Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde

I have had The Abortionist's Daughter on my shelves for probably close to two years now. I won it in a contest on an old blog I used to read and was eager to read it, but as things happen, it got shelved on the bottom and I forgot about it. I am not sure what reminded me of this book, but I decided to uncover it and read it for the Suspense and Thriller Challenge in the category of suspense drama. I am so glad that I did because I loved this book. I am going to give it a rare A.

From Amazon:
Two weeks before Christmas, Diana Duprey, an outspoken abortion doctor, is found dead in her swimming pool. A national figure, Diana inspired passion and ignited tempers, but never more so than the day of her death. Her husband Frank, a longtime attorney in the DA’s office; her daughter Megan, a freshman in college; the Reverend Stephen O’Connell, founder of the town’s pro-life coalition: all of them quarreled with Diana that day and each one has something to lose in revealing the truth. Meanwhile the detective on the case struggles for the answers — and finds himself more intimately involved than he ever could have imagined.

Everything was great about this book. The mystery was really compelling and even though I thought I had it figured out, things kept making me doubt myself. The characters were really well developed and we were allowed to get inside the heads of quite a few of them. I could relate with all of them which is usually not true in reading. The writing was really done and I kept turning the pages. I probably could have finished this book in one sitting if that little pesky thing called work didn't get in the way. I was worried about how I might react to some of the things discussed in the book and was hoping that the details of the abortions wouldn't get too graphic, and once I was a bit uncomfortable but I felt it was necessary to the story. I am now afraid the next book I read will not hold up if I keep compariing it to this one!

On that note, I have no idea what I am going to read next. Should I go for something totally opposite and pick a light romantic comedy... or perhaps a gory thriller? I am not sure, but I do know that The Abortionist's Daughter will stay with me for quite a bit. Happy Reading!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tough call...I am ready for something light...lol!

Kristie said...

I know! I haven't picked up another book yet. I think I am leaning towards a trashy Jackie Collins book though, definitely lighter!

April said...

This sounds really good, Kristie! I am going to add it to my list! Great review!
I just finished reading a cozy - Goody Goody Gunshots and it was the first cozy in a while. Just what I needed - a bit of lighthearted fun!

Booklogged said...

I didn't realize this was a mystery. I love mysteries and your review was so positive, I'm going to make a note of this book. Thanks for the good review.

Literary Feline said...

I have had this one sitting on my shelves for at least two years as well. I remember when I first heard about it, I was really excited about it. I'm not sure how it ended up lost in my unread book stacks.

I am glad you enjoyed this one so much. I should dig it out and read it one of these days. Great review!

elisabeth said...

I'm glad you liked the book, Kristie! Elisabeth Hyde