THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER

Narrator Beth McDonald takes every chance to enliven the characters of Hyde's novel about the murder of a well-known abortion doctor. While the mystery of Dr. Duprey's death winds throughout, the story is less about finding the killer than the relationships and personalities of the doctor's spoiled college student daughter, repressed and frustrated husband, ex-boyfriend, and the young, sexy detective. McDonald inhabits each character--never missing a beat with smart-alecky conversations or the banter of the cops. Most intriguing is her facility with tense interchanges--mother-daughter, father-daughter--and her fluid switching between interior monologue and conversation. Listeners may need a bit of patience with the story and the writing, but McDonald makes the performance all it can be. R.F.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]