Each year, there are debuts that impact readers. Occasionally, some of these titles earn year-end praise in the form of Best Debut Novel awards. MY NAME WAS EDEN by Eleanor Barker-White is a book that you should make note of, as I would not be surprised if this uniquely devised novel is remembered and honored when 2024 comes to a close.

I have always been intrigued by stories involving twins. But Barker-White takes a different approach to this topic by placing an uncommon occurrence at the center of this dark and cunning psychological thriller.

"MY NAME WAS EDEN is the sort of creepy, deeply affecting novel that will invade your thoughts and dreams long after you have turned the stunning final pages."

The creepy Prologue provides imagery of a nameless male figure who has been lurking in the shadows and is about to make himself known. This plays directly into the action of the story, which kicks off immediately when teenager Eden is discovered floating face down in the lake behind her farmhouse in the British countryside. Her mother, Lucy, screams for help, and initially it appears that she is dead. Incredibly, paramedics are able to revive Eden and get her to the hospital where she ends up making a full recovery.

However, Eden is changed by this traumatic experience and not just physically. She starts claiming to her parents from her hospital bed that she was once Eden but is now Eli. This hits directly to Lucy’s heart, as she had been carrying what looked like twins during her pregnancy years earlier, but just one child was left in her womb. The doctors referred to it as vanishing twin syndrome, where the stronger of the two fetuses absorbs the weaker one in the womb. Had Lucy given birth to twins, who had been identified by sonograms as female and male, they would have been named Eden and Eli.

Lucy’s husband, David, is not having any of this Eli nonsense and cannot understand why his daughter is using this name. Lucy’s mother-in-law, Anna, does not give in to this new complication of identity and blames Lucy for Eden’s near death in a passive-aggressive way. Nevertheless, everyone notices that things are different, especially the dynamic between Lucy and Eden. They never really got along before, but suddenly they are now close.

Eden’s return also leads to changes at school, specifically the relationship between her best friend, Charlie, and Charlie’s crass boyfriend, Alex, whom Eden despises. When Alex dies after being struck by a vehicle, eyebrows are raised, and Lucy is directly involved in this tragic incident. Her strange behavior makes for many more complications, most of which are noticed only by Lucy. David is in avoidance mode not only because of his refusal to bow down to his daughter’s insistence on being called Eli, but also out of guilt when it comes to an alleged affair that Lucy swears he is having with a younger coworker.

Barker-White continues to infuse her book with mystery and suspense that is never predictable, even when you think you know where the story is taking you. MY NAME WAS EDEN is the sort of creepy, deeply affecting novel that will invade your thoughts and dreams long after you have turned the stunning final pages. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!