My Name Was Eden

A Novel

By: Eleanor Barker-White

Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis

For fans of The Push and The Undoing, an edge-of-your-seat thriller that peels back the layers of a family that's not as perfect as it seems.

“My Name Was Eden is a compulsive, didn't-see-it-coming thriller.”—Abigail Dean, international bestselling author of Girl A

One twin vanished. The other twin remained. Until now...

When her daughter Eden came home from the hospital, Lucy was profoundly relieved. Eden had survived a drowning incident and had no apparent brain damage, no serious injuries, not even a scratch on her. Lucy fervently welcomed having a second chance at being the good mother she should have been before her teenager’s accident.

Until Eden tells her that Eden isn’t her name. Until she starts calling herself Eli. The name Lucy had reserved for Eden’s unborn twin.

Don’t worry, says the doctor. Eden is completely fine, says her husband. Of course I’m fine, Eden says, with that strange new smile of hers. I didn’t die. I’m here.

But Lucy knows something’s very wrong with Eden. She’s not her maddening, complicated teenage girl anymore—this straight-backed, even tempered, steady-eyed child in her house is someone else entirely. Eden, it seems, is the twin who disappeared…

Interesting Concept

The synopsis piqued my interest, and the story itself had potential, but there were a few issues with lazy editing. If Lucy is supposed to be in her early 40s in the "now" portions of the book (I assume 2023), then the flashbacks would have taken place in the mid to late 80s. However, Young Lucy talks about her mother taking pictures with her phone. And though the reader did a very good job, I had to cringe when she pronounced subliminal "subliNiMal". There were several questions left unanswered, and the ending was a bit predictable but overall it was worth the listen.

Hard to follow

I was constantly trying to figure out who's words were being read. The storyline jumped from character to character too often, making the story hard to follow. Plus the back and forth of the timeline only added to my confusion.

Easily interpreted not a story expected

Mostly boring. Too much irrelevant boring detail. Nothing profound all predictable writing skimmed the surface not the level I enjoy

Interesting twists

This book had a nice twist at the end that was unexpected. I would recommend!