Book Review: Rich Girl by Julie Mulhern

 From the publisher:

One secret. Two decades. And a body on the patio. A whirlwind marriage to a French count who wanted her father's money more than he wanted her? It's a secret Libba has kept for 20 years.She's never told anyone. Not even Ellison. But secrets can be deadly -- and this one is revealed with a knife in his side on Ellison's back patio. Ghisain de Fevre is dead. Quite obviously murdered. And the police think Libba might have killed him. The truth is tangled in two decades of lies, heartbreak, and unsigned divorce papers. To clear her name, Libba will have to do something she's assiduously avoided -- face the worst mistake of her life. Fortunately, she has Ellison, a sharp lawyer, and a pitcher of martinis. Unfortunately, the killer isn't finished.

Rich Girl, a novella by Julie Mulhern, was published March 10, 2026 by J & M Press.

Julie Mulhern has been a longtime auto-buy author for me. I love reading about Ellison, her friends, and her family. This novella focuses on Libba and is #20.5 in The Country Club Murders series.

The only thing that was a little hard to swallow, was that Libba could hold onto a secret from Ellison for that long. She must have really been horrified by her mistake. Fortunately, her good friend Ellison doesn't hold that against her. Her neighbor, not a nice woman, tries to hold it against her and Ellison that so many bodies have been found in the neighborhood. 
Ultimately though, that is more of a subplot. Who killed Ghislain is the focus, and who might they kill next.

It's a good mystery. The plot moves along at a good pace. The ending surprised me a little, which is a good thing. Overall, it's a suspenseful mystery with interesting characters. This one probably could be read as a standalone since it is a novella, but might read better if you've had a chance to get to know some of the characters before this. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. I got my kindle version from Amazon. And I've already purchased the next book in the series and am looking forward to reading it, Evil Ways.