Secrets of Eden, by Chris Bohjalian

Wow, I am really behind in reading/blogging.  I will try to get better at it for the one person who is reading this blog!

Secrets of Eden, by Chris Bohjalian, is a book told in four parts, by four different people in the story.  It is somewhat of a mystery and a drama combined, telling the story of a family from Vermont whose experiences with domestic violence leave the woman murdered by her husband, and the husband ends up dead as well.  The scenario appears to be a murder/suicide, but at closer look, the investigators begin to have their doubts.  Their 15 year old daughter is left orphaned, and a famous author, whose parents were killed in a murder/suicide, comes in to console the teenager and the local pastor, who is extremely shaken up by the incident as well.

This is a difficult book to give a synopsis for without giving away too much of the plot.  It portrays the struggle and cycle of domestic violence well, which may be difficult to read at times.  The first two parts of the book were hard for me to really dive into, but the second half seems to redeem itself.  I found myself midly intrigued by this book, mostly because it was a mystery of sorts and I did want to find out how it ended.  I also feel like my opinion of this book may have been influenced by how busy I have been lately, and sometimes when that happens, it feels like a bit of a chore to finish a book.  It was interesting, but I don't think I would ever re-read it.