Review by Book Reader18 -- Pearl River Mansion

Book Reader18 · Post by **Book Reader18** » 06 May 2021, 16:33

[Following is a volunteer review of "Pearl River Mansion" by Richard Schwartz.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Richard Schwartz has written a book with a tantalizing combination of drama, crime, and mystery. Detectives Jack Kendall and Stacy Young don’t quite know the spiderweb of trouble they enter into when they agree to help a young girl find out what happened to her parents, who disappear after unsavory accusations are made against them. There’s way more to the story than either detective could have predicted, though, and the pair soon find themselves personally involved in the unfolding drama. Tyler Chandler is a father to two young children, son to the massively wealthy Joan Chandler, and husband to his ever-dutiful wife, Sarah. Unforeseen tragedy strikes the Chandler family multiple times before the detectives are brought onto the case. Though their methods are unorthodox, they won’t stop until they find the truth behind the mystery of the Chandler’s home, Pearl River Mansion.

I absolutely love the structure of this book. Readers are introduced to the Chandler family and associated company before the detectives are introduced. This allows the reader to get a feel for the characters being investigated for themselves before seeing them through the eyes of the detectives. I have never seen this before, and it was an exciting way to see the pieces of the book coming together. I also could not get enough of the suspense that seems to build through the entire book. Even when one issue is resolved, the readers are introduced to another even more heart-racing problem to watch the characters go through.

Unfortunately, some references to the African American characters in this book made me uncomfortable to read. That said, the book description did warn about this. The author did an excellent job at addressing that though they wrote this to be historically accurate, this old age behavior is not okay. It is, however, hard to read a few pieces of dialogue in the book because of this historically accurate nature.

Though I was uncomfortable with some of the dialogue, I think the author’s use of other character’s responses as arguments against racist behavior was excellently done. Due to this expert handling of a difficult period to write accurate yet unoffensive dialogue for, the masterful writing, and the professional editing, I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys hair-raising mystery books full of drama. I would, however, caution anyone that has experienced abuse, as some parts of this book could be triggering.

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Pearl River Mansion
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Upel Flash · Post by **Upel Flash** » 02 Jun 2021, 07:33

wow... it's also good to invite the writer to face and understand the meaning of the meaning of life. Of course we also have to learn from a different point of view

MarcellaM · Post by **MarcellaM** » 02 Jun 2021, 09:07

I would love to find out the mystery behind the disappearance of a family. Mystery thrillers amaze me. Thank you for the honest review.

Abeauty Mabuku · Post by **Abeauty Mabuku** » 25 Jun 2021, 00:04

I absolutely love the structure of this book
Thanks you for honest review.

Emily_Jen · Post by **Emily_Jen** » 09 Jul 2021, 04:46

Though the methods the detectives employ are unorthodox, I hope they find the truth behind the mystery of the Chandler’s home. I'd like to read how that happens. Thanks for the review.

NISSE · Post by **NISSE** » 11 Jul 2021, 08:01

The story seems to be full of mystery and drama while also keeping with the character development. Great review!

Black dragonn · Post by **Black dragonn** » 23 Jun 2025, 02:49

I just read this too, and I agree with a lot of what you said. The storyline really kept me hooked, especially how it kept building more tension. I liked getting to know the family first before the detectives came in—it made everything feel more real. Some parts were tough to read, but I get why they were included. Overall, it was a powerful and gripping read.