They wanted paradise, but they couldn’t escape the dangerous intricacies of human nature. Dore Strauch Koerwin was a German woman coping with the debilitating nature of multiple sclerosis when she met Dr. Friedrich Ritter. Friedrich believed that diseases such as MS were more a product of the mind than a physical affliction. Dore found herself fascinated by the brilliant but cerebral doctor. She was married to a man who provided her with little affection or joy. Friedrich was involved in a rocky marriage with a singer where passionate feelings generated into incidents of domestic violence. Dore and Friedrich were drawn to each other and soon separated from their respective partners.

"EDEN UNDONE commences with the discovery of two decomposing bodies on Marchena Island in November 1934, which sets a menacing tone of mystery to begin Abbott Kahler’s spellbinding work."

Friedrich enjoyed living a spare and solitary existence despite his previous marriage. His mindset to leave his German homeland behind wasn’t on a whim. He had served on the deadly frontlines of the German Army during the First World War and had emerged damaged from it. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, the country’s economy plummeted, and various factions violently fought for control. The depravity of Weimar Germany and the arrival of the Nazis only furthered the desire for Dore and Friedrich to escape.

The pair arrived at Floreana, an island in the Galápagos, in July 1929. They would begin to build a new home while cultivating the land to sustain themselves. Friedrich was very adept at handiwork, while Dore maintained a garden along with caring for a burro they owned. However, signs of discord were sown early as Friedrich constantly rebuked Dore when she assisted him. The occasional strife notwithstanding, they would successfully build a home and call it Friedo Farm. Despite its location and uninhabited state, Floreana was a frequently visited stop by mariners. The appearance of a wealthy sailor named George Allan Hancock would lead to a friendship with the couple and himself but also would result in publicity about their living arrangements.

Friedrich claimed to be displeased by newspaper headlines about their private Shangri-la, but Dore believed that he secretly enjoyed it. However, they bridled at the newcomers who had moved to the island and become their neighbors. Condescension seemed to guide their distaste for Heinz Wittmer; his wife, Margret; and Heinz’s son, Harry, who relocated to Floreana in 1932. Yet the Wittmers were harmless compared to the baroness, who moved there with two men and would attempt to dominate the island and its residents. The ingredients were present for a tragic ending.

EDEN UNDONE commences with the discovery of two decomposing bodies on Marchena Island in November 1934, which sets a menacing tone of mystery to begin Abbott Kahler’s spellbinding work. The idea of fleeing a deteriorating and confining homeland to seek paradise is alluring to many but is not entirely realistic. In 1929, Dore and Friedrich went all in on their gambit hoping to find nirvana. Within a few years, they were regarded as a contemporary Adam and Eve.

Kahler goes into great depth about the inner workings of Dore and Friedrich’s stormy relationship and how the occurrences at Floreana Island affected them. The dark history of the island’s previous residents provides a foreshadowing of the events that unfolded from March 1934 onward. Kahler’s previous work of nonfiction (written as Karen Abbott) was the New York Times bestseller THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARK. In EDEN UNDONE, she continues to establish herself as an exceptional scribe of true-crime and history-based books.