Novella Review: Murder by Moonlight by Julie Mulhern (Freddie Archer #0.5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Freddie looks to be a fun, new character

Cons: Even for a short story, plot feels a little thin

The Bottom Line:

Helping a young friend

Introduction to Freddie

Look forward to more

Short Introduction to a Promising New Sleuth

I keep saying I’m going to catch up on Julie Mulhern’s books, but I haven’t made the time to do so. But with her starting a new series in December, I decided to read the introductory novella now. And it worked. Murder by Moonlight hooked me. 

For this series, we are visiting the New York City of 1925. Freddie Archer is a nightlife columnist for Gotham Magazine. An heiress, she doesn’t need to work, but she loves her job. 

While out visiting a speakeasy one night, she runs into a boy she knows. Bony is the son of her family’s former housekeeper, the woman who practically raised Freddie. When she realizes what Bony is doing, she tries to intervene in his life. But will it make any difference? 

This story is designed to introduce us to Freddie and her world and whet our appetite for the first book in the series. And it worked.  I really like Freddie and am looking forward to spending more time with her. I’m not sure that we will see too many of the characters introduced here, but they did a good job of showing what Freddie is like. 

The story could have been a little better. Now, I know what you’re saying. “Mark, this was a short story.” And you are right. I don’t read enough short stories for my brain to quickly and easily jump over to them, and I often find myself expecting the twists of a novel in short story sized bites. But here, I feel like we spent as much if not more time on Freddie’s love life at the expense of the mystery element. But I know that Julie Mulhern can write a great mystery novel, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy the first book. And what we did get is entertaining. 

As far as I know, this story is currently only available to Julie’s newsletter subscribers. That’s how I got it. And it’s free. Hard to complain about that. 

The story itself took me maybe an hour to read, if that. The file also contains the first two chapters of the debut novel. 

This freebie worked. I’m looking forward to spending more time with Freddie when her first novel debuts in December. For now, check out Murder by Moonlight for a fun introduction story.