The Fourth Girl Summary, Characters and Themes
The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub is a suspenseful novel set in the small town of Mulberry Bay, New York, where past tragedies and present mysteries collide. The story centers around four young women—Midge, Kelly, Talia, and Caroline—and the unresolved disappearance of Caroline Winterfield a year earlier.
The narrative shifts between the present and flashbacks to the late 1990s, revealing secrets, family tensions, and the impact of Caroline’s vanishing on the group and the town. As the women confront their past and the dark history of Haven Cliff estate, they uncover a series of disturbing events tied to friendship, loss, and betrayal.
Summary
The story begins on a rainy night in Mulberry Bay, where an unnamed man walks the nearly deserted streets, reflecting on the decay of the town, symbolized by a broken clock tower stuck in time. Suddenly, a woman’s scream pierces the night near Haven Cliff, a place with a dark past that haunts the town.
In the present day, three young women—Midge Kennedy, Kelly Barrow, and Talia Shaw—are together in a car, tense as they recall the disappearance of their friend Caroline Winterfield a year earlier. Caroline’s absence has changed their friendship, and the mystery surrounding her fate weighs heavily on them.
Midge is now a law enforcement officer and responds to a call about a man who fell down stairs, only to discover he is dead. The victim is Gordy Klatte, Caroline’s former boyfriend, whose death on the anniversary of Caroline’s disappearance adds a personal and painful layer to the investigation.
Mulberry Bay itself is portrayed as a town struggling with change and decline. Boarded-up shops and graffiti stand as reminders of better days, and Haven Cliff—the former Winterfield family estate, now a crumbling mansion with a notorious history—is a central symbol of the secrets and tragedies buried in the town.
Kelly recently bought Haven Cliff, motivated by her connection to Caroline and a psychic reading that suggested the estate held answers.
Flashbacks reveal Caroline’s life before her disappearance: a strict family, complicated friendships, and a secret pregnancy. Caroline’s sixteenth birthday exposes tensions within the group and the controlling environment she lives in.
Her sister Mary Beth is rebellious and troubled, contrasting with Caroline’s more restrained demeanor. The friends, including Gordy, appear caught up in their own lives and blind to warning signs about Caroline’s struggles.
In the present, Midge investigates Gordy’s suspicious death, recalling past suspicions that Gordy may have had a role in Caroline’s fate. The Klatte household is filled with memories, but also questions that linger unanswered.
Kelly experiences unsettling events in Haven Cliff, including unexplained pain and the sense that the mansion is haunted by its history of illness, tragedy, and violence. Kelly also discovers signs that someone may be sneaking around her family home, raising fears about her mother’s dementia and the house’s security.
Talia, living away with her children, receives a cryptic playing card that unsettles her and draws her back to Mulberry Bay and Haven Cliff. Old promises and secrets compel her to face her past rather than run from it.
Meanwhile, Midge finds a similar card at the police station, signaling a link between Gordy’s death, their childhood charm bracelets, and these mysterious messages.
The narrative returns to flashbacks in the late 1990s, revealing that Caroline’s pregnancy was kept secret due to fear of her family’s harsh judgment and the fate of her sister Mary Beth, who had been sent away and struggled with addiction and incarceration. Caroline’s relationship with Gordy is tense and controlled, with Gordy portrayed as rigid and unyielding.
The teenage friends made a pact of eternal friendship, symbolized by matching tattoos, but cracks in their bond emerge as Caroline’s situation worsens.
Back in the present, security footage shows strange activity at Kelly’s family home, suggesting that Caroline may have made a spectral visit, or someone is trying to stir memories and fears. Ceto, a shadowy figure armed with a gun, watches over Haven Cliff, adding to the suspense and danger.
Midge balances her role as a cop with the emotional stakes of investigating Gordy’s death and the possibility of Caroline’s return.
Further discoveries at Haven Cliff include human remains found at the site of an old pool, accompanied by Caroline’s pink Walkman, indicating the remains may be Caroline’s rather than ancient bones as initially thought. This discovery deepens the mystery and connects the friends’ past to the present investigation.
Talia visits Mary Beth in prison, uncovering painful truths about their shared past and Mary Beth’s involvement in Caroline’s disappearance. Mary Beth’s troubled history and complicated relationship with Caroline come to light, showing a mix of protection, resentment, and desperation.
Mary Beth admits to impersonating Caroline in texts to manipulate the friends, complicating the investigation.
The climax arrives when Mary Beth confronts Midge with a gun, revealing herself as the killer of Gordy and possibly responsible for Caroline’s death. Motivated by jealousy, love, and a desire to control the narrative of her family’s tragedy, Mary Beth’s actions unravel the long-hidden truths.
Despite the danger, Midge and Kelly survive, with Kelly shooting Mary Beth before help arrives.
The story ends with a solemn farewell to Caroline, whose remains rest in the filled-in pool at Haven Cliff. Kelly experiences a vision of Caroline in a white dress, a symbolic moment capturing the grief and enduring bonds of friendship.
The narrative leaves a lasting impression about the costs of secrets, the complexity of loyalty, and the struggles to uncover truth amidst layers of pain and deception.
Overall, The Fourth Girl explores how time, memory, and trauma affect a small town and the people connected by a shared history. The investigation into Caroline’s disappearance and Gordy’s death reveals the fragility of relationships and the lasting impact of choices made in youth.
The dark past of Haven Cliff mirrors the emotional scars the characters carry, offering a story about confronting the past and finding closure.
Characters
Caroline Winterfield
Caroline is central to the story, though much of her life and fate unfold through flashbacks and the memories of others. She is portrayed as a young woman caught between the strictures of her controlling, religious family and the desires of her own heart.
Her life is marked by secrecy and repression—her strict upbringing clashes sharply with her friendships and her hidden pregnancy, which she desperately tries to keep from her family. Caroline’s disappearance is the emotional core around which the narrative revolves, symbolizing lost innocence and the tragic consequences of hidden truths.
Her relationship with Gordy Klatte is complex and strained, reflecting control more than love, while her bond with her sister Mary Beth adds layers of family trauma and conflict. Caroline’s legacy haunts Mulberry Bay, especially the mysterious events at Haven Cliff, making her both a victim and a catalyst for the unfolding drama.
Midge Kennedy
Midge serves as a link between the past and present, embodying the tension between duty and personal grief. As a law enforcement officer, she navigates the professional challenges of investigating Gordy Klatte’s suspicious death while grappling with the emotional scars left by Caroline’s disappearance and the fractured friendships that followed.
Midge is shaped by her loyalty to her friends but also by the guilt and frustration of having failed Caroline in her time of need. Her role as a detective highlights the clash between appearance and reality in Mulberry Bay, revealing how deeply the town’s secrets run.
Throughout the story, Midge struggles with balancing her investigative instincts and the personal toll the mystery takes on her, demonstrating resilience amid grief and unresolved trauma.
Kelly Barrow
Kelly emerges as a character deeply connected to the past through her emotional attachment to Caroline and the symbolic purchase of Haven Cliff. Her decision to acquire the estate where Caroline was last seen reflects a desire to preserve history and confront buried secrets.
Kelly is portrayed as sensitive and intuitive, often grappling with physical and psychological pain that mirrors the mansion’s haunting presence. Her bond with Caroline was strong, and she carries the burden of both their shared history and the unresolved mysteries surrounding Caroline’s fate.
Kelly’s character explores themes of memory, loyalty, and the supernatural, as she experiences strange occurrences and wrestles with fears about her mental health and the estate’s dark past. She embodies the enduring impact of friendship and loss.
Talia Shaw
Talia’s character arc reflects the tension between escape and confrontation. Having left Mulberry Bay and built a family elsewhere, she represents the attempt to move beyond trauma and start anew.
However, her return to face old wounds and her interactions with her children highlight the generational echoes of family secrets and the inescapability of the past. Talia’s guarded nature and the symbolic objects she carries—like her silver bracelet—underscore her awareness of time’s passage and hidden burdens.
Her cautious engagement with the supernatural hints at unresolved questions about Caroline’s disappearance and the mysteries of Haven Cliff. Talia’s internal struggle to reconcile her past with her present life adds emotional depth to the narrative, emphasizing themes of memory, denial, and the courage to face painful truths.
Gordy Klatte
Gordy, Caroline’s boyfriend, plays a pivotal role both in the past and present. Once a seemingly stable figure, his death under suspicious circumstances reignites old suspicions and unresolved feelings.
Gordy’s relationship with Caroline was marked by rigidity and control rather than warmth, adding to the oppressive environment that contributed to her disappearance. His death triggers an investigation that unearths layers of deception and betrayal among the friends and their families.
Gordy’s complex character embodies the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator, as well as the long shadows cast by guilt and secrecy. Through Gordy, the narrative explores the destructive impact of hidden violence and the fragility of perceived normalcy in small-town life.
Mary Beth Winterfield
Mary Beth is a stark contrast to Caroline, representing rebellion and the darker consequences of family dysfunction. Her troubled past—marked by drug use, incarceration, and estrangement—mirrors the brokenness hidden beneath the surface of Mulberry Bay’s genteel façade.
Mary Beth’s complicated relationship with Caroline blends protective instincts with jealousy and desperation, culminating in violent actions that drive the story’s climax. As the reveal of Mary Beth’s role in Gordy’s death and Caroline’s fate unfolds, she emerges as a deeply flawed, tragic figure shaped by trauma and a quest for agency within a harsh environment.
Her presence highlights the destructive power of secrecy and the fractured bonds within families.
Beverly Barrow
Beverly, Kelly’s mother, offers a glimpse into the fading legacy of the town’s older generation, grappling with dementia and the loss of clarity. Her fleeting moments of lucidity connect her to the past and to Caroline’s memory, serving as a symbolic link between history and the present.
Beverly’s confusion and the mysterious happenings around her home add an eerie atmosphere to the story, reinforcing themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time. Through Beverly, the narrative touches on the fragility of human consciousness and the ways in which the past can haunt even those who are fading from the present.
Themes
Memory and the Passage of Time
Memory operates as a complex force in The Fourth Girl, where it serves both as a source of connection and as a burden. The town of Mulberry Bay itself feels trapped in a state of arrested decay, reflecting the way past events refuse to be laid to rest.
Memories linger not only in the minds of the characters but also in the physical spaces they inhabit—such as the broken clock tower and the dilapidated Haven Cliff mansion. These places act as reminders that time has moved forward unevenly, with some parts of life frozen by trauma and unresolved grief.
The characters, especially Midge, Kelly, and Talia, carry memories that shape their identities and dictate their actions. Their recollections are marked by pain and guilt, revealing how selective and unreliable memory can be.
Past mistakes, lost friendships, and betrayals weigh heavily on them, coloring their present-day interactions and motivations. The narrative explores how memory can both preserve and distort truth, as the friends struggle to reconcile their recollections with emerging evidence.
The physical reminders of time—such as the charm bracelets, the two of spades cards, and the old letters—underscore the tension between what is remembered and what is forgotten, creating a haunting atmosphere where the past continues to assert its influence. In this sense, time is not linear but cyclical, trapping characters in recurring patterns of loss and yearning for closure.
Ultimately, the story suggests that while memory is essential for preserving identity and connection, it also has the power to imprison individuals in unresolved pain, complicating their attempts to heal.
Friendship, Loyalty, and Betrayal
The dynamics of friendship in The Fourth Girl are deeply intertwined with themes of loyalty and betrayal, exposing the fragility beneath the surface of close relationships. The bond among Talia, Midge, Kelly, and Caroline is rooted in shared history and intimate secrets, yet this bond is strained by past failures and unspoken tensions.
The disappearance of Caroline acts as a catalyst that fractures their friendship and exposes weaknesses in their loyalty to one another. Despite their efforts to maintain a united front, the friends are burdened by guilt over their perceived complicity in neglecting Caroline when she needed them most.
This feeling of collective failure generates a quiet tension that permeates their interactions, revealing how loyalty can become complicated by fear, shame, and unresolved anger. Betrayal manifests not only in overt acts but also in subtle silences and avoidance—choices to withhold truth or to protect oneself at the expense of others.
The narrative reveals that even within tight-knit groups, betrayals can be rooted in the complex realities of survival and self-preservation, particularly under external pressures such as family expectations and societal judgment. Furthermore, the revelation of Mary Beth’s actions adds a darker dimension to betrayal, intertwining family loyalties with violence and desperation.
This complicates traditional notions of friend and foe, showing how betrayal is not always clear-cut but often tangled in layers of love, jealousy, and protection. The story portrays friendship as a delicate and often painful balance, where loyalty is tested by secrets and betrayals that threaten to destroy the very connections that once defined the characters’ lives.
Trauma and Its Lingering Effects
Trauma permeates the lives of the characters in The Fourth Girl, shaping their behavior and relationships in profound ways. Caroline’s disappearance and the secrets surrounding her life and death cast a long shadow, with trauma reverberating across decades.
The novel explores trauma both as an individual experience and as a collective wound shared by the group and the community. Each character carries emotional scars that manifest in different ways—Kelly’s physical pain and paranoia, Midge’s professional determination mixed with personal grief, and Talia’s struggle to protect her family while confronting her past.
The presence of the Winterfield family’s dark history, the asylum, and the mansion’s eerie reputation amplify the theme by symbolizing the way trauma can become embedded in places, influencing those who inhabit them long after the original events. The story also highlights how trauma affects family dynamics, especially through the portrayal of Caroline’s and Mary Beth’s troubled relationship with their strict, controlling parents.
Mary Beth’s downward spiral and subsequent violent actions underscore the destructive potential of untreated trauma, neglect, and family dysfunction. The characters’ attempts to face or avoid their traumatic memories reveal the complexity of healing—showing that trauma is not easily resolved but continues to shape perceptions, decisions, and emotions.
Through the investigation and confrontation with past events, the narrative suggests that addressing trauma requires courage and honesty, even when the truths uncovered are painful and destabilizing. Ultimately, trauma in the story is portrayed as a persistent force that demands recognition and reckoning for any hope of peace.
Secrets and the Quest for Truth
Secrets form the backbone of The Fourth Girl, driving the suspense and emotional tension throughout the narrative. The friends’ collective silence about Caroline’s disappearance, the hidden aspects of her life—such as her pregnancy—and the mystery surrounding Gordy’s death all contribute to an atmosphere thick with unanswered questions.
These secrets serve as barriers between the characters, preventing genuine connection and obstructing healing. The story explores the consequences of keeping secrets, showing how they can protect individuals temporarily but ultimately foster mistrust, fear, and resentment.
The gradual unraveling of truths—from the discovery of human remains to the revelation of Mary Beth’s role—demonstrates the difficult and painful nature of uncovering what has been deliberately or inadvertently concealed. This quest for truth is complicated by layers of deception, denial, and manipulation, highlighting the tension between appearance and reality.
The motif of coded messages, such as the pennies arranged on a pedestal and the two of spades playing cards, symbolizes the elusive nature of truth and the characters’ desperate attempts to communicate across time and trauma. The narrative also grapples with the idea that truth can be subjective, shaped by memory, perspective, and the limits of knowledge.
By focusing on the search for answers, the story emphasizes the importance of confronting hidden realities as a necessary step toward justice and closure, even when the process threatens to reopen old wounds.
Small-Town Life and Its Shadows
The setting of Mulberry Bay is integral to the thematic structure of The Fourth Girl, illustrating the complex interplay between community, history, and secrecy. The town’s physical decline, with its boarded-up shops and decaying landmarks, mirrors the emotional and social deterioration experienced by its residents.
Small-town life is depicted as both intimate and suffocating, where everyone is connected but secrets fester beneath the surface. The narrative reveals how small towns can be places of comfort and belonging, yet also breeding grounds for judgment, gossip, and repression.
The characters’ shared history is inseparable from the town’s legacy, including the dark past of Haven Cliff, which carries associations of mental illness, violence, and family tragedy. This backdrop underscores the pressures of conformity and the weight of generational trauma that the characters grapple with.
The story exposes how the close-knit nature of small-town communities can obscure darker truths, as appearances are maintained while underlying dysfunction remains hidden. The town itself becomes a character reflecting themes of decay, resistance to change, and the struggle to reconcile past sins with hopes for renewal.
The social dynamics and history of Mulberry Bay provide a rich context for exploring themes of identity, secrecy, and the consequences of collective denial, revealing how place shapes and constrains the lives of those who inhabit it.