Review of “The Last of the Moon Girls” by Barbara A. Davis

 

Review of “The Last of the Moon Girls” by Barbara A. Davis

Eight years ago, Elzibeth “Lizzy” Moon left her small hometown of Salem Creek and moved to New York City. She works as a creative director for a perfume company and when she gets news that her grandmother, Althea Moon, has died, she makes the hard decision to go back and revisit her past. The Moon women all possess unique magical abilities and while never said in the book, people suspect them of witchcraft. Eight years before she left, two teenage sisters were murdered and Althea was the prime suspect. The girls were found dead in a pond on Moon Girl Farm, the land that Althea owned. When Lizzy comes back to town, she is determined to clear her grandmother's name and sell the farm.

 

Unfortunately the farm buildings need a lot of work, and her childhood neighbor Andrew, who is an architect and contractor, has taken it upon himself to fix it up. The two reconnect and Andrew confesses his feelings, while Lizzy makes it clear she can't have a “normal” relationship because of her family history. Althea’s friend Evvie currently lives at the farm, and then Lizzy’s estranged mom shows up all the while Lizzy is stirring up old feelings in the town about the murder of the Gillman girls. Not every one wants to know the truth, and when Lizzy is threatened, she does not back down.

 

This was a book that I had seen scrolling through Kindle or browsing at Barnes and Noble, but had no idea what it was about. I decided to give it a read mostly because I love the title. The book starts off slow, establishing Lizzy’s life in New York and her complicated relationship with her boss. The story begins to take shape once Lizzy reaches the farm. Wanting to be rid of her family’s past, she was in a hurry to get the farm ready to sell. Her interactions with Evvie and the book that her grandmother wrote to her, encouraged Lizzy to solve the mystery of the Gillman murders to clear her family's name.

 

The narrative structure of the book is done well. Author Barbara Davis uses excerpts from Althea’s book to push and motivate Lizzy’s actions along the way. Bits and pieces of new information are slowly revealed about the murder and the threat to Lizzy increases as the book progresses. Even though the mystery is a bit predictable, and the truth was not as salacious as I wanted, it was still well executed. I enjoyed Lizzy conducting her own investigation and questioning people, with some help from an ex Salem Creek police officer.

 

Even though I enjoyed the main character Lizzy Moon, her character development was a bit underwhelming. The romance subplot was cliché but also rushed. Numerous times Lizzy tells Andrew she can’t be with him but she never admits that she has any romantic feelings for him. The better relationship that has less time but better development is between Lizzy and her mother.

 

The town itself is very much a character. It represents the hatred, persecution, and how fear and the unknowing drive people’s judgments and actions. The Moons were already seen as “weird” before the townsfolk thought Althea killed the Gillman sisters. After the murders, the Moon’s were shunned by certain people and it's a big reason why Lizzy left in the first place.

Not knowing what to expect from this book, I was pleasantly surprised. Once Lizzy gets to the farm and the murder investigation starts, I was hooked. Even though we never actually meet Althea Moon, her presence and wisdom loom over the whole book. It has a lot of cliché’s and as I mentioned some the character developments were lacking. Despite its flaws, I loved this book and want to read it again. It’s a young women’s journey into adulthood with the stigma of her past and family ostracizing her from the community wrapped up in a murder mystery.

Thanks you all for reading and please leave comment below about your thoughts on the book.