Eden: A Novel

On a hot, muggy afternoon in Eden, a tiny, rural town deep in southeast Louisiana, two boys make a grim discovery: they unearth the decades-old remains of a child, strands of hair and clothing still attached to the bones.

Meanwhile on the other side of the country, in California, forty-one-year-old Evelyn Yates, a single mother is struggling to maintain psychological equilibrium despite problems with alcohol, a difficult teenage daughter, and her own traumatic past. Evelyn is devastated by a phone call from the Eden coroner informing her that officials suspect the remains are those of her sister who disappeared over thirty years earlier.

Evelyn, who has mentally reduced her childhood to a series of blotchy and painful memories, fled Eden years ago and has no desire to return. Her fragile internal world is suddenly threatened with collapse by this discovery and the pressure to return home to help identify the remains.

The discovery of the body sets in motion a series of events leading inevitably to the uncovering of secrets dating back nearly a century; terrible events that may involve the entire town of Eden. As Evelyn pursues answers, she finds her sanity, her life, and the life her daughter threatened. She must face her memories and delve deep into her family's history to find answers.

Eden explores the devastating nature of secrets and the power of love to overcome.