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The Abortionist's Daughter
Non-series
Elisabeth Hyde
Alfred A. Knopf (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-307-26366-5 (0307263665)
ISBN-13: 978-0-307-26366-7 (9780307263667)
Publication Date: June, 2006
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the
publisher): Two weeks before Christmas, Diana Duprey, an outspoken
abortion doctor, is found floating in her pool, a bruise the size of a
golf ball visible through her dark curls. A national figure, Diana
inspired passion and ignited tempers, never more so than on the day of
her death.
Her husband, Frank, an attorney in the D.A.’s office for more
than twenty years, had fought bitterly with her on the day of her
murder. Yet to reveal the nature of their fight would cost him not only
his career but something greater still—a relationship he will
go to any lengths to protect. Diana’s daughter, Megan, a
college freshman, had also quarreled with Diana that day, and her role
in her mother’s murder will prove more significant than she
ever could have anticipated. The Reverend Stephen O’Connell,
founder of the town’s pro-life coalition, obviously had
issues with Diana, but his anger extended beyond the political to the
personal—namely, Dr. Duprey’s involvement with his
own troubled teenager. Meanwhile, the detective on the case grapples to
make sense of it all. His investigation implicates many in this town
and reveals a series of gross miscalculations, each one challenging
what we know, or think we know, about community, fidelity, justice, and
love.
Review: "... some people had the power to dig themselves into the very deepest part of your brain and stay there until you paid them the attention they demanded."
This passage, from Elisabeth Hyde's stellar mystery The Abortionist's Daughter, a complex character study of people brought together by the murder of Diana Duprey, an abortion provider for a small town outside Denver, can be applied to most of the people in the book and is one of the reasons this is such an intriguing story. As the police investigate the murder, the relationships Diana had with her family and associates are carefully disclosed in a way that adds credibility to the plot and depth to the characters. The conclusion, though not unexpected, is nonetheless startling and dramatically revealed.
The title is something of a misnomer, and unfortunately tends to be erroneously suggestive. Though the daughter plays a prominent role in the book, the title implies the story is about her. It isn't. Furthermore, the use of the word "abortion" in any form is provocative. Some prospective readers may shy away thinking that the story is about abortion. It isn't. When a detective on the case calls the victim an "abortionist", her daughter quickly corrects him: she was an "abortion provider". It was her profession, but Hyde wisely doesn't take sides on the issue primarily because it is largely a plot device, to set up a professional and personal relationship between Diana and the founder of the town's pro-life coalition. It's unclear why either the author or the publisher chose this title as it unnecessarily detracts from an otherwise outstanding work of mystery fiction.
Special thanks to Random House for providing the ARC of The Abortionist's Daughter for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books
Other books by Elisabeth Hyde:
Her Native Colors
Non-series
Dell Publishing (1986)
ISBN: 0-385-29439-5 (0385294395)
Monoosook Valley
Non-series
Dell Publishing (1989)
ISBN: 0-385-29685-1 (0385296851)
Crazy as Chocolate
Non-series
MacAdam/Cage Publishing (2002)
ISBN: 1-93156-103-6 (1931561036)
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