The Rich Die Young

On a mist-shrouded private school campus in Southern California, ex-reporter and new teacher Ann Farrell struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past and the kind of future she wants to pursue…

But the discovery of a student’s body sprawled among the rocks at the bottom of a barranca thrusts her own problems out of her head.

She is drawn into the complicated tangle of relationships and secrets of the faculty and students of Friars’ Academy.

As a reporter, Ann is already driven by curiosity, but her obsession with the case is heightened by the fact that the victim was looking for her right before he died — but she doesn’t know why.

As she probes into his life, she repeatedly runs up against Lieutenant Alonzo Fox, the cop assigned to investigate the boy’s murder, whose interpretation of events differs markedly from Ann’s own.

Fox seems sure that the victim wrote the ugly poison-pen notes recently sent to several faculty members, including Ann, that threaten to reveal secrets their owners would much prefer to remain hidden.

These notes, Fox reasons, must have in some part led to the victim’s murder.

Ann doesn’t think so.

Determined to uncover the truth, Ann starts asking questions.

Her investigation turns up more shocking revelations than she ever could have imagined, including the tragic reason behind a suicide and dark secrets about several faculty members, whose sins range from adultery to pornography.

Yet she can find no conclusive evidence pointing to any of her colleagues or students...

It is only in a final, deadly encounter with a ruthless and calculating killer that Ann will finally receive the answers to all of her questions…

The Rich Die Young is an intriguing mystery thriller that keeps you hooked until the last page.

Praise for Carolyn Hart

“Hart stories look at the feelings, emotions and passions of real-life people in real-life situations.” — Booklist

"Hart's laurels need no burnishing but bet on PARADISE for major awards when the lists come out." - Washington Times

‘In the tradition of Agatha Christie’ – Romantic Times

'Superb' - Los Angeles Times

Carolyn Hart was born and raised in Oklahoma. She decided she wanted to be a newspaper reporter at the age of eleven and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1958 with a major in journalism. Her first novel, in 1964, won a writing contest; she went on to write numerous mysteries, for which she won numerous awards, including the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Unlike many of her mystery series, The Rich Die Young is a stand-alone novel.