64 pages • 2 hours read
Anthony HorowitzMoonflower Murders: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Agios Nikolaos, Crete”
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses anti-gay bias, sexual abuse, xenophobia, ableism, violent murders, and death by suicide.
Susan Ryeland is two years into a new life in Crete. Her London publishing career ended due to the death of author Alan Conway and the impact of his final book, Magpie Murders. Susan co-owns and runs the Polydorus Hotel with her Greek fiancé, Andreas Patakis. Although the Polydorus has beautiful sea views, the hotel is beset with problems, including unpredictable staff, unreliable Wi-Fi, and an ineffective plumbing system. Susan is exhausted, and her relationship with Andreas is strained.
One day, a wealthy English couple visits Susan. Lawrence and Pauline Treherne reveal that Sajid Khan gave them her details. Susan recalls Khan as the Suffolk solicitor who discovered Alan Conway’s dead body. The Trehernes own a five-star hotel in Woodbridge, Suffolk, called Branlow Hall, which is now managed by their daughters. They reveal that eight years earlier, a man named Frank Parris was murdered at their hotel in a brutal hammer attack. The crime occurred on June 15, 2008, the same day their daughter Cecily got married at the hotel. A Romanian maintenance man, Stefan Codrescu, was arrested and convicted of the crime. Cecily knew Stefan had a criminal record when she hired him. However, the hotel participated in a scheme giving young offenders a second chance. After the murder, Cecily initially refused to believe that Stefan was guilty. However, Frank Parris’s blood was found on Stefan’s clothes, stolen money was hidden under his mattress, and a witness saw him outside Frank Parris’s room. Stefan confessed to the crime when questioned and received a life sentence.
Lawrence and Pauline Treherne reveal that, five days ago, they were in France and received a call from Cecily. Their daughter claimed that, after reading Atticus Pünd Takes the Case by Alan Conway, she knew that Stefan did not murder Frank Parris. Shortly afterward, Cecily disappeared.
The Trehernes explain that Alan Conway visited their hotel six weeks after Frank Parris’s murder. The author claimed that Frank was a friend and asked many questions about his death. The Trehernes have read Atticus Pünd Takes the Case but have no idea what Cecily was alluding to. However, the characters are clearly caricatures of people in Woodbridge. The Trehernes say that as Susan edited the book and knew the author, she is the best person to investigate their daughter’s disappearance.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Departure”
The Trehernes are convinced that Cecily’s husband, Aiden MacNeil, had nothing to do with their daughter’s disappearance. They reveal that on the day Cecily went missing, she took her golden retriever Bear for a walk and was never seen again.
Susan tells Andreas she is going to Suffolk. The Trehernes have offered her £10,000 to investigate Cecily’s disappearance.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Cuttings”
Although Susan sold her London flat and its contents before moving to Crete, she kept her beloved red MGB Roadster in storage. Arriving in London, she retrieves the car. Susan also visits Cloverleaf Books, the publishing house where she worked. The building remains boarded up from the fire that destroyed it. Susan then attempts to buy a copy of Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, but it is out of stock at the bookstore.
Researching Frank Parris’s death, Susan learns he was a retired advertising executive. Following a role as creative director of the London firm McCann Erickson, he moved to Australia, where he set up his agency, Sundowner. Frank was openly gay and known for his wild parties. Before his arrest for the murder, Stefan Codrescu had served a two-year sentence for burglary and assault. Detective Superintendent Richard Locke oversaw the murder investigation and arrested Stefan within a week. Susan knows and dislikes Locke as she encountered him during the investigation of Alan Conway’s murder.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Branlow Hall”
Although her sister Katie lives near Woodbridge, Susan accepts the Trehernes’ offer of free accommodation in their hotel. Susan loves her sister but feels inadequate when faced with Katie’s perfect home, successful husband, and two children.
Branlow Hall is a grand 18th-century country house with a carved owl above the door, matching the hotel’s logo. The décor inside is traditional. On the way to her room, Susan notices a dog bed and a large antique brooch on a display table. A card describes the brooch as “an eighteenth-century figeen” (40). Susan’s suite is in a modern extension of the hotel, the Moonflower Wing, and she recalls that Alan Conway called his fictional hotel the Moonflower in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Lisa Treherne”
Susan has dinner with Lawrence Treherne, who explains that Cecily named the modern wings of the hotel Moonflower and Barn Owl. She also came up with the hotel’s barn owl logo. Cecily liked word games and realized that barn owl was an anagram of Branlow. Susan recalls how Alan Conway often incorporated similar wordplay into his work.
Susan and Lawrence are joined by Cecily’s sister, Lisa, who manages the hotel’s finances. Lisa is plain, her manner is aggressive, and she has a large scar at the side of her mouth. Susan recalls that in Alan Conway’s novel, a beautiful Hollywood actress named Melissa James has a similar scar. Lisa suggests that, as the editor of Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, Susan is responsible for Cecily’s disappearance. She insists that Stefan killed Frank Parris and they should never have hired him. Lawrence points out that Lisa initially liked Stefan.
Lawrence recounts the events leading to the murder. Frank Parris was allocated room 16 in the Moonflower Wing but was transferred to room 12 when he demanded to stay in the historic part of the hotel. His booking was swapped with that of a retired headmaster. The next day, Cecily married Aiden. Their wedding reception was interrupted when their maid Natasha discovered Frank’s body.
After Lisa leaves them, Lawrence makes excuses for his daughter’s behavior. He reveals there has always been a rivalry in the sisters’ relationship. They argued over a boy when they were girls, and Cecily threw a kitchen knife, unintentionally scarring Lisa’s face.
Chapter 6 Summary: “The Night Manager”
Taking Susan to the stable block where the staff lives, Lawrence Treherne shows her Stefan’s old room. He reveals that the night manager, Derek Endicott, saw Stefan with his toolbox close to Frank Parris’s room before the murder. Lawrence describes Derek Endicott as emotionally vulnerable and reveals he cares for his ailing mother. Susan realizes from this description that in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, Alan turned Derek into the fictional character Eric Chandler. Susan meets Derek, who is timid and “childlike.” Derek reveals that Frank Parris asked him to book a cab to Heath House in Westleton the morning before he died. Derek says that as he was feeling unwell on the night before the wedding, he did not attend the staff party. Just before midnight, he was working reception and heard Bear cry from his basket on the floor above. When Derek went to check on the dog, he glimpsed someone pass. Although he did not see the man clearly, he assumed it was Stefan as he was carrying a toolbox. The next day, the discovery of Frank Parris’s body was delayed by a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door of room 12 that was later removed. Derek says he hopes Susan finds Cecily, observing that he knew something was wrong when he overheard her calling her parents.
Chapter 7 Summary: “FaceTime”
Susan FaceTimes Andreas. He tells her he loves her and warns her not to risk her safety.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Heath House, Westleton”
Susan drives to Heath House to find out why Frank went there on the day of his death. Martin and Joanne Williams live in the picturesque, slightly run-down farmhouse. Martin is friendly, inviting Susan in for tea, but his wife is unwelcoming. Susan feels there is something performative about the couple and does not trust them. Martin reveals they have lived in Heath House since Joanne’s mother died. Frank Parris was Joanne’s brother and visited them at about 10 a.m. on the day of his death. His Australian business had failed, and he wanted them to invest in establishing a new advertising agency in England. However, they refused. Martin recalls that Frank complained that the wedding marquee spoilt the view from his hotel room. While claiming she is not prejudiced against gay men, Joanne expresses disgust at Frank’s flamboyant lifestyle and his many young sexual partners. Susan notices Sajid Khan’s business card on a corkboard as she leaves. Joanne tells her not to return.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Branlow Cottage”
Next, Susan visits Aiden MacNeil, who lives in Branlow Cottage, a large modern house next to the hotel. His Range Rover is parked outside. Noting Aiden’s fair hair and blue eyes, Susan is struck by his handsome appearance. Aiden states that he reported Cecily missing at 8 p.m. on the day she went missing, and her car was found at Woodbridge Station, where she usually parked to walk Bear.
Aiden reveals he met Cecily in London while working as a real estate agent. After showing her a flat, he invited her to a bar to celebrate his birthday. When they became engaged, the Trehernes asked him to join the business and manage the hotel’s public relations.
On the day before Frank Parris’s body was discovered, he told Aiden and Cecily he was going to an evening performance of a Mozart opera in Snape Maltings. The Trehernes held a drinks party for family and staff that evening. Aiden reveals that he and Cecily slept in the same room that night. On the morning of their wedding, Cecily was upset as her horoscope predicted “ups and downs” (97), and a series of mishaps occurred. The marquee arrived at lunchtime, one of the bridesmaids was ill, and Cecily lost the blue fountain pen her father had given her for luck. The wedding reception ended when Natasha discovered Frank’s body and started screaming.
Aiden’s seven-year-old daughter Roxana arrives with her French nanny Eloise. Susan notes how pretty Roxana is, with her dark complexion and dark eyes. Eloise demands to know who Susan is and why she is asking questions.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Contacts”
This chapter consists of correspondence between Susan and other people.
Crime author Craig Andrews replies to Susan’s email, revealing that Stefan Codrescu is at HMP Wayland and that she must write to him if she wants to visit. He also offers her his spare room next time she stays in London. Susan writes to Stefan, revealing that Cecily has disappeared and requesting a visit.
Susan contacts Alan Conway’s former boyfriend, James Taylor. She asks if Alan mentioned visiting Branlow Hall and if he kept his original notes for Atticus Pünd Takes the Case. She also emails Lionel Corby, an Australian who managed Branlow Hall’s spa and left shortly after Frank Parris’s death. Lionel replies that he can meet Susan in London.
An email from Katie invites Susan to dinner that evening and contains several out-of-character typos. Susan emails Andreas, saying they should talk as she feels their life in Crete is not working. Finally, she messages Michael Bealey at Orion Books, asking if they have any vacancies.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Three Chimneys”
Susan arrives at Katie’s immaculate family home, Three Chimneys. The sisters have a close relationship but have always been different. Katie dreamed of starting a family while Susan immersed herself in books.
Katie claims that her husband, Gordon, is away on business. She also reveals that she once met Martin and Joanne Williams and describes Joanne as a “ball-breaker” who dominates and controls her husband. Susan is surprised as she feels the opposite dynamic is true.
Susan admires Katie’s beautiful garden but is surprised to note a dead bush in the middle of the lawn. She tells Katie that she accepted Andreas’s proposal, but she says they have mutually decided not to marry yet. When Susan’s 21-year-old nephew Jack arrives, she is excited to see him. However, Jack is quiet and sullen, and she is surprised to see him smoking and riding a motorcycle.
Chapters 1-11 Analysis
The protagonist, Susan Ryeland, is torn between two cultures and life trajectories. At the novel’s opening, her first-person narration conveys dissatisfaction with her lifestyle in Greece as the reality of running the Hotel Polydorus in Crete—and her relationship with her fiancé—does not match her idealization of both. Susan’s swift geographical transition from Greece’s wild, mountainous landscape to the setting of the English countryside highlights her internal conflict as she is torn between two disparate cultural settings. She has placed her beloved MGB Roadster in storage, confirming her reluctance to give up her life in England. Further, the motif of contrasting hotels emphasizes Susan’s dilemma: The Polydorus, with its lack of modern conveniences and pretensions, symbolizes her simpler life in Greece while the luxurious Branlow Hall is quintessentially English in its history and grandeur.
Brief passages of exposition in these early chapters allude to events from the novel’s prequel, Magpie Murders. However, Susan’s references to the death of Alan Conway, the author of the Atticus Pünd novels, and the end of her publishing career when Cloverleaf Publishing burned to the ground, allow Moonflower Murders to work as a standalone text. Readers who are unfamiliar with Magpie Murders have sufficient background information to understand its wider context. Nevertheless, Horowitz includes Easter eggs for those acquainted with the earlier work, including allusions to Sajid Khan and Susan’s conflicted relationship with DSI Locke. Alan Conway’s fictional work is again central to the plot while Susan is placed in the role of amateur detective, piecing together the connections between a real-life and fictional murder.
Horowitz enhances characterization in the narrative through the motif of homes. The narrative’s air of mystery deepens as the characters associated with Branlow Hall are introduced. Their suspicious behavior and antagonism toward Susan present them as potential suspects hiding secrets, just like the building itself. Branlow Hall is also associated with nocturnal imagery, like barn owls and moonflowers. This creates a sinister atmosphere, hinting at the dark deeds lurking beneath the picturesque setting. Cecily’s creation of the hotel’s barn owl logo from an anagram of Branlow also underlines the novel’s ongoing exploration of wordplay.
The descriptions of other homes also signify deeper truths about their inhabitants. Although picturesque, Heath House needs maintenance, suggesting that Martin and Joanne Williams have financial troubles. In contrast, Branlow Cottage’s name, which suggests a small, cozy home, belies the property’s size and modernity. The imposing house denotes the money and status Aiden MacNeil has acquired by marrying into the Treherne family. His Range Rover also confirms his prioritization of wealth and status. The largely immaculate house, Three Chimneys, appears to fulfill Katie’s dreams of domestic contentment. However, an anomalous dead shrub in the middle of her perfect lawn indicates that Susan’s sister’s life is not as perfect as it appears.
The novel’s homage to Golden Age detective fiction is evident in familiar tropes of the genre. The idyllic rural setting of Woodbridge and the country house hotel Branlow Hall contrast the genteel environment with the brutal murder that occurred there. Even in these opening chapters, there are several clues that will later prove vital in Susan’s solving of the mystery, such as the reference to a Mozart opera, Cecily’s belief in horoscopes, and the loss of a fountain pen on her wedding day. However, such clues are scattered among irrelevant details, such as Cecily’s bridesmaid falling ill, making it challenging for readers to filter out important facts. Furthermore, Horowitz employs red herrings to mislead the reader. For example, the information that Frank Parris swapped rooms with another guest raises the possibility that he was not the intended murder victim.
The intertwining of three mysteries—Frank Parris’s murder, Cecily’s disappearance, and the case of Melissa James’s murder in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case—enhances the labyrinthine nature of the narrative. This textual layering allows the author to exploit the device of metafiction. While paying tribute to Golden Age crime, Horowitz draws attention to and satirizes the very tropes he uses. For example, on arriving at Branlow Hall, Susan reflects: “As I parked the MG on the gravel, it occurred to me that any writers wanting to set a murder in a classic country house would find all the material they needed here” (37). Throughout the text, the author playfully reminds readers that while Susan presents her experiences as “real life,” she is also a fictional character within a story.
The Power of Storytelling is established as an ongoing theme in these chapters, highlighting the relationship between life and literature. Susan finds parallels but also significant differences between Woodbridge and Alan Conway’s fictional setting, Tawleigh-on-the-Water. While both are idyllic English villages with hotels at the heart of the action, Conway transposes the location to Devon, and the time period becomes 1953. In Chapter 10, Horowitz illustrates how authors feed off real-life experiences and repurpose them in fiction by featuring his own publisher, Orion, in Susan’s correspondence. While suggesting that all authors borrow from real life, the narrative indicates that Alan Conway’s habit of “twisting people so they come out as horrible caricatures of themselves” reflects his malicious nature (13). For example, by allocating Lisa Treherne’s facial scar to the beautiful character Melissa James, Conway satirized Lisa’s unattractiveness.
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