closest to her, whether that be Jonathan or even Rafael. An arch nemesis must do more than obstruct; they have to alter the hero’s path and force hard choices. In Hannah’s story, her hero is her godfather Rafael, a man shaped by a heavy, shadowed past that continues to ripple through their lives.
Rafael loves Hannah more than anything, and the choices he made in the past have come back to haunt him. In Deadly Vows: Echoes of College Crimes, following the events of the first book, Hannah remains the central figure and continues to bear the brunt of their shared tragedy. Struggling with memory loss and the slow, painful process of piecing together who she once was, Hannah begins to see Rafael as responsible for much of the suffering they endure.
And that is how I knew what Paris Noir was going to be about. The shadows of Rafael’s past, and the consequences of the choices he made, are what will shape the outcome of the series. As mentioned at the start, an arch-nemesis must alter the hero’s life; in Paris Noir, that hero is Rafael, and it is Donovan’s actions that change the course of events for Paris Noir — a conflict whose repercussions will carry forward into The Thirteenth Riddle: A Poisoned Silence.
Donovan is a ruthless, cold, and calculating figure whose deep-seated hatred for Rafael fuels an obsessive drive for revenge. He is painfully aware that Rafael’s greatest weakness is Hannah, and he deliberately exploits that vulnerability, believing that by inflicting pain on her he can wound Rafael where it hurts most.
Which is precisely why what Donovan does ultimately alters Rafael’s life for the worse, leaving him to shoulder a crushing guilt he will carry for the rest of his days. Who survives in this third installment of the series? The answers wait in Paris Noir: Deadly Obsession.
