Rating: 
Summary: Book Club loved it
Review: Everyone in our Houston book club enjoyed the book - which is a rare event. No one guessed the murder "mystery". The language and characters are well-written, and there were numerous topics for a lively discussion. Thumbs up all around.
Rating:
Summary: Tragic and real
Review: I don't know how to describe this book without giving away too much of the plot. It's a murder mystery, told through the words of several storytellers. Each one knows only what he or she has experienced personally, and each expands the narrative until the reader finally knows exactly what happened, and more importantly, WHY it happened. I read this in nearly one sitting, starting one night until I fell asleep, and finishing the rest the next day...partially by candlelight during the power outage after the recent ice storm here in NC. The characters are wonderful and so real, I feel like I know them and I never questioned their choices. Ron Rash has created a true tragedy, where the behavior of each person is logical and their resultant suffering is inevitable. I can't wait until he writes another book.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling first novel by a gifted wordsmith of the South
Review: I had read Ron Rash's three books of poetry and found his work extraordinary before I learned that he had also ventured into fiction. Then I became aware of Mr. Rash's two short story collections. I read them and found that this man, whom I had thought to be pure poet, was capable of a lyrical, poetic prose that I found engaging. It had the "feel" of endurance about it. But when I read Mr. Rash's first novel, gulping it down almost in one sitting, I was absolutely convinced that a major talent had come among us. Ron Rash can easily take his place alongside any number of the older, more established, and, alas, even major, novelists of the American South. I await Rash's second novel with bated breath. But I hope he will not forsake poetry. We readers need him in both genres--poetry as well as fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Rock solid story
Review: I have read hundreds of books. It seems that over time one becomes difficult to please because we've seen everything before. Similar plots, characters and settings leave us wanting and feeling unfulfilled. Not with Rash's One Foot in Eden. This book delivers. Suspenseful story, wonderful, rich characters, twisting plot, and a great location.
The story is told by the main characters, each taking their place on center stage and relating the story through their eyes. But they don't tell the same story. The story changes in new hues and tints as each character puts a new and different interpretation on the tale. Each character in turn advances the story as well. What a great way to tell a story.
And by the way, the ending is fitting and makes you want to pick up another Rash story....but there arent any.......YET.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: I hope Ron Rash has quit writing short stories, children's books and concentrate his many talents on stuff like One Foot in Eden. It is a wonderful story and very well written from the point of view of the main characters, The Sheriff, The Wife, The Husband and The Son. I wish I could write something so good. Read it, you'll love, love, love it. Thanks, Ron, for a good read. Anne in North Carolina
Rating:
Summary: Secrets and Lies
Review: It's always a pleasure to discover a first novel with such depth and promise. Author Ron Rash does not disappoint with this lyrical Southern Gothic murder mystery that is so much more than a crime story. Told through the changing voices of the main characters this novel is rich with passion, tragedy and redemption. It's also a fine mystery that will keep you guessing throughout, as things are rarely as they first appear in this story. Ultimately, the truths of the dead will return to avenge the lies of the living. Worth seeking out. 4.5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: so-so
Review: Only in reading reviews herein did I realize Mr. Rash also writes children's book. This explains much as Eden hardly qualifies as a southern novel. Two-dimensional characters with little development set in a two dimensional south. I lived for decades in the hills Mr. Rash writes about, and never generated an empathy with any character he describes. Sorry, but "city-folk" should quit gushing over this book.
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Summary: perfect book club book
Review: Our book club read this and it turned into one of the most interesting and thought-provoking sessions in our life. The book is a breathtaking work of writing, and a page-turner in the process.
Rating:
Summary: SURE FOOTED
Review: Rash proves to be as sure-footed with prose as he is with his poetry. In fact, EDEN does not have the feel of a first novel. Into the mix the writer pours ghostly imagery, mystery, indirect old testament allusions and the great themes of loyalty and moral retribution. The setting is as startlingly real as in Rash's poems of Apalachia. The characters and language are authentic, and the author manages to nail all five of the narrative voices that reveal each layer of the story. ONE FOOT IN EDEN is a fine accomplishment by a man who has already established himself in another genre. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent First Novel
Review: Ron Rash has proven by this extraordinary first novel that his skill in writing poetry extends to prose. He succeeds in developing both plot and character, a rare thing. I believe this writer has a great literary future.
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