Eden undone : a true story of sex, murder, and utopia at the dawn of World War II

Kahler, Abbott, 1973- author.

First edition.

Book

New York : Crown, [2024]

©2024

xvi, 330 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

"Using never-before-published archives, Abbott Kahler weaves a chilling, stranger-than-fiction tale worthy of Agatha Christie. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the march to World War II, with a mystery as alluring and curious as the Galápagos itself, Eden Undone explores the universal and timeless desire to seek utopia--and lays bare the human fallibility that, inevitably, renders such a quest doomed"-- Provided by publisher.

Utopias -- History -- 20th century.

Murder.

Sex.

Santa María Island (Galapagos Islands)

True crime stories.

Prologue: Paradise lost -- Part I: Our inner demon and its whims. The doctor and his disciple ; Dying in one world ; The enchanted isles ; Friedo ; A moment lived in paradise ; The first of the dollar kings ; Catalyst ; The first intruders ; Appearances ; Our so-called paradise ; Mr. Hancock of Los Angeles ; And then there were five ; A direct order from God ; A pity that they should be so unpleasant ; Before the storm ; Dead sun -- Part II: It does them good to know who is their master. And then there were nine ; Dentist and doctor indeed ; Ready for all crimes ; And then there were ten ; The man isn't born who can resist me ; A hunter since his kitten days ; What a girl ; The Empress of Floreana ; Fanatical jealousy -- Part III: Natural selection. You don't know the Americans ; Vague and ominous presentiments ; "Accident" ; A wicked plan ; Strange satanic moods ; A woman's natural instinct to play with fire ; And then there were seven ; The feeling of tragedy ; And then there were six ; Scoundrelism, rascality, and faking; ; And then there were five ; And then there were four ; Thus spake Floreana.

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