For Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch, the island began as an escape. Leaving behind their spouses and the anxieties of life in Europe, the German doctor and his lover set out for Floreana in the Galápagos, determined to build a life of solitude, simplicity, and self-reinvention. Then other settlers arrived: first a family seeking its own fresh start, and later a flamboyant baroness whose presence turned the island into a stage for rivalry and spectacle. What followed unsettled everyone who heard it: a bizarre chain of disappearances, betrayals, and deaths that made this utopian experiment feel less like a dream of freedom and more like the beginning of a true-crime nightmare.
Abbott Kahler, known for her immersive narrative nonfiction, delivers a true-crime story in Eden Undone that feels stranger than fiction. Backed by meticulous research and a strong storytelling instinct, Kahler transports readers not only to another era, but also to the remote, haunting landscape of the Galápagos Islands. Set in the years between the World Wars, the book reconstructs a little-known saga of ambition, betrayal, and violence with clarity and suspense. At its core, Eden Undone is about the human longing to escape civilization in search of peace and reinvention—but it is also a reminder that even in the most isolated paradise, people bring their desires, rivalries, and capacity for destruction with them.
I give Eden Undone 4 out of 5 stars. After hearing Kahler discuss the book, her research process, and the unrelated film adaptation at the Amelia Island Book Festival in 2025, I quickly added it to my TBR shelf. This is a sensational tale set against an unforgiving backdrop. I have always been fascinated by the Galápagos Islands, and Kahler makes the scenery as much a character in this book as the restless Europeans and curious Americans drawn into the story. The availability and extensive use of the settlers’ own letters offer an absorbing glimpse into what day-to-day life on Floreana may have been like. I was also intrigued by the number of famous figures who visited the settlers and the island during their stay. Kahler captures both the manufactured and authentic drama of these encounters in a way that keeps readers waiting to see how each faction on the island will react.
Readers who enjoyed Dawn by Octavia Butler may find something familiar here as well: both books explore humanity’s jealousy, tension, and instinct for drama when survival becomes the central concern. I would also recommend Eden Undone to anyone intrigued by Ron Howard’s film Eden, which is based on the same events but is unrelated to Kahler’s book. Kahler’s version offers more historical detail and deeper research. For readers who want to explore the story further, Floreana by Margret Wittmer and Satan Came to Eden by Dore Strauch provide firsthand perspectives from members of the Floreana settlement.
I chose Eden Undone for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “written by a female author,” although it would also have been a strong fit for the prompt “true crime.” Are you familiar with the tale of the “Galápagos Affair,” or is this the first you are hearing of it?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny), Tiffany Hunt
- Current audio book: Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Book I’m most looking forward to: The Magic of Chamomile Cottage, Heather Webber
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