The Moonflowers Summary, Characters and Themes

The Moonflowers by Abigail Rose-Marie is a gothic literary mystery that delves into the shadows of family legacy, trauma, and the power of truth. 

Set in the rural town of Darren, Kentucky, the novel follows Tig Costello, an artist commissioned to paint a portrait of her grandfather, Benjamin, a supposed war hero and town icon. However, her search for his true story leads her to Eloise Price—the woman convicted of murdering him decades ago. As Tig pieces together the past through Eloise’s confessions and the secrets of Whitmore Halls, she uncovers a harrowing history of abuse, resilience, and justice long overdue.

Summary

Tig Costello arrives in Darren, Kentucky, expecting to honor her grandfather, Benjamin Costello, a celebrated war veteran and politician. The town reveres him so deeply that they’ve erected a statue in his memory. 

But for Tig, Benjamin was never a heroic figure—he was a distant presence, one she barely knew. Determined to understand more, she turns to the only person who might have the truth: Eloise Price, the woman who murdered him fifty years ago.

Eloise, now an aging woman confined to a state institution, agrees to talk—but on her terms. She asks Tig to bring her red oak leaves, a seemingly odd request, in exchange for her story. 

Through their conversations, Tig learns about the real Benjamin Costello—not the noble leader Darren remembers, but a man who wielded power over the vulnerable, particularly women.

The key to unraveling Benjamin’s dark past lies in Whitmore Halls, an abandoned mansion perched above the town. 

Once owned by Dr. Richard Price, Eloise’s father, the estate served as a psychiatric institution where Richard conducted unethical experiments on young girls. 

Among them was Joan Abrecht, a silent orphan who found solace in the mansion’s gardens. But Whitmore Halls wasn’t just a house of horror—it also became a refuge, a sanctuary for women fleeing abusive men.

Benjamin Costello, ambitious and charismatic, knew how to maintain his public image while keeping his victims silent. His marriage to Valerie Dunn started with love but ended in tragedy when their child died under mysterious circumstances. Afterward, Valerie vanished, her fate unknown. 

As Tig digs deeper, she uncovers the hidden history of women who suffered under Benjamin’s influence and the town’s willingness to overlook his sins.

Eloise reveals that she killed Benjamin to protect the women of Whitmore Halls. Ruth, one of the mansion’s caretakers, had been secretly transporting abused women out of Darren and up to Chicago, helping them escape their tormentors. 

When Benjamin discovered this, he threatened to shut it down, exposing the women and ruining their chance at freedom. 

Eloise acted before he could—poisoning him, ensuring his reign of control would end. But the town refused to see Benjamin as anything but a hero. Whitmore Halls was destroyed, and Eloise was imprisoned, her crime simplified into an act of madness rather than justice.

As Tig uncovers the truth, she grapples with the weight of her family’s past. The town refuses to acknowledge its complicity, choosing to uphold the sanitized version of Benjamin’s legacy. 

Fueled by anger and conviction, Tig takes matters into her own hands—defacing his statue with newspaper clippings detailing his abuse. 

The act sparks outrage, but it also forces conversations long buried. Some, like Jason, vow to ensure future generations learn the truth. Others prefer to let the past remain undisturbed.

In the end, Tig leaves Darren County forever changed. She doesn’t find closure in reclaiming her grandfather’s reputation but rather in accepting her responsibility to truth. 

Eloise, finally able to tell her story, passes away soon after, leaving Tig with the knowledge that justice, though delayed, had found its way through her.

Whitmore Halls remains a ruin, a ghost of its past, but the stories within its walls are no longer forgotten. The women who once lived in fear are now remembered, and the myth of Benjamin Costello is dismantled piece by piece. 

Tig’s journey began as a quest for understanding but ends with an act of defiance—an assertion that history, no matter how painful, must be faced.

Characters

Tig Costello

Tig Costello, the protagonist of The Moonflowers, begins the story as a distant relative of her grandfather, Benjamin Costello, with a vague understanding of his significance to the town of Darren. She is initially tasked with creating a portrait to honor him, but her journey through the town and her investigations into her family’s past force her to confront the uncomfortable truths about Benjamin’s legacy.

Tig’s character undergoes significant transformation as she unravels the dark history surrounding her family and the town. From being an outsider, Tig becomes an active force in exposing the truths hidden beneath the veneer of local heroism.

Her character arc is one of self-discovery and defiance, as she realizes the importance of confronting history, no matter how painful, and rejects the false narrative of her grandfather as a noble figure. By the end of the novel, she refuses to let her family’s reputation overshadow the suffering caused by her grandfather’s actions, symbolized by her defacing of his statue.

Tig’s journey is one of emotional reckoning and an embrace of her responsibility in exposing the truth for future generations.

Eloise Price

Eloise Price is introduced as a convicted murderer, imprisoned for the killing of Benjamin Costello, a crime that is initially presented as a shocking and malicious act. However, as the story unfolds, Eloise’s character evolves into one of tragic complexity.

Her actions are revealed to have been born out of necessity rather than malice—her crime was committed to protect others from the abuses inflicted by Benjamin. Eloise’s character arc is defined by revelation, as she shares her side of the story with Tig, providing a different perspective on the events that led to Benjamin’s death.

Eloise’s life is marked by resilience and survival, shaped by the injustices she experienced at Whitmore Halls. Her role in the narrative is not only that of a confessor but also of a witness to the silent suffering of many women who were exploited and oppressed by the men in power.

By the end of the novel, Eloise emerges as a tragic yet empowering figure, whose lifelong silence is broken, and whose story sheds light on the hidden history of the town.

Benjamin Costello

Benjamin Costello is initially presented as a beloved and celebrated figure in Darren, a war hero and former mayor commemorated by a statue in his honor. However, as the narrative unfolds through the eyes of Tig and Eloise, Benjamin’s true nature as a manipulative and abusive man emerges.

While he was admired by the townspeople for his contributions to the town’s infrastructure, particularly the railroads, his personal life tells a different story. He exploited vulnerable women, including his own wife and others seeking refuge at Whitmore Halls.

Benjamin’s political ambitions masked a cruel disregard for the suffering of others, especially those who were already marginalized. His character is defined by his ability to manipulate public opinion and silence the voices of those he hurt.

Despite his death, Benjamin’s influence lingers in the town, symbolized by the statue that Tig ultimately defaces. His arc represents the destructive legacy of unchecked power and the townspeople’s unwillingness to confront the darker aspects of their history.

Valerie Dunn

Valerie Dunn, Benjamin Costello’s wife, starts the story as a devoted partner who dreams of building a family with her husband. However, after the loss of their child and the realization of Benjamin’s true nature, Valerie’s character begins to unravel.

Her marriage, once hopeful, is marked by increasing emotional neglect and abuse, reflecting the broader theme of women’s subjugation in the narrative. Valerie’s fate is left unresolved—she disappears, and her absence serves as a haunting reminder of the many women who were silenced or erased by the men in their lives.

Her disappearance symbolizes the emotional and psychological toll that living under Benjamin’s oppressive influence had on her. Valerie’s character is a tragic one, as she represents the women who were victims of a system designed to suppress them.

Her story remains an unanswered question, adding to the novel’s sense of unresolved trauma and loss.

Richard Price & Joan Abrecht

Richard Price, the controversial neuropsychologist, is a key figure in the dark history of Whitmore Halls. His unethical psychiatric experiments, particularly on young women, mark him as a sinister presence in the town’s past.

Richard’s professional demeanor and the mansion’s status as a psychiatric facility hide the truth of his exploitation of vulnerable women, a theme that is central to the novel’s exploration of power and abuse. Joan Abrecht, a silent orphan who found solace in the gardens of Whitmore Halls, represents the resilience of the women who sought refuge there.

Although her past and her connection to Richard remain unclear, Joan’s presence in the narrative lingers as a symbol of the trauma endured by the women under Richard’s control. She is a figure of quiet strength, and her fate, left ambiguous, serves to highlight the many untold stories of women who suffered in silence.

Joan’s story leaves an indelible mark on the history of Whitmore Halls, standing as a testament to resilience and the quiet suffering of so many.

Themes

The Intergenerational Burden of Trauma and the Struggle for Reconciliation

One of the central themes of The Moonflowers is the intergenerational impact of trauma, particularly how the scars of past sins and suffering echo through multiple generations. The protagonist, Tig Costello, embarks on a journey to uncover the dark history of her grandfather, Benjamin Costello, and in doing so, she confronts the weight of her family’s unacknowledged past.

Tig’s search for the truth, propelled by her need to understand the man her grandfather truly was, forces her to confront painful truths about her own heritage. The trauma of abuse, manipulation, and systemic oppression that Benjamin perpetuated over the years affects not only the victims in his life but also the descendants who carry the emotional and moral burden of their ancestor’s actions.

Tig’s eventual acknowledgment of this trauma and her defiance against the town’s attempt to sanitize history is an act of both personal and communal reconciliation. The novel ultimately suggests that healing can only begin when past atrocities are faced and understood, rather than hidden away or glossed over by a misleading narrative.

The Complicated Relationship Between Female Empowerment and Societal Oppression

At the heart of the novel is a powerful examination of female empowerment, particularly in the face of societal oppression. The women in The Moonflowers are often forced into positions where they must make difficult, morally complex decisions to survive or protect others.

Eloise Price, once a young woman with a sense of justice, becomes a murderer, not out of malice, but as a last resort to protect those who were vulnerable to the manipulation of powerful men like Benjamin Costello. This theme is expanded through the portrayal of Whitmore Halls, a psychiatric institution that, while designed to treat the mentally ill, also served as a refuge for women escaping abusive relationships.

The story of Joan Abrecht, who found solace in the gardens of the mansion, and Ruth, who risked everything to help women escape, serves as an indictment of the ways in which societal systems failed to protect women. These women, despite the oppressive circumstances, find ways to resist and assert their agency, even if it means taking extreme actions.

The novel grapples with the dualities of victimhood and resistance, portraying female empowerment as a complicated but necessary force in the face of oppressive structures. It explores how women, even when cornered, find ways to assert themselves and challenge the systems meant to control them.

The Distortion of Heroism and the Dangerous Allure of Public Memory

The Moonflowers also explores the theme of the distortion of heroism and the manipulation of public memory. The town of Darren, Kentucky, views Benjamin Costello as a hero due to his political influence and war service. His statue, erected in his honor, represents the town’s collective memory of him as a noble figure, someone who brought prosperity and honor to the community.

However, as Tig digs deeper into her family’s history, she uncovers the darker truths about her grandfather’s life—his exploitation of vulnerable individuals, his abuse of power, and his manipulation of those around him. The novel critiques the tendency of communities to elevate figures of power to legendary status, often ignoring or downplaying the harm they caused.

Benjamin’s legacy, symbolized by his statue, serves as a powerful metaphor for how history can be distorted to protect the reputations of those in power. Tig’s eventual act of defacing the statue is a symbolic rejection of this sanitized version of the past, an assertion that heroism can be a dangerous and misleading construct when it erases the suffering of the oppressed.

The Unraveling of Family Secrets and the Uneasy Burden of Inherited Guilt

Another significant theme in the novel is the unraveling of family secrets and the uneasy burden of inherited guilt. Tig’s journey is not just about uncovering the truth about her grandfather but also about confronting her own family’s complicity in perpetuating the silence surrounding his actions.

As Tig learns more about her grandfather’s manipulative behavior and the women he harmed, she begins to realize that her family’s unwillingness to confront the truth is part of a broader pattern of denial. The Costello family, like the town itself, has been complicit in upholding a narrative that protects Benjamin’s image, even at the cost of the victims’ stories.

This theme raises difficult questions about how families handle shame, guilt, and the legacies of past wrongdoings. Tig’s transformation, from someone eager to honor her grandfather to someone determined to expose the truth, illustrates the emotional complexity of confronting a family history built on lies and omissions.

The novel suggests that true healing and growth come from acknowledging and taking responsibility for the wrongs of the past, rather than sweeping them under the rug. It is only by confronting these uncomfortable truths that Tig can truly understand her heritage.

The Role of Women in Challenging Institutionalized Power Structures and Patriarchal Norms

The novel presents a profound exploration of the ways in which women navigate, challenge, and sometimes subvert patriarchal systems that seek to control them. Whitmore Halls, under the guise of a psychiatric institution, represents an institution that operates on the control and oppression of women, particularly those who step outside prescribed gender roles.

Richard Price, the neuropsychologist who runs the facility, manipulates his patients—young girls and women who are already vulnerable due to trauma or societal rejection. His experiments on these women serve as a chilling reminder of how women’s bodies and minds have historically been subject to male authority.

Yet, within this system, the women find ways to resist. Ruth, who orchestrates an underground network to help women escape, represents an active form of resistance against the institutionalized power of men like Richard Price. Eloise’s story also speaks to the ways women find agency, even when their options are limited and their choices are morally ambiguous.

The novel examines the resilience of women who, despite being victimized, find ways to resist, even in the most oppressive environments. It suggests that female solidarity and resistance are powerful forces capable of challenging entrenched patriarchal systems.