Pearl River Mansion
📖 Book Description
Detective Jack Kendall and his assistant, Stacy Young, receive a disturbing call that opens the door to a missing persons case that has tugged at the heartstrings of Mississippi and the entire nation. Now Jack and Stacy hold the key to the most shocking, complex, and emotional case of their careers,...
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Detective Jack Kendall and his assistant, Stacy Young, receive a disturbing call that opens the door to a missing persons case that has tugged at the heartstrings of Mississippi and the entire nation. Now Jack and Stacy hold the key to the most shocking, complex, and emotional case of their careers, and they are all in!
As the only heir of Joan Chandler, Tyler Chandler stands to inherit everything a man could want, including Pearl River Mansion—a 450-acre, post-Civil War estate that sits at the end of one of the many fingers of the Pearl River. Tyler's mother makes a game out of controlling people by trading on her wealth, but Tyler refuses her money—which always comes with strings—and struggles to make it on his own, trading instead on his intelligence and exceptional good looks. But he's not as good at the game as she is and finds himself trapped in a marriage that infuriates his mother.
It is a destructive battle of wills, and just when Tyler believes he's winning, fate intercedes... And for the second time in her life, Joan finds a purpose for the alligators that have kept her well away from the water's edge—and the stakes keep rising.
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As the only heir of Joan Chandler, Tyler Chandler stands to inherit everything a man could want, including Pearl River Mansion—a 450-acre, post-Civil War estate that sits at the end of one of the many fingers of the Pearl River. Tyler's mother makes a game out of controlling people by trading on her wealth, but Tyler refuses her money—which always comes with strings—and struggles to make it on his own, trading instead on his intelligence and exceptional good looks. But he's not as good at the game as she is and finds himself trapped in a marriage that infuriates his mother.
It is a destructive battle of wills, and just when Tyler believes he's winning, fate intercedes... And for the second time in her life, Joan finds a purpose for the alligators that have kept her well away from the water's edge—and the stakes keep rising.
📝 Editorial Review
In this scary family story, family secrets and wicked plans are sure to come out. Tyler Chandler's wife, Sarah, died, and now he is worried about how he will take care of his kids. Cody makes him happy, but Rachael? He hasn't really paid much attention to her. He gives in when his rich mother, Joan, says she wants to adopt Rachael because he truly believes that she will give Rachael a better life. But the family of his late wife wants to raise Rachael as their own child. If it means killing people who get in her way, Joan Chandler will do whatever it takes to keep her job as the girl's guardian. When Rachael goes missing, officers Jack and Stacy are confused because they have many possible leads that don't seem to lead anywhere. Things don't seem to add up. Someone is telling lies about where Rachael is, but who?
Pearl River Mansion by Richard Schwartz is a very intriguing book that has both family drama and scary turns. With more than 500 pages, the book is very long. It is written from a third-person point of view, following a few people. Why was the book so long at first? That was the initial point of confusion for me; however, as I continued reading, it became clear. The first part of the book is about how Tyler Chandler and his mother are not getting along. Then the author changes the subject and tells us about the detectives who are looking for Rachael Chandler, the lost girl. The thing I liked most about the book was how the author handled adding minor characters to the story without taking away from the main idea. Despite their relative importance, each character played a crucial role in the overall plot. Through building characters with many sides, the author did an impressive job of getting readers to care about how the story worked. In addition, I was happily surprised by how focused I was on finishing the book.
Since I already said it was longer than I thought it would be, my attention never went away because the author was so good at dropping hints of information here and there. This was done by getting me interested in the lives of the Chandler family, then giving me a lot of hints about what was going to happen, and finally introducing me to new characters. Some of the people in Pearl River Mansion stood out to me, and I thought about them long after I finished the book. It seems like Tyler Chandler had a hard time getting past his childhood problems. He wanted to do what was right by his family, but he just couldn't. Jack Kendall was a detective who never gave up because he had a strong sense of right and wrong. He was ready to do anything to get Rachael Chandler justice.
Throughout the book, my thoughts about Joan Chandler kept shifting. I think she really wanted what was best for Rachael, but her selfishness made the caring parts of her shine through. It was easy to understand and read the writing in Pearl River Mansion. There weren't many spelling or language mistakes, and the story moved along at a steady pace. I rate the book four out of four stars. Pearl River Mansion is not a book for kids because it talks about serious things like child abuse and death. Some of the violent death scenes in this book made my stomach turn, so I suggest you read it with care. In fact, I think this book is ideal for older readers who like mysteries that cover a lot of ground. There are many interesting people in the story, and it all happens in a mansion that is full of secrets. What else do you need?