The Last of the Moon Girls

Althea’s granddaughter, Elzibeth “Lizzy” Moon, receives a letter from Althea’s friend Evangeline “Evvie” Broussard, informing her of Althea’s death. Along with the letter comes a journal. Lizzy was given the journal to record her metaphysical “Path” on her 16th birthday (4), which is a tradition in the Moon family. Lizzy never wrote in it, put it in a drawer, and left it behind when she moved to New York City several years ago. Althea didn’t tell Lizzy she was sick, which upsets Lizzy.

Luc Chenier, Lizzy’s boss at Chenier Fragrances, invites Lizzy to dinner. They dated until Lizzy was promoted to creative director; then, she broke things off. She turns down his dinner invitation, telling him that her grandmother died. Luc says that she’s welcome to take some time off for the funeral. Lizzy learned in the letter that Althea was cremated and that her ashes were spread on the farm during the first full moon after her death, as per tradition. Lizzy tells Luc that she hasn’t been back to the farm in eight years.

Lizzy says that she can handle the arrangements to sell the farm from New York. Luc argues that she should go home, at least to remember why she left. He offers to accompany her and reminds her of how much his mother loved Lizzy. Lizzy reminds him that they broke up and maintains that she can handle matters from afar.

When she gets home, Lizzy opens a bottle of wine and waters her plants. The smell of the basil reminds her of Althea, who could revive basil plants by talking to them. Lizzy thinks about the logistics of selling the farm and realizes that she needs to personally take care of the journals written by several generations of Moon women. She thinks back on the murders of Heather and Darcy, specifically how Althea was blamed and thought to be an evil witch because she made protective poppets—small, magical effigies—of the girls.

A letter from Althea falls out of her blank journal. In the letter, Althea urges Lizzy to come home, read the journals of her ancestors, and get over her fear of being different. Lizzy is “the last and best” of the Moon women (16). Althea also says that Lizzy should live her life as she wants.

Lizzy cries and thinks about how Moon women have traditionally never married, instead raising daughters alone and running the farm. Their journals contain healing recipes: a “quiet magick” (17). Lizzy’s gift is her sense of smell; she used it to become a perfume maker but doesn’t get to work in the lab in her new position. Lizzy makes plans to head home and leaves a message on Luc’s phone informing him of this.

Lizzy drives to Moon Girl Farm in Salem Creek, New Hampshire. Sabine Moon, who established the farm in 1786, was called a witch just as Althea was. Since then, generations of Moon women have run the farm. Lizzy’s mother, Rhanna Moon, left town and left Lizzy in the care of Althea. Lizzy herself left when she was 28. She is surprised by how run-down the farm is.

When Lizzy goes inside, she meets Evvie. Evvie says that Althea predicted that Lizzy would come home. Lizzy smells disapproval coming from Evvie. Evvie explains that she was Althea’s friend and is living in the house, and she offers Lizzy some dinner. Evvie explains that Althea refused to tell Lizzy about her illness because she felt that Lizzy should want to come home, not feel obligated to do so.

Evvie is aware of the corpses found in the pond, and she knows that Rhanna cursed the town before leaving. Lizzy thanks Evvie for caring for Althea. Evvie is staying in Lizzy’s old room, so Lizzy will be sleeping in Althea’s room.

Lizzy examines Althea’s dressing table, where her love of perfume began. People and their moods give off smells to Lizzy. She started making perfumes at 14. The one she made for Althea was lavender and bergamot. Next, Lizzy examines Althea’s bookcase, filled with journals by previous moon women—Sabine, Patrice, Renee, Dorothee, Sylvie, Aurore, Honore, and Althea herself. There is an additional journal that Lizzy hasn’t seen before; she takes it out and starts to read.

There is a dried and pressed sprig of rosemary that represents remembrance. In the journal, Althea writes directly to Lizzy, asking forgiveness for hiding her illness. Next, Althea writes about Lizzy’s ancestor Sabine, describing her as a fighter and a healer as well as a mother. Althea writes that she understands why Lizzy left: She wanted normalcy, to escape her mother’s outbursts, and to avoid the rumors about the murders. Althea explains that the journal is a “Book of Remembrances” and that Lizzy should read it when she needs advice (35).

In the morning, Lizzy recalls some of the lines from Althea’s journal, in which Althea admits to having done what was expected of her and regrets it. Evvie gives Lizzy some practical clothes for wearing around the farm. Over breakfast, Evvie tells Lizzy about her bees, which are in apiaries by the greenhouse. She explains how she and Althea met: Evvie makes honey and jewelry, and her sister gave her Althea’s contact information in the hope that Althea might sell Evvie’s honey in her shop. Althea and Evvie exchanged letters and established a business relationship. Once Althea invited Evvie to Moon Girl Farm, Evvie decided to stay there.

Lizzy admits that she wants to sell the farm. Evvie asks Lizzy whether, in addition to her fancy job in New York, she has someone who will take care of her when she’s ill. Lizzy admits that she doesn’t have someone who loves her like that; she is focused on work. Evvie tells Lizzy that someone is coming by to work on the greenhouse to fulfill a promise to Althea. Lizzy surveys the property, including the greenhouse, lavender fields, and apple orchar

Lizzy walks on a familiar trail through the woods. She smells the scent she used to make for Althea and senses her presence. When Lizzy arrives at the pond, she recalls the summer that Rhanna stopped swimming in it. She also recalls the accusations against her family, which are ironic since the family lives by the creed of “Harm none” (44); they’re even vegetarians so that they don’t harm animals. Lizzy decides that she needs to clear Althea’s name.

Andrew Greyson, the Moon Girl Farm’s next-door neighbor and handyman, came back to Salem Creek four years ago to care for his dying father. Before Andrew left, he fell in love with Lizzy, but she avoided him. When she went away to college, he went to Chicago, Illinois, and became an architect. In the present, as Andrew approaches the farm’s property, Lizzy appears through the trees like she used to when they were young.

Lizzy sees Andrew and realizes that he’s the handyman. She recalls how he came to her rescue at a school dance and after her mother’s drunken escapade in a fountain. Andrew offers condolences for Lizzy’s loss, and Lizzy goes back in the house. Evvie updates her about when Andrew returned. Lizzy admits that she wants to clear Althea’s name in the murder case. Evvie warns her that asking questions about the murder will upset people but notes that Althea would be proud of her.

Lizzy goes to the wildflower garden and harvests some blooms for the house. The state of the garden makes her sad; she considers how “those on the Path” believe that everything is sentient and cycles in and out of life (54). The Moons scatter their ashes on their land so that they can live again as nutrients for flowers. Lizzy decides to clean up the garden and heads toward the barn. She looks at the space inside where she used to make her perfumes and then gathers gardening tools.

Andrew comes into the barn, startling her, and she points her pitchfork at him. He warns her that the building is unsafe and says that he is going to fix it, as he promised Althea he would. Althea helped care for Andrew’s father before he told Andrew that he was dying. Lizzy shares that Althea didn’t tell her she was sick. She tells Andrew that she plans to sell the place, so he should hold off on the work. He lists the many things that need repair and explains that the property will be hard to sell as is.

Andrew offers to do all the repairs. Lizzy tries to talk him out of it because she can’t pay, but Andrew insists that he has to fulfill his promise. They talk about Rhanna, who is busking in California. Lizzy recalls how she sang and danced in a fountain in her underwear. After Rhanna was arrested, a football player asked Lizzy to dance like her mother, and Andrew pulled Lizzy away from the scene. His pity humiliated her.

On her way to the police station to talk to Chief Randall Summers, Lizzy notices new businesses in town. She encounters a sergeant and a captain and asks to speak with the chief about the old murders. Summers is busy, so she sits and waits for him. The captain alerts Summers, and he comes to talk to Lizzy. Summers explains that the case is closed and that he doesn’t have the money to reopen it. Lizzy says that she can make inquiries without using police resources. He warns her not to stir up trouble, but she argues that the girls’ parents deserve closure. Summers tells her that the lead detective on the case, Roger Coleman, has left the department, and he has no contact information for him. Then, he leaves to have lunch with the mayor.

When Lizzy gets in her car, Luc calls her, and she explains that she’ll need more time off to oversee Andrew’s repairs. Luc asks if she’s interested in Andrew, and when she says no, Luc says he misses her. Lizzy asks to use the paid time off that she’s accrued. He tells her to get through her tasks as fast as possible.

When Lizzy returns to the farm, Dennis Hanley, an employee of Andrew’s, is there dropping off supplies. He is rude to her and leaves. In the vegetable garden, Lizzy tells Evvie about her meeting with the chief. Evvie says that Andrew renovated Roger’s house and knows how to contact him.

Lizzy goes to Andrew’s house. He shows her his renovations, noting that Althea helped with garden planning, and she helps him select granite. They discuss Dennis and his brother, Hollis Hanley, who died two years ago. Dennis financially supports Hollis’s wife, Helen, and her child. Lizzy tells Andrew about her meeting with Summers and what Evvie told her. Andrew says that he’ll call Roger. He is surprised that she is working on the case, and she admits that she feels guilty for leaving.

Andrew and Lizzy go to see Roger. After touring Andrew’s renovations, Lizzy says that she is working on Darcy and Heather’s murders, and Roger admits that he left the department in protest after Summers shut down the investigation. He warns that Summers is mostly interested in becoming mayor and that Lizzy’s reopening of the case will upset his chances at getting elected. Roger mentions that the police found a bottle of oil from Althea’s shop on Heather’s body, and Lizzy remembers him coming to talk to Althea about it. Because the corpses had been in the pond for a long time, there was little evidence.

Roger doubts that Althea was involved in the murder, but he has no evidence to exonerate her. He shows Lizzy and Andrew his case files and promises to look through the ones about Darcy and Heather again. Roger admits that he became a workaholic after his wife and son died, so he has plenty to review. The murders of Heather and Darcy was one of only three cases he couldn’t solve in a 17-year career. Roger warns Lizzy that talking to the girls’ father, Fred Gilman, won’t be very helpful.