3.5?

I really enjoyed this up until the last couple of chapters where - as many, many other reviewers have pointed out - there was a sudden, jarring change of direction. I think if it had been a longer novel, with more room to foreshadow that outcome, it might have sat a little more comfortably. If I ignore it, this would be a solid 4-star read, but as it is I have to rate it down a little. Still a very worthwhile read for the mystery of what happened to Eden, and for the remote, small Western Australian mining town location.

Free on Audible in Feb 2023.2023 audio australian-author17 s Damo402 49

From a promising start with an interesting premise, the plot of Looking For Eden starts to get the death wobbles towards the end until the wheels completely fall off and we experience one of the more disappointing storyline fadeouts.

Clare returns to her remote hometown in Western Australia, a mining town she left years ago, for the funeral of Joe, her grandfather. During the process of cleaning up his house she comes across his will only to find out from her brother that a more recent one was made that nullified this one which leaves everything to their mother, Eden, who walked out on the family many years before. A glitch in the process meant that the new will wasn’t signed and the original was the valid one.

It becomes important that Eden, who hasn’t had contact with the family for decades either be found, or be declared legally dead in order for the inheritance to revert to Clare and her brother. Along the way is an exploration into feelings ranging from anger to despair over their abandonment by their mother and this aspect of the story was quite well done.

Just as we were preparing to dig deeply into the family history and trawl through the skeletons and secrets that may have been uncovered, the whole tone changed as did the focus. It kind of rendered the entire first half of the book largely irrelevant.

So, I’m sitting there thinking, “Okay, instead we’re dealing with a domestic drama and this is going to use all of the great character development that was done earlier to give us something momentous”. But no, not so!. Things were wrapped up extremely quickly after merely touching on a series of pretty important (and relevant) social issues without really adding anything to the plot or making any comment of any real depth. Missed opportunities all over the place.

Really…the first thing out of my mouth when reaching the end shouldn’t be “Huh?”
australian mystery12 s3 comments TheBookWarren477 131

2.50 ?? — Another Audible Exclusive to shoot through, this time by much loved Author Caroline Overington. Another good premise, interesting tropes & the opening scenes are extremely well written. Unfortunately things fall away from there rather briskly despite seemingly being in good hands.

"Looking for Eden" is an ambitious audiobook novel that unfortunately falls short of its potential, hindered by weak execution and a lackluster delivery. While the concept of exploring identity and self-discovery in a futuristic setting is intriguing, the overall experience leaves much to be desired.

The story follows Eden, a protagonist on a quest for self-understanding in a world where technology allows for the manipulation of memories and personal experiences. However, the execution of this premise feels disjointed and confusing. The narrative fails to provide clear explanations and coherent world-building, leaving listeners struggling to grasp the rules and implications of the futuristic setting.

The audiobook's narration also leaves something to be desired. The delivery lacks depth and fails to bring the characters to life in a compelling manner. The voices lack distinction, making it difficult to differentiate between characters, and the overall tone lacks the necessary emotional resonance to fully engage the listener. Perhaps it is the combination or the juxtaposition that was jarring I’m not entirely certain but it was clear for me it just did not work as well as the publisher would’ve been hoping for. Nonetheless — This is a wildly popular audiobook that is certain to be bought hundreds of times a month, I’m just glad I got it for free otherwise I’d probably be a little perturbed given the amount of brilliantly engaging Crime Novels abound us.

Moreover, the pacing of the audiobook is uneven, with stretches of slow development and a lack of momentum. The story often meanders without a clear sense of direction, making it challenging to maintain interest and investment in the plot.

While "Looking for Eden" presents thought-provoking themes, the execution and delivery on Audible do not do justice to the intriguing concept. The lack of clarity in the narrative and world-building, combined with underwhelming narration and uneven pacing, result in a disappointing listening experience. Listeners seeking a well-crafted and immersive exploration of identity and self-discovery may find themselves unsatisfied with this audiobook.audible-exclusive10 s Natasha Davy4 1 follower

Imagine this: your in bed with your partner. Things are going good … really good. They are keeping it interesting and are slowly building up the suspense. It gets to the point where your close to crossing that finish line. You tell them not to stop.

But …

They stop.

In fact they go completely rouge. Your startled and actually quite confused as to why they have decided now is a good time to tell you about a story of their great grandmother who use to own a bakery and that they have randomly remembered the recipe for her scones and she’s now going to leave to make them. 30minutes later they now remember they were actually in the middle of business with you, so they come back … they finish and then say “so was that good”?

This is how the book felt. The plot, the character development … it was all building up to be such a “twist” and it was a really good read ….when actually the twist never really reached its full potential and instead a completely random and tangential story line was woven in.

Reader beware .. I’m pleased this was a free book on audible as I would of been annoyed if I had of paid for it.

8 s1 comment Johanna Park235

Ok, but confused by the abrupt change of theme towards the end. Is it a whodunnit? A family saga? A sexual abuse survival tale? The set up of the mysterious disappearance of Eden is quite well done, but then the actual solving of the puzzle happens quite abruptly and it’s suddenly taken second place to the sexual abuse story. This made the ending oddly unsatisfying.
For fabulous family saga/murder mystery set in quintessential Australia, give me Jane Harper any day. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review5 s Tara74

3.5 - the wrap up / ending introduced new themes which was frustrating and didn't spend enough time on the main themes which were about finding Eden and the circumstances surrounding her father's death. Otherwise was a great performance and very good story.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review5 s Heidi1,128 224

It’s not easy finding novels set in Western Australia, especially in rural WA, so I was excited to find that Overington chose an area near the small town of Paraburdoo in the Pilbara region as a setting for LOOKING FOR EDEN. The story focuses on recently bereaved siblings Clare and Aaron, who are trying to sort out their father’s estate. A glitch with their father’s will could see the family farm being left to Clare and Aaron’s mother Eden, a woman who one day decided to pack her bags, board a train and leave her young children behind, never to be seen or spoken of again. Now, confronted with the prospect of having to find their long lost mother in order to sort out the will, the siblings find that there are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Eden’s disappearance.

I loved the way Overington explores the fallout of a parent’s abandonment on her children, with far reaching effects long into adulthood. Clare freely shares her feelings on how her mother’s leaving has affected her personal life, her career choices and her adult relationships, whilst Aaron has chosen the path of resentment to mask his own hurt. The mystery surrounding Eden’s disappearance got more intriguing as the story went on, and I felt very invested in it at that stage.

Then came the last few chapters, which changed the whole reading experience for me. Instead of tying up loose ends and riding with the tension that had been built by casting the shadow of doubt on Eden’s fate (and a few persons involved), the story took and abrupt turn and morphed into “The Cady Show”. I hadn’t minded Cady’s voice as part of the family drama, but I very much resented that she was allowed to steal the show with a drama all of her own, which frankly did not fit into the narrative and distracted from the crux of the story. I also felt that at this point, the tone changed to patronising, trying to make the reader confront a multitude of today’s issues that again had no relevance to Eden’s story. I felt slightly cheated and found the rushed ending that followed unsatisfactory and disappointing.


*blog* *facebook* *instagram* audio-version read-in-20234 s Natalie M1,205 58

2.5 stars if you’re really looking for a mind baffle.

Pros: it was an Audible freebie.
Set in remote Western Australia.
I read the whole thing.

Cons: more “he said”, “she said” and “ands” then in a Year 8 English narrative.
The weirdest new angle of an unrelated story I’ve ever read when expecting the twist …which sort of got tacked on in the most peculiar way to justify the original story plot. Confused - me too - I thought I’d skipped part of the download!
Narration.

Overall - if you received it as a free Audible monthly you might want to see for yourself?3 s1 comment Tatterededges376 21

Why the fuck did all the characters keep asking themselves questions and then answering them instead of just saying what it was they needed to say? It was weird and disjointed and annoying.

Did I the style of writing? Well, no, I did not. Vs I really didn’t this style of writing at all.

This book was a dumpster fire. Awful writing. Undeveloped and ridiculously stereotypical characters. A plot that didn’t know where it wanted to go and so went nowhere.

The first half of the book is Claire and Aaron moaning about not having a mum and how messed up they were because of it (despite neither of them actually being all that messed up) the second half of the book is… I don’t even know… plot roulette?

Let’s find mum
Looking for mum
Looking for mum
Going off on a tangent Clare and Mac setting up house,
mums forgotten.
Mac’s the main character
Aaron and mac
Look out, left turn into CSA, but it’s over as quickly as it started
Now Katie’s the main character
Everyone lived happily ever after
Book ends, oh shit, quick explanation about what happened to mum/Eden.

The only reason it gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because it was free and really short and didn’t waste too much of my weekend.3 s Shona114 3

I was adoring this mystery, and it flowed so fabulously till it switched course....and the momentum was lost.
As Claire said, there is more than one story in this, but sadly they all cut too quickly and none played out in the depths they started with. Sadly disappointed as it was so promising.2 s Rachel Mete67

I listened to this book on audible, and the three speakers did a great job narrating this novel. I really enjoyed the story until about 2/3rds of the way in, when a new story line crept in that sidelined the other story lines, and made the wrap of the other story lines appear rushed and their conclusions inadequate. Despite this, the novel was well written and well paced. It drew me in and I listened to the book quickly wanting to know the outcomes. I enjoyed learning more about cultures within small mining towns in remote Australia. There were some dark themes throughout this book (mental health & trauma) but these were covered in a respectful way. Would have given this book 5 stars if it wasn’t for the odd last 1/3rd.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review1 Melinda Elizabeth1,150 12

When a father dies in tragic circumstances the family gets together to discuss the matter of the will and a mother who hasn’t been seen in 35 years.

Was the death suspicious? Will they find their missing mother? The book seems to wander a little bit and turns into a different type of book and solves questions you didn’t really had, ignoring the ones it set up at the start.

Maybe if it was a little longer the ending wouldn’t be so jarring. 1 Vanessa Ellen9

2.5 stars because the first half was engaging. Completely fell apart in the second half. Characters lacked depth and weren't particularly able. Pacing was weird and extra storylines that I didn't care about were randomly introduced then quickly wrapped up. The whole premise was about finding out what happened to Eden but that storyline seemed a rushed afterthought at the very end. Book had promise but poor execution.1 Jamie Rice326

Looking for Eden by Caroline overington. looking at this book it would not if been one that called to me. but this I actually d. the final conclusion was Kind of heartbreaking but the stories along the way were awesome to get to where the people ended up at the end of the book. there really isn't any romance or love story to this, more just a story about a woman that needed to know the truth1 Eva66

I enjoyed this book. It was the story or a woman returning to the town she grew up in when her father dies. It follows her looking for answers after her mother's disappearance over 30 years ago. It's also a bit of a self discovery story. An easy read.1 Michael Sanderson-green759 4

This is lazy writing every thing about the setting is wrong , the whole thing read as if it was set in a close knit suburb . Here are some of the flaws for a town 300 ks from parabadoo ( which is not 400 k from perth try 1000) small towns north of para would not have a lawyer, would not have Turkish restaurant, no one would be on a dating app, definitely no one would have a Porsche and the list goes on . The story which was supposed be about Eden fizzled , I think I need to review my rating down 1 Lucy BloomAuthor 4 books29

This was so well read by all the voices in this story. The voice can make or break a good audiobook. I enjoyed the Australian context and expect this to be made into a movie one day...1 Angela Davidson251

Jury's out on this one - I've rounded up to a 3 because Goodreads doesn't allow a 2.5, but I'm very middle of the road on this one.

The author either hasn't done her research properly or is geographically challenged because Paraburdoo is about 1500km from Perth (not the 700km claimed in the book), the area in the Pilbara is nothing the the location in the book describes and the only town within that kind of driving distance from Paraburdoo is much smaller than the fictional the town described in the book. I would say it's a more accurately describes a town in the Goldfields area.

What it does do well, however, is show a new aspect to some of the parts of mining life, which I did find interesting.

I won't go through the storyline because it's pretty much all in the blurb for the book anyway, but it wasn't a bad read - just not a good one either. It was a free read from Audible and my first thought at the end of it was "I'm glad I wasn't paying for that".

It's a slow start with a steady building of suspense but then a very rushed and 'higgeldy piggeldy' ending. The main problem with the book is that there was just too much going on for what is essentially a Novella size offering.

It had the potential to be something bigger and better but there were just too many competing storylines in too small a framework. As a result, it felt the author got to about 75% of the way through with a slow burn type of story-building and then the author realised they only had a short number of pages left to tie everything up so rushed to bring it all to the conclusions she was aiming for.

In addition to Eden's story, there was Clare's story, and Aaron's story and Cady's story and they all deserved the space to be fleshed out and developed properly. Personally, I hope the author revisits this somewhere down the track and turns it into the book it should have been.

I listened to the Audible Audio version of this book and found the narrator suited to the story.

Am I glad I read it - meh
Was it a waste of my time - not a waste per se, but I could have been reading something else
Would I sit down and read it all over again - not in its current form
Would I read more by this author based on this book - I'd be interested to see what she has to offer in a full-length novel.read-as-audio-book India Dwyer93 2

I got this as a free audiobook on Audible a few months ago and as I had recently finished my previous audiobook and needed something short to put on while I cleaned my house and packed for an overseas trip, I thought this would be a good book.

The good parts of this book were that because it was so short, it was quite fast paced and easy to follow, which is good when you're multi-tasking. I thought the narration was good, I had no issues with that despite some other . I also really d the setting of the small Australian mining town in WA. I also d the multi-person perspective.

Now for the bad parts, firstly, the plot was completely all over the place. Many before me have already identified this. Initially, the plot was an engaging mystery story of a missing person which was going well for the first 50-60% of the story.

After that, it's a whole new author who hadn't read the first part of the story and had only been given a 2 sentence synopsis of what had already happened took over the writing and new plotlines came out of absolutely nowhere, taking the direction of the book on a wild rollercoaster. In the end, the reconciliation and outcome of the missing person story was told to us as if someone was trying to tell us a whole paragraph in 1 long sentence without taking a breath. Seemingly, the whole original concept and plot of the book was thrown out the window entirely and then resolved as an afterthought, probably after editing.

In the end, I feel the book was suffering with amnesia and the reader was left feeling confused. Some of the plot twists that came towards the end of the book dealt with some serious topics which I felt weren't given the time and appropriate respect and careful consideration they required.

Overall, I got through the book because it was nice and short and the plot moved fast. It served its purpose of helping me get through my cleaning and packing as well. I just wish that the story didn't leave me with whiplash. Stacey272 30

Love means committing to something. Love means being focused on something other than yourself.

Siblings Clare and Aaron have recently learned that their father, Joe, has passed away. When his will is read, they are told that everything has been left to their mother, Eden. The only problem is that Eden has been missing for three decades. The kids were told that she left one day in a cab with a suitcase and never returned. They decide it’s finally time to track Eden down. But it’s been over thirty years since she left their remote outback mining town, so finding her will be a bit tricky.

Meanwhile, Aaron is dealing with a new marriage that’s currently trapped in immigration limbo, and his teenage daughter Cady is clearly going through a personal crisis of her own. After decades away, Clare has flown home from New York for Joe’s funeral, leaving her high-powered job and her not-quite-fiancé behind for what she thinks will be a short trip.

Neither Aaron nor Clare are prepared for a fight for their inheritance against the mother who abandoned them as children. As they dig through years of secrets and lies in their tiny community to uncover the truth about Eden and Joe, will they notice the more immediate danger that threatens their lives?
-----
**It is noted more than once that this is a tale that actually tells three stories in one, and it's true! It's a family drama with the center piece being the missing mother Eden.

I enjoyed this very much. Caroline Overington has won my heart with her novels. ?

Content alert: Mental Illness and Pedophiles13 s Tammy PowleyAuthor 21 books13

It was so good, and then it wasn't so good.

First to note, I listened to the Audible version of this book, and it included 3 different narrators, so that was a really good touch because there are 3 different characters telling the story. As far as the general plot, I was really hooked early on as there is a mystery involving a mother who leaves her husband and young children. Many years later, the adult children's father dies, and to help settle the estate, they need to either declare their mother legally dead or try to locate her. One decides to look for her, and this creates family tension and various forms of drama, and we learn about this family, in particular Claire, Aaron, and Cady.

The characters are fleshed out really well, and I said, the plot had me hooked. But then, something happened. About two-thirds of the way through the book, the plot line took a completely different change in direction. The big search for the mom was dropped, and a new storyline took over. I can't even really call it a subplot because it felt it came out of nowhere. In fact, one of the characters near the end of the book actually says there is more than one story going on here, but I can't say that I wanted more than one, especially since the main story is why I started reading the novel in the first place.

Eventually, all the various plots seemed to get tied up at the end, but I felt a little cheated. It just felt it all lost focus and attempted to circle back but didn't do it all that well.fiction Sarah Mugridge48 1 follower

This was a free audiobook on Audible so I downloaded it and stepped out of my comfort zone with a read that I wouldn't normally choose.

An Australian family who's life turned upside down when a mother left her children with their father in Korn.

Clare one of the children who years later lives in New York returns back to her hometown Korn after her father passed away. When Clare and her brother sought out the will after his passing it was soon discovered that the will had not been signed by the lawyer therefore leaving all of estate and money to their mother. The only problem was that the mother had left when they were children and never returned.

Both Clare and her brother go on a search to find their mother uncovering lies, shocking discoveries, mystery, love interests and so much more along the way. The dig through years worth of secrets trying to discover what happened to "Eden".

The story did somewhat take a bizarre turn in the final chapters that felt rushed and didnt really "fit". My only interpretation was that it may lead into another book from the character that was explored further.

The final answers to "Looking for Eden" were left open to interpretation at the end of the book and that was frustrating after the entire book being about that title. Despite the ending however I actually really d this read. To note the story is written in first person perspectives and can be a little frustrating. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Kathy Chapman105

This was a strange book! On the face of it, it’s a simple mystery about a mother, long missing and presumed dead. Her adult children, each damaged in their own way by her abrupt departure, begin to uncover what happened to her. I was throughly enjoying it - the masterful slow reveal of the characters and plot. Then at around what should have been the halfway point, it very suddenly took a sharp right turn into a completely different and very rushed story. Trying to avoid spoilers here, but this second story is one which really deserves more than the perfunctory surface level telling it received. Then just as suddenly you’re at the end of the book still reeling from that rushed change of direction. The author essentially says ‘oh I guess I better wrap up the original story too, so, yeah, umm, this is what happened…’ and ties it all up neatly in great haste as if she just got bored with it. The first half of the book is 4 stars, the second half is barely 2 stars so I’ll compromise and give it 3. Dianne Marshall18

The problem with this book for me apart from the abrupt change of theme making me wonder if I'd missed a chunk as was listening to it, was the setting. I'm from Western Australia and would have to think the author didn't do much research into what sort of town exists 800kms NE of Perth. Yes there are a handful of mining towns scattered through the Pilbara but this fictitious hybrid of mining and goodness knows what might have been better placed in Western NSW or Qld, more populous states. There's very little out there and nothing I imagine that has a Range Rover sitting in it's showrooms or Turkish and other types of restaurants, let alone a property worth millions sitting on its doorstep. The Porsche was a bit of over reach if you've ever experienced the red dust of the outback. It would quickly devalue. Even the name sounds so not Western Australian. Oh well, it wasn't a bad listen but it was full of holes. Meg Allen184 2

52 Book Club: Australia

This is a really hard book to rate because it was fantastic in terms of character voice, world building and the initial mystery really pulls you in. However, just when you are getting settled, feeling you are going to get the mystery wrapped up, there is an abrupt change of focus and it becomes a book about something else entirely. And possibly I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't so late in the book and the final wrap up was then very very quick and there was a whole lot of telling rather than showing.
The actual mystery (What happened to Eden) was solved in a clever if depressing way, but it felt such an after thought after the abrupt change it was hard to appreciate it.
Generally, books that change tact is such a dramatic way so late in the game are a one star review for me; rage inducing. So it's a testament to the writing and the performance that I wasn't incensed at the end of it. Ashlee (Ajax)182 18

I actually had no idea what to rate this novel!

It was included in my Audible Account so thought why not had amazing and I can honestly see why!

1. Caroline in an aussie author woop woop
2. WA based story!
3. Gold mines run in my family so I had a connection to the story
4 . strong independent main female character who has her weaknesses (similar haha!)
5. MYSTERY!
6. Caroline introduces each character and honestly makes you question everything!!!


The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is ...
1. The repetitiveness .... I honestly felt I heard Aarons story over...and over..and over again
2. The ending....after so much...mystery...i just felt....the emotion was not added it was before
3. I wouldn't read it again....but I think I would read another one of her books to see :D Melinda Nankivell269 9

This was a pretty good mystery set in a remote WA mining town. When Clare’s father dies, she returns home to settle his estate, only to find that his will has left everything to her mother, Eden. Unfortunately, Eden left Clare and her brother, Aaron, when they were just children. Clare decides to try and find out where her mother is.

The story was quite engaging but then took a complete change of direction in the last few chapters and then ended up rushing the ending, so it was a bit disappointing. The big mystery we were following along for was wrapped up very quickly to make room for the new direction of the story, which also was rushed and could have been fleshed out more had it been the sole focus. This ended up feeling it was trying to be two stories in one in the end, which didn’t really work. Romance.Booktalk449

What started out as a search for Eden, the missing mother who abandoned her family over forty years ago, soon became a complicated and complexed affair. Old ugly truths about Eden were surfaced, and the unexpected twist towards the end of the book took the story into a completely different and unexpected direction. (We were warned that there was more than one story to tell in this book)

I thought the book was well written, with a good amount of complexity to it to keep me interested in the story, and I loved the Australian accents in the narration, which gave the story some depth of authenticity to it. The story reads as a biography, with each of the three main characters, Claire, Aaron and his daughter Cady, giving their version of the events that took place after the death of their father/pop.


Debbie Harris263 28

I enjoyed the first half of this story and anticipated more driving time to allow myself to listen to it but the sudden change of direction took me by surprise and it ended up being a bit unsatisfactory in my view, and others who have also reviewed the book. I have read books by Caroline Overington in the past and usually enjoy her Aussie based stories nut this one fell a bit short for me, so only rated it 3 stars, which means I did enjoy it to some extent and the basic story captured my attention - a mother leaving her husband and 2 young children and how they grown up children started looking for her. The performances by the narrators were great.
One little thing though the constant 'I said, she said, he said' got on my nerves a little! April Leon17

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