My Name Was Eden Eleanor Barker-White 9780008586935

ABIGAIL DEAN, international bestselling author of Girl A

'A fantastic debut - unpredictable, tense and absorbing' ROSE CARLYLE, #1 international bestselling author of The Girl in the Mirror

'Dark and creepy . . . in the most compelling way. A proper page-turner' KATY BRENT, bestselling author of How to Kill Men and Get Away with It

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When Eden is rescued from the lake, her mother Lucy has a second chance.

No one knows why the 14-year-old Eden almost drowned on her way home from school. But now she's safe, Lucy can start being a good mother. The mother she should have always been, before the loss of Eden's twin during the pregnancy consumed Lucy, all those years ago.

But when Eden wakes up in hospital, she claims that Eden isn't her name. That her name is Eli - the name Lucy had reserved for the unborn twin.

Could it be that all this time, Lucy's grief has been misplaced?

Eden, it seems, is the twin who's really disappeared . . .

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'Peels back the layers of family life . . . Had me reading far too late into the night' TAMMY COHEN, author of The Wedding Party

'A major new voice in psychological thrillers' MINDY MEJIA, bestselling author of Everything You Want Me to Be

'A deep dive into the messy emotions of love and mourning . . . A great read' HELEN FIELDS, international bestselling author of The Institution

Eleanor Barker-White is a family support worker at HMP Erlestoke, Wiltshire. She holds a Creative Writing MA from Bath Spa, and is working on a second novel based on her experience of working with families affected by crime and criminal justice. Her first novel, My Name Was Eden, was inspired by more personal experiences: after a long ordeal with IVF Eleanor conceived twins, but due to Vanishing Twin Syndrome only one of her children survived. She was surprised to go on to have another child naturally. She tweets @Penningprose.

My Name Was Eden will be published by HarperNorth in the UK and William Morrow in the US in spring 2024.

'It's marketed as a perfect read for fans of Ashley Audrain's The Push. Let's just say this debut thriller delivered' READER'S DIGEST *30 Most Anticipated Books of 2024*

'This strong debut successfully explores intergenerational trauma in a twisty thriller with enough notes of horror to require reading with all the lights on' LIBRARY JOURNAL

'Exploring the shared burdens of grief, recovery, and misplaced loyalties, My Name Was Eden is a compelling debut' BOOKLIST

'Gorgeously written and brimming with spine-tingling tension, My Name was Eden hooked me from the first page. This is not just a first-rate thriller but also a fascinating dive into questions of identity, perception, and who we choose to hold dear' MINDY MEJIA

'Shifting fluidly between family drama and thriller, My Name was Eden is a haunting exploration of motherhood at its most tested . . . Had me gripped from its heart-rending opening chapter through to its shocking end. Brilliant!' AMY BEASHEL

'Spellbinding, captivating, and entirely unique. I flew through this book, second guessing my every suspicion along the way' NORA MURPHY

'A tender take on parenting, isolation and intergenerational trauma. Barker-White creates the kind of claustrophobic dread you only find in the unhappiest of families, right to the final, sucker-punch pages' ABIGAIL DEAL

'Genuinely creepy and uncomfortable with a unique premise, clever writing and insightful observations' HELEN FIELDS

'Barker-White's characters had me at the edge of my seat. I became submerged in a murky world so beautifully depicted. A story of memories, of longing and of heartbreak. Stunning' KELECHI OKAFOR