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Secrets of Eden
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
NOW A LIFETIME TV MOVIE STARRING JOHN STAMOS From the bestselling author of The Double Bind, Midwives, and Skeletons at the Feast comes a novel of shattered faith, intimate secrets, and the delicate nature of sacrifice. "There," says Alice Hayward to Reverend Stephen Drew, just after her baptism, and just before going home to the husband who will kill her that evening and then shoot himself. Drew, tortured by the cryptic finality of that short utterance, feels his faith in God slipping away and is saved from despair only by a meeting with Heather Laurent, the author of wildly successful, inspirational books about . . . angels. Heather survived a childhood that culminated in her own parents' murder-suicide, so she identifies deeply with Alices daughter, Katie, offering herself as a mentor to the girl and a shoulder for Stephen who flees the pulpit to be with Heather and see if there is anything to be salvaged from the spiritual wreckage around him. But then the State's Attorney begins to suspect that Alice's husband may not have killed himself. . .and finds out that Alice had secrets only her minister knew. Secrets of Eden is both a haunting literary thriller and a deeply evocative testament to the inner complexities that mark all of our lives. Once again Chris Bohjalian has given us a riveting page-turner in which nothing is precisely what it seems. As one character remarks, Believe no one. Trust no one. Assume all of our stories are suspect.
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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Hey, look what eBook is on sale for only $1.99? That's less than I pay for my morning maple cream cheese danish after walking my beloved dog, Jesse!

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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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The SECRETS OF EDEN ebook is on sale for $6.99! My 2010 mystery about a murdered woman has a line that remains among the most quoted I‘ve written: “Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially--romanced and ritualized and seasoned with memory.” It became a movie starring John Stamos. Have you read it?

swishandflick I love that you still hang with us on Litsy ❤️ 2y
Julsmarshall Ooh, love that quite, will have to check this one out! 2y
Clwojick Agreed! Love that you‘re still active on Litsy! 🖤 Also, adding to my TBR. 2y
marleed I‘ll check it out! I love reading your books. None is like the other and I have no idea how you do that! 2y
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review
Lcsmcat
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Pickpick

I‘ve been going down genealogical rabbit holes a lot lately, so haven‘t read so much. But I did find time to finish my #bookspin for May. I won‘t say I figured out the twist, it I recognized the red herrings. It‘s hard to say this was an enjoyable read, given the dark subject matter, but it was something like that.

Amiable I just spent the day dragging my poor husband around to track down 10 gravesites of various ancestors and the house where my great/grandfather was born in 1878! I‘m totally here for your rabbit-hole dives. 😀 2y
Lcsmcat @Amiable Fun! Did you find them? It‘s such a great feeling when you do. 2y
Amiable @Lcsmcat I did! Although my great-great grandmother did not have a stone where she is buried (according to the cemetery burial records). I think it‘s because her son (my great-grandfather) died before she did. And I‘m guessing my great-grandmother (who I was fortunate to know —she died when I was 13) never bought her mother-in-law a gravestone. This makes me sad! 2y
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Lcsmcat @Amiable Or maybe the stone didn‘t survive. I manage the town cemetery as part of my job, and the older stones don‘t always survive. But it does affect me a lot when I find a child dying before a parent. Even with large families, you know the mom grieves the one she lost in spite of the 11 or so that survived. 2y
Amiable @Lcsmcat It‘s not that old—my great-great grandmother died in 1956. Her son, my great-grandpa, died in 1953. And the stone for her husband (who died in 1922) is there on the spot and intact. (edited) 2y
Lcsmcat @Amiable I forget that not all families are as spaced out as mine. My great-great grandparents all but one died before the depression. And my great-grandparents died decades before I was born. (edited) 2y
Amiable @Lcsmcat I was lucky enough to have known three of my great-grandparents. Two of them died when I was a child (about 7-10 years old) and the third when I was a teenager. I think that luck was a product of several generations who married/ had children young and then also lived for years past their typical life expectancy! 2y
Lcsmcat Wow, that is lucky! I knew all my grandparents, but two of them died when I was still a child. (The other two when I was late 30s, so it evened out.) I‘m trying to get each line back to the original immigrant, but since most of them came in colonial days it‘s tough. 2y
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Coleen
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Pickpick

I liked the book, mostly. Esp. the multiple narrator viewpoints. The movie, not so much.

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Beccacraft
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
Pickpick

This book is about an alleged murder-suicide that wreaks havoc on its small town, with its country pastor, a famous writer, and local law enforcement all sorting the remaining pieces. I loved the different POVs which showcased how one incident can be perceived so differently between people experiencing the same moment. I enjoyed the entirety of the book, with the last sentence being my favorite.

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Butterfinger
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
Pickpick

While reading, I forgot this was a work of fiction. Each character seemed to be a real person that I knew from my past. It became very real. I had known battered women and the children of battered women and Bohjalian nailed the walking on eggshells anxiety.

It is also true that people who cannot trust loved ones will find something to trust - angels or drugs.

I can't believe that there was a name mentioned once of Corona. How coincidental.

45 likes1 comment
blurb
Butterfinger
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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#ReadWithMrBook @MrBook I plan on reading the tagged book @ChrisBohjalian -Who will you read? I follow other authors, I know. If you are comfortable, please promote your work for this awesome prompt.

@LibrarianRyan created this list. https://www.litsy.com/web/post/1854787

LibrarianRyan ⭐️👍 5y
KarouBlue Hooray @LibrarianRyan Now, I know what to read! 5y
MrBook 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5y
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revenge4porgy I‘m an author with a disability(Mild Cerebral Palsy), Learning Disabled in Math, Epileptic. 5y
Butterfinger Wow! Thanks @revenge4porgy for letting me know. 5y
revenge4porgy You‘re welcome! 5y
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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Because it‘s Saturday morning.

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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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My novel, SECRETS OF EDEN, turns nine years old this week. The movie with John Stamos and Anna Gunn? A mere seven. This was the second time I had multiple first person narrators. They offer a Rashomon-like exploration of what seems to be a domestic violence murder-suicide in Vermont.

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LiteraryinPA
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
Mehso-so

I wanted to like this book, but in the end it was just so-so for me. As a mystery, it didn‘t have that same must-keep-reading-because-I-need-to-know quality that so many do. And as a character study, it also fell short for me. This is my second book by Bohjalian and neither has nailed it for me, so I‘ll probably take a break for a while.

GoldenGirl I tried to read this a few years back and just couldn't get into it even though I wanted to! This book turned me off on him altogether. 7y
Suet624 @GoldenGirl Midwives is terrific. Maybe you would enjoy that one. 7y
LiteraryinPA @Suet624 That was the other one of his I read. It was good but didn‘t wow me. But that‘s why there are lots of different books out there! 7y
Suet624 @LiteraryinLititz Yes indeed 🤓 7y
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heatherkaz
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Pickpick

A murder/suicide rocks a small Vermont town and the events leading up to and following are told through the POV of four main characters. A little sleepy at times, but overall I liked the plot and the characters.
⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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It was on this date in 2010 that my novel, SECRETS OF EDEN, was published. My deepest thanks to @Crownpublishing . #grateful #mystery

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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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Early morning announcement: if you haven't seen the 2012 movie based on my novel, "Secrets of Eden," it's airing this afternoon on @lifetimemovies -- 2 pm EST, but check your guide, if you want to record it before leaving for work. Cast includes #JohnStamos and #AnnaGunn. @Crownpublishing

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blurb
glp4766
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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My Goodwill find today...not read this author before

Megabooks He's actually on here and posts! 7y
glp4766 Thats is amazing....Thanks for telling me😄 7y
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WhenJasmineBlooms
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian

"She was a good kid who had become a good teen-too intelligent for drugs and too ambitious to get pregnant."

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ChrisBohjalian
Secrets of Eden: A Novel | Chris Bohjalian
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"With age comes acumen. With experience comes insight." -- from Secrets of Eden, published seven years ago this month.

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ChrisBohjalian
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“Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially--romanced and ritualized and seasoned with memory.” -- from Secrets of Eden

lynneamch Beautiful quote! Important to remember always, but especially this season as many of us will gather to feast--perhaps with folks we struggle to find agreeable. 8y
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