Forget Me Not

Claire’s older sister, Natalie Campbell, was born in the summer of 1984 to Annaliese Campbell, who did not reveal that her biological father was Mitchell Galloway, as she was married to Alan Campbell. Natalie does not find out about her true parentage until she is 18 after going to work at Galloway Farm, when she meets her half-brother Liam and reads the diary of Marcia Rayburn. She confronts Annaliese about the truth of her birth, and this causes an estrangement between mother and daughter. It is also the impetus for the Campbells’ divorce. Natalie realizes that Mitchell has been keeping Liam confined to the farm and is determined to rescue him.

Through the diary’s information, Natalie becomes convinced that Mitchell killed Katherine Ann Prichard in 1984 and stole her camper, which is buried at the farm. Natalie goes to the police and Officer Eric DiNello accompanies her to the farm. “Marcia” (Lily in disguise) soothes her and tells her that they’ll explain things, but instead gives her a fatal herbal tea. DiNello frames Jeffrey Slater, Natalie’s coworker on the farm, for her death. After Claire’s efforts in 2024, Natalie’s body is discovered, buried below the work shed on Galloway Farm.

Natalie’s personality is described as both mesmerizing and mercurial. Both Claire and Bethany feel she was pulling away from them the summer she died, but in reality, she was protecting both of them, as well as Liam, from harm. As the story progresses, Claire learns that Natalie was investigating the secrets of Galloway Farm. Natalie’s birthstone was peridot and her favorite flower was forget-me-nots—an important symbol in the text.

Annaliese married her childhood sweetheart Alan Campbell in 1984. They have two daughters, Natalie and Claire, but divorce in 2002 shortly before Natalie is murdered because Annaliese reveals that during a brief period of separation she was involved with Mitchell Galloway, who impregnated her. Alan still cares about Annaliese, but their marriage was unsalvageable. Natalie is the person who discovered the news of her parentage and is angry at her mother. They never get to mend their relationship and this dramatically affects Annaliese and her relationship with Claire. Claire learns to keep secrets from her mother, and their lack of communication almost causes Claire to be killed in exactly the same way as Natalie.

Annaliese’s efforts to protect Claire cause her to be secretive and distant. Even after Natalie’s death, she doesn’t reveal she knew Mitchell and belonged to the commune he used to run. She doesn’t ever explain to Claire that Officer Eric DiNello was also a member of the commune and that she knew Marcia Rayburn and Lily when she was young. Initially, Annaliese thinks she could fully escape the so-called family and not cross paths with any of them again. She was very happy with Alan. She doesn’t tell Claire that she was threatened by Lily and was afraid of both Mitchell and Eric. In the end, Annaliese explains these relationships to Claire, manages to help Liam, and mends her relationship with her daughter, allowing Claire to heal.

Ryan is Claire’s coworker at the newspaper she used to work at in New York City. He likes Claire very much and has been her friend for 10 years. His boss reveals that he is saddened when Claire quits her job, which suggests he has deeper feelings.

These feelings are mainly shown through Ryan’s honesty and his actions. He encourages Claire to overcome her bad experiences and confront her past. He serves as a moral compass and tries to be supportive. He often worries about her and calls multiple times to check up on her. He is emphatic that it is not her fault when he learns she blames herself for her sister’s death. He also lets Claire know when he feels she’s overstepping, such as when she goes into the Galloways’ uninvited or when he thinks she hasn’t thought things through. His patience pays off at the end when Claire realizes she loves him and they move in together.

Liam Galloway was born in 1984, most likely in late August or early September. His father is Mitchell Galloway and his biological mother is Marcia Rayburn, although he does not learn she is dead until Claire reveals it in the showdown with Mitchell and Lily. Liam has grown up believing that Lily is his mother, Marcia, and is shocked to learn that she killed Marcia.

Liam meets his half-sister Natalie when she comes to work at Galloway Farm in 2002. Liam has spent most of his childhood isolated at the farm’s location, not going to school since he did not have a birth certificate. Claire is later able to ascertain he was never allowed to leave the farm. He’s deliberately kept ignorant and vulnerable by his father and stepmother. He and Natalie plan to escape together, but their plans are thwarted and Natalie is murdered by Lily. Both Mitchell and Lily blame Liam for Natalie’s death, suggesting he went against the family.

Guilt weighs the adult Liam down and he plants a large field of forget-me-nots to honor Natalie. When Claire arrives, she notes that Liam is rugged and good-looking and around Natalie’s age. He does not reveal he recognizes Claire, introducing himself merely as the manager of the farm. Claire doesn’t realize he is Mitchell’s son until the final night of climactic events. It seems at first that Liam will kill Claire to protect his family, but he helps her escape and traps Lily instead. Claire’s sensitivity to his being held captive allows him to let go of his own guilt and to act in non-violent ways.

Liam is never charged with any crime and reunites with his grandparents, the Rayburns, at the novel’s conclusion, showing he is healing from his parental figures’ damage.

Mitchell Galloway, 60, is the owner of Galloway Farm. In his youth, he ran a commune, and often lured young people to be part of it, including Katherine, Lily, Montana, Annie, and Marcia. The young Mitchell thinks that society is a construct and is a proponent of freedom without restraints. However, this is an excuse for him to take what he wants from people without consequence. He manipulates people in order to be perceived as a messiah or leader, and he steals possessions without remorse. He uses drugs and sex to achieve his goals, using them to make others feel important and/or included.

Mitchell has relationships with many women, including Katherine, Lily, Marcia, and Annie, manipulating each into thinking they are special. Annie and Marcia eventually see through this, but Lily becomes very attached to this idea. Mitchell doesn’t intercede when Lily kills her competition and shows no remorse at his former lovers’ deaths, thinking the protection of “the family” is more powerful than anything else. This belief is so extreme that he is willing to let both the mother of his child and one of his children die at Lily’s hands. He also blackmails his own son to take the blame for Natalie’s death.

At the end of the novel, Claire kills Mitchell with shears when he tries to force her to die by poison. His death offers closure and a sense of poetic justice, as he finally faces consequences for his abuse of others.

When Lily meets Mitchell Galloway, she is dumpster diving and has escaped a life of foster care. He makes her feel like she belongs to him and becomes her only family. Lily will do anything to protect him, including killing any individual who threatens to take Mitchell from her. Lily doesn’t seem to need a lot of evidence to eliminate someone. She kills Marcia, both to use her son to create a family with Mitchell and to don a new identity to hide from the police. She is not a good mother. For most of the novel, Claire assumes Lily is a grown-up Marcia Galloway and thinks she is a woman who is being drugged and held against her will.

Lily is erratic when she is young and is willing to take risks like breaking into homes and stealing things, while leaving a signature behind carved into surfaces. She is compared to the lily of the valley flower, which is beautiful on the outside and poisonous when consumed. Annie is afraid of Lily’s ability to callously eliminate people and leaves “the family” because of it, while Marcia is frightened by Lily’s implied threats.

Lily’s weapon of choice is tea made from the lily of the valley but she also uses a gun to kill a police officer. She is aided and abetted by Mitchell. By the end of the novel, Lily has killed five people and attempted to kill Claire. She is arrested by the police.

Marcia Rayburn is an 18-year-old girl who grows up in a very religious and restrictive home. Mitchell’s charm and promise of freedom cause her to join his commune. Marcia is very smart but exceptionally naive due to her sheltered upbringing. She keeps a diary from 1983-1984 that forms part of the narrative. Marcia is impregnated by Mitchell around the same time as Annie, so her child Liam is just a bit younger than Annie’s daughter Natalie. Initially Marcia is very attracted to Mitchell and imagines a future with him, but she isn’t informed that he is running a commune. When she meets the others and runs away from home to join them, she finds that the idyllic vision she had isn’t reality.

Marcia misses basic amenities like running water and consistent meals. She also starts to realize that Mitchell collects women like objects, and that his initial interest was only to lure her in. Alan’s love of Annie shows Marcia how shallow life with Mitchell is and she determines to leave “the family” and find something better.

Although she recognizes Lily is erratic, she fails to see her as a powerful enemy since she is unaware Lily has killed Katherine. She trusts Lily will help her, but Lily kills her instead. Lily shows no remorse and adopts Marcia’s identity to hide from the police, with Claire believing she is the real Marcia for most of the novel. Marcia’s body is later found under the floorboards of the shed.

Eric DiNello moves from Missoula, Montana to Claxton in high school. Going by the nickname “Montana,” he soon begins to help Mitchell Galloway deal drugs and engage in petty crimes, despite wanting to be a future police officer. He introduces his high school friend Annie to Mitchell and knows that Mitchell later impregnates her. He is aware that Mitchell is Natalie’s father and he warns Annie not to out Mitchell after Natalie’s death.

Later, it’s revealed by Liam that DiNello brought Natalie back to the farm when she reported Mitchell to the police. He aided and abetted Lily in her murders of Natalie and several others and tried to throw Claire off during her investigation, but inadvertently revealed that her mother was part of the commune. He framed Jeffrey Slater for Natalie’s murder, letting him be incarcerated for over 20 years.

Katherine Ann Prichard is a university student whom Mitchell meets in Berkeley, California. She is the first of his many relationships in the novel. Katherine owns a camper van and drives Mitchell across the country to South Carolina, where they both live on property that contains an abandoned barn. When Katherine wants to go back to Berkeley at the end of the summer, Lily, afraid that Mitchell will leave too, poisons Katherine. They bury Katherine but continue to use her van until it’s reported missing, then they hide it on the property.

Steven is a slight young man who has inherited some land. He has money and Lily claims he doesn’t know what to do with it. He buys drugs regularly from Mitchell, then invites the family to move in with him at Galloway Farm. Steven is also poisoned and is buried under the floor boards of the shed. Mitchell hides his license and the deed to the farm, which shows that he “sold” it to Mitchell well under value.