The Abortionist's Daughter

I borrowed this book from a friend... well, really she forced me to take it after she read it. She said it was great, but it didn't really sound like the usual books that I read. Well, I finally decided to read it, and was skeptical even after I read the first chapter. But something about the book pulled me in. I started reading this book before I went to work on Friday, read to about page 25 on Friday night, and then ended up finishing the book before I could go to sleep on Saturday night. It was a page turner that I did not expect, and I am thankful that the book was pushed onto me. I liked the characters becuase they were so full of faults. Hyde presents all the problems that the characters have when she first introduces them. Then as you read more of the book, the characters's faults start to be explained and you see the other side of them as well. I think that my favorite parts of the book were when Dr Duprey life was being examined. It was hard to read the when they described how exactly an abortion was done, but I really like the woman that this doctor was. Some things in this book could be guessed from the beginning, but all in all the book is a great read and I highly recommend it!

The intriguing characters in this novel have many layers, reasons, and motives that explain their behavior. In a small-town in Colorado, the story begins with Diana Duprey, an abortion doctor found dead in her swimming pool. Neighbors report that she and her husband Frank had a loud argument just that afternoon. Off-duty, police detective Huck Berlin happens to see Meghan Duprey in town drive off in a state of shock, right before he is called on the case. The tension and drama builds in each chapter as details of their lives are revealed. Her daughter Meghan's old boyfriend can't seem to accept the fact that it's over between them. A captivating drama that will leave you feeling breathless at the end.

Because she is a director of a Colorado abortion clinic, Dr. Diana Duprey knows many people want her dead. Still when someone succeeds in killing her in the exercise pool of her home, her spouse District Attorney Frank Thompson and their nineteen years old daughter Megan are stunned. The detective in charge of the investigation Huck Berlin knows this is a difficult case because of the enormous abortion enemy list and a witness claiming Diana had nasty arguments with her husband and her daughter just before she died. Since the coroner has a conflict of interest, another medical examiner does the autopsy though he holds a grudge against Frank. As Huck struggles with the case and his attraction to a prime suspect Megan, who seems to beg him to take her, he seems no closer to a resolution. The whodunit and why take a back seat to the deep look into the impact of performing abortions by a caring medical practitioner and her family. Diana though seen mostly in flashbacks is a fascinating individual who believes she is doing the morally right thing. Her spouse thinks more about how her work impacts his political ambitions. Their daughter Megan is the most complex character of all as she is confused over her mother's idealism that seem contradictory as it also means killing a potential life. Diana's clients also are delved into with their conflicting internal disputes. Much more rounded than simple sound bites by pro life and pro women's rights, Elisabeth Hyde provides a strong character study that opens the abortion debate in an intelligent manner. Harriet Klausner

Super book! "The Abortionist's Daughter" is engaging on many levels. It's an engrossing murder mystery that keeps you guessing to the end, but it's also much more. The characters are vividly drawn, the human relationships complex, and the dialogue rings true. And parts are very funny. The characters you'd expect in any mystery - the police detective, district attorney, forensics expert, distraught family members, etc - are deep and complicated. In the course of unfolding the mystery, Elisabeth Hyde examines and dissects the parent-teen relationship, angst of young adults, strained marriages, and the fragile line between love and loneliness. I've read and enjoyed all of Hyde's previous books, but this one may be her best.

At its core, The Abortionist's Daughter is a mystery novel, but I wouldn't dare cheapen it by assigning a genre label. This is modern literary fiction at its best, with reflections on a marriage between two high-profile professionals, on the trials of raising a special needs child, on raising a teenaged daughter, and, of course, on the ethics of abortion. The plot centers on the bludgeoning death of famed abortion doctor Diane Duprey. An outspoken activist, Duprey had garnered plenty of attention and a few public enemies in her two-decade career. She had a laundry list of restraining orders. On the other hand, her husband, the district attorney, had a violent temper, and the neighbors have heard their glass-shattering fights over the years. All of this leaves Dr, Duprey's college-age daughter, Megan, with a host of unanswered questions, including suspicions about her own father's whereabouts on the night of her mother's murder. Megan also has her own personal and romantic life to deal with, in addition to the complete upheaval of her family situation. Author Elizabeth Hyde delivers a subtle twist in the murder of Diane Duprey, but it is only one of a half-dozen low-key (and entirely plausible) twists in the lives of this small Northeastern town. The outspoken pro-choice Reverend has several of his own skeletons in the closet, Dr. Duprey had recently violated her own retraining order to have conversations with the Reverend, Dr. Duprey's husband refuses to disclose his activities in the hours preceding his wife's death, there is a scandalous affair in the past history of the husband and wife, a cop is accused of questionable behavior with a witness, and daughter Megan has used questionable judgement in dealing with an ex-boyfriend. This is a thoroughly engrossing novel that addresses a spectrum of topics from family relations to parent-child relations to love affairs to true crime. While the slant of the book is decidedly favorable to a pro-choice viewpoint, the anti-choice perspective is also portrayed in an objective and thought-provoking manner. Fans of this book may enjoy the movie Vera Drake, which is similarly philosophical on the topic of abortion.