The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis

The Last of the Moon Girls: A Novel by Barbara Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - Elzibeth (Lizzy) Moon, a young, successful perfumer in NYC, comes from a family of wise women. Women who heal, who have gifts that others don't understand and are often ostracized for them. Lizzy's is the gift of scent, and while she appreciates her gift, she has spent her adult life running away from her legacy - Moon Girl Farm, and all the bad memories that live there. Lizzy grew up on Moon Girl Farm, raised by a loving and wise grandmother, but when she was a young adult that all changed. Two local teenage girls were found dead in the pond on the Farm, and fingers were pointed at and blame placed at her grandmother's feet. Some of the town thought the idea preposterous, Althea was a healer. But in a town named Salem Creek, you can imagine what others thought, and life became unbearable for both Lizzy and her mother, Rhanna. Both left town, Rhanna to carry on her hippie lifestyle, and Lizzy to attend college and become a successful businessperson. Fast forward eight years. Althea has died, Lizzy has inherited the farm, which she intends to sell as quickly as possible. Here is where the story actually begins with twists and turns, some of which I didn't expect.
The best part of the story for me involved Althea, the journals she left, and the gifts of the Moon women. The interaction later in the book between Lizzy and Rhanna was interesting, and spoke to the theme of "family is everything, you don't give up on family." Evvie was another interesting character, a singing beekeeper, but her storyline could have been better developed. I liked the fact that Lizzy wanted to prove her grandmother's innocence, but didn't do it in the typical female detective style. And finally, I loved the "Books of Remembrances" that each woman in the Moon line left as her legacy. I could see this being the beginning of a series, perhaps.
This book reminded me of several others that I've read recently (The Mercies and The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs) which speak to the dangers for women of being different; and Midnight at the Blackbird Café for its grandmother-granddaughter, wise gifted women, coming back home to sell the farm (or cafe) and finding true love trope.
Book 188 of 2020

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