Meredith gets a letter that brings back a flood of bad memories.  Her cousin Cal Jr. has died and has bankrupt the family farm, Aurelia.  She doesn’t want to go back there to relive painful memories yet she feels the need to go through her deceased parents belongings before everything is sold.  She calls her sister, who barely speaks to her and she makes it clear that Meredith is on her own.

The story is told by Meredith from present day with a lot of flash backs, much before Meredith was even born.  It all started when her grandfather was called back to the family farm to his father’s deathbed.  He inherits  the farm, even though his brother is the one who took it over when their father couldn’t run it any longer. 

Cal has an affair with an already married Lavinia.  She settled for her husband because he was a doctor, so had some status in town.  However she is bored silly with the older, conservative man.  She soon divorces and marries Cal.  When she moves to Aurelia, she makes grand plans to make it the richest farm in the Iowa town.  Cal goes along with her plans every step of the way but as the family grows they have more and more secrets.  Lavinia is a master manipulator and gets her husband, younger sons and grandsons to do her bidding.

Aurelia turns out to be a beautiful place after Lavinia gets done with it, but for the family that inhabits it, there is a bitter history.  The Legacy of Eden is an epic family saga.  Through the eyes of Meredith we learn the family secrets of betrayal and abuse. 

Nelle Davy swooped me into the story and never let go.  This book will haunt me for many years to come.  In fact I read it a few months ago and cannot get it out of my mind.  Her writing is fresh and vivid.  My only complaint, and it is fairly minor is that when it came to a girl in town, Lavinia’s manipulations were a unbelievable to me.   That said, I felt like I was part of the family living through the tragedies and abuse.  I read at night and I spent two sleepless nights reading this novel.  It is hard to sleep when your heart is pounding so hard!

4/5

Also reviewed by:
Books and Needlepoint
Colloquium

Please come back to So Many Precious Books on February 19th for an excerpt as my part in the Scavenger Hunt.  To see the entire scavenger hunt schedule click here.

Thanks to Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for this book and for offering a copy for me to giveaway to one of my lucky readers.
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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.