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Pan MacMillan (Australia). This edition published:
November, 2006
Reviewed by Sunnie Gill
There are some people who do jobs that put them in harm’s way. Diana
Thompson is one such person. Diana runs The Centre for Reproductive
Choices in Colorado. In short, she performs abortions. There is no
shortage of opponents but there’s no way of knowing which of them would
resort to violence.
Diana’s husband comes home to find her dead, floating in their lap pool.
There is a suspicious bruise on the back of her head that isn’t explained
by slipping. Frank is the local district attorney and their marriage isn’t
a particularly happy one. Their teenage daughter, Megan is having problems
with her former boyfriend who is obsessed with her and won’t leave her
alone. He is also a suspect. The detectives assigned to investigate
Diana’s murder have butted heads with Frank in the past. They have to be
careful not to lay themselves open to claims of bias.
At first I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy THE ABORTIONIST’S DAUGHTER. It
seemed to be more about family relationships than murder. However it
didn’t take long to discover that the family dynamics help inform the
murder investigation.
THE ABORTIONIST’S DAUGHTER is written on a number of levels. First and
foremost is the murder of Diana and the investigation. We learn the
family’s back-story and what happened to bring them to this point in time.
It is also an exploration of an extremely emotive issue. Both sides of the
argument are cleverly woven together to demonstrate the nature of
obsession and what it can do to people. THE ABORTIONIST’S DAUGHTER is not
going to be everyone’s cup of tea. There are many who may find parts of
the book offensive and many more who will be upset by it.
Hyde has written three other novels; each examining different aspects of
family relationships. Her website is
http://www.elisabethhyde.com/
May 2008 review originally posted on Murder and Mayhem
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