Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II by Abbott Kahler

 

First Lines: Los Angeles, November 1934. The wire reports traveled three thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean and described a gruesome scene: On Marchena Island, a bleak and barren speck of land in the northern part of the Galápagos, passing fishermen found two bodies.

 

Millionaire George Allan Hancock and crews of scientists had been visiting a group of European exiles on a remote island in the Galápagos for a few years, making sure that they had the supplies they needed. 

 

The exiles were Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his patient/lover, Dore Strauch Koerwin; World War I veteran Heinz Wittmer, his wife Margret, and his son Harry; and Austrian Baroness Wagner-Bosquet and her two lovers, Robert and Rudolph. Ritter and Koerwin were the first two on the island, intent on creating a Utopia. Wittmer and his family were escaping a Germany increasingly under the iron fist of the Nazis; while the supposed baroness with her riding crop and pearl-handled revolver wanted to create her own world in which she was in complete command.

With the addition of the baroness, things rapidly turned to chaos, and the conclusion was deadly. When Hancock returned to the island in 1934, he and his crew found that two exiles were missing, two were dead, and the survivors were hurling accusations of murder at anyone who would listen.

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Eden Undone is an often fascinating account of a deadly mix of personalities thrown together on a small, remote island. Once all the people were in place, it was only a matter of time before disaster struck.

The remote Galápagos Island setting with its fascinating flora and fauna intrigued me, but I have to admit that I often found the backgrounds of the millionaires who visited to be more interesting than those of the people living on the island.

Ritter was so devoted to his idea of a splendid life in isolation that he had all his teeth extracted and wore a set of steel dentures. His patient/lover, Dore Koerwin, was dedicated to ensuring Ritter's brilliance to the world. But it was Ritter's insistence on spreading the word about his Utopia that brought about its downfall-- especially when newspapers were quick to emphasize that the two roamed around the island naked. Soon tourists were beating a path to the island. 

Wittmer and his family wanted to escape a Europe that was rapidly descending into madness, and there was little strife between them and Ritter and Koerwin. It wasn't until the supposed baroness showed up with her lovers that emotions began to run high.

Watching these personalities clash and resentments begin to fester and boil, disaster was a foregone conclusion, and Abbott Kahler gives readers ringside seats to the calamitous end of another dream of paradise. 

 

 

Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II by Abbott Kahler

eISBN: 9780451498670

Crown Publishing © 2024

eBook, 288 pages

 

Non-Fiction

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley 

Undercurrents by Pamela Beason

First Line: Sam Westin stared out her back window at the endless cold rain drizzling through the shaggy limbs of the Douglas firs.

When wildlife biologist and freelance reporter Sam Westin is hired to cover a marine survey expedition in the Galápagos Islands, she jumps at the chance-- only having momentary qualms about fudging her diving experience. The company she's working for wants her to post articles as two different people, which Sam does think is strange, but she wants to see those giant tortoises and marine iguanas, so if the bosses want posts with two bylines, that's what they're going to get. 

Dr. Daniel Kazaki, the marine biologist and Sam's diving partner is a nice guy who knows his stuff, but when the locals learn that he's working for the Natural Planet Foundation these two suddenly can't find a boat or guide to take them out on their dives, and they're kicked out of their hotel. The Galápagos are supposed to be a pristine paradise for wildlife, but Sam rapidly learns that governmental controls are very loosely enforced and poachers are killing sea cucumbers and sharks for the lucrative Asian market. With someone already trying to sabotage their expedition, Sam is slowly realizing that human predators are much more deadly than any shark.

In the space of three books, the Sam Westin environmental mysteries have become some of my favorites. If you enjoy Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon novels, you're definitely going to want to read Beason's series. Sam Weston is smart, tough, committed to spreading awareness of issues involving wildlife, and is much more likely to pick up her camera than she is to even think about touching a gun. 

In Undercurrents, it's Sam's show, but Beason's secondary characters provide solid backup. Some of the characters are capitalists wanting to profit from appearing to be pro-environment while others are local and show both sides of the poaching issue the Galápagos face. One of the strengths of Beason's characterizations is that-- although you may grow fond of some of these characters-- they can surprise you by being achingly human.

Beason's characters then proceed to populate a wondrous underwater world, and the scenes are so vivid that you'll probably find yourself wanting to join Sam on her dives. This underwater Garden of Eden isn't really paradise, however, and the author doesn't candycoat what humans are doing to it.

Okay, I've talked about the characters, the setting, and the environmental issues the author raises... what about the mystery? It's a good one. I was convinced I knew the identity of the killer-- but I never saw it coming. Hopefully what I will see in the near future is another Sam Westin mystery. I'm becoming addicted.

Undercurrents by Pamela Beason

ISBN: 9780425252055

Berkley Prime Crime © 2013

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Environmental Mystery, #3 Summer Westin mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.