Customer Reviews

A PERFECT WORLD: (A Perry Richards Novel)

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"A Perfect World" is a well-crafted mystery. John D. MacDonald or Dashiel Hammitt could have written it. It's a pleasant read with insights about human nature, and personal and poltical ambitions gone awry.

The protagonist is Perry Richards, a handsome, black, public interest attorney. Yet, the dramatic fuel driving this ambitious novel is the ambiguous, angelic force of nature to whom he is married, Felicia Pridemore Richards. She is a well-respected psycho-therapist at a private clinic. Spiritually connected and devoted, they are deeply in love. Life is smooth, but a storm brews. Hell is about to break loose.

Perry is about to be promoted into the firm's directorship when Felicia disappears. Clues suggest that Felicia may been victim of foul play, or maybe decided to run off.

Perry discovers that the woman he knew as Felicia Pridemore was a
clever fabrication. Why? The reasons rest with Pridemore family secrets. As Perry digs into it, killers come after him. So does colleague Charleston Bradley, rich, bi-racial temptress.

The debut novel of a projected mystery series promises a black Perry Mason, family man version. Visual with clever plot twists, humor, and told in steady first person narrative, there is a lot of originality. Drawback? Lengthy -- but so are King and Grisham.

What do you say about the man who has everything? The main character, Perry Richards, has a beautiful, loving wife, Felicia; two beautiful children; a house in the surburbs of Los Angeles and the type of job that offers personal fulfillment. Everything in his world is perfect. Or is it? That's the ironic meaning of the title of the book. One of the beauties of this novel is that Perry and Felicia are African American. However, to enjoy the story, their race is not important. The author makes it clear that it's the couple's achievements and life stations that are defining. It is a case of WHO they are: two educated, aticulate and successful Americans enjoying the American dream.

Within the confines of this sprawling novel, Bernard Alexander McNealy has written a multi-faceted story about people from all walks of life and different ethnicities whoses lives are entertwined by a family secret.

"A Perfect World" is a mystery, a sexual romp, descriptive mood piece, a layered politcal drama, and an homage to mystery writers of past such as Raymond Chandler. Ultimately, though, this is a love story between a husband and wife and the ties that bind them.

In a perfect world, Perry Richards would not be running around in a
circle, trying to bring stability to his life. In a perfect world he,
would be secure in the love of his family instead of wondering where
they were. But this is not a perfect world.

Perry and Felicia Richards are the beautiful black couple on the
wedding cake, living the American dream. Perry is slated to assume
directorship of a public interest law firm. Felicia is a dynamic
therapist and quite proficient in her field. What should have been a
dream weekend of rest and relaxation at their cottage getaway turns
into a nightmare. Felicia does not meet Perry, and then she's gone.
Perry returns home looking for answers, only to find a letter and
videotape from his wife asking him to trust her. When Perry returns
to his office he finds more chaos; evidence of embezzlement and
double dealing. His commitment is divided, he has to find his wife
and he needs to establish security with his job.

Felicia, his greatest concern, seems to have disappeared into a
vacuum and he is left with empty leads and too many unanswered
questions. Why is his wife testing the trust in their marriage? Why
is someone trying to kill him? Is her disappearance foul play, revenge
by a vengeful client or maybe an affair? The drama surrounding his job
and Felicia's disappearance somehow seems to connect and Perry is more
confused than ever. Sabotaging Perry's search, causing his emotions to
spiral in the wrong direction, is his overzealous colleague, a
seductive lawyer, who is determinately seeking his affections. Will she
get them?

A PERFECT WORLD is a fast paced tale of murder and intrigue surrounded
by the perils of racial and social politics. But the core of this
story is a family's secrets. McNealy displays a command of the language
and writes with an extensive vocabulary. But the book was not without
issues for me; a particular recurring scene caused the story to drag a
little, and flashbacks were at times confusing, they left me questioning
if the characters were living the moment or revisiting things from the
past? Although these issues prevented this story from going over the top
for me, it is an excellent story for mystery buffs who take pride in
solving the puzzle.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers