Book Description 

O Lord, deliver us.

Doctor Liz has just been acquitted for performing the last abortion in North Dakota when she’s kidnapped.

They’re not just any kidnappers, but a fundamentalist cult, deep in the rural west, without respect for law or decency, and in desperate need of an OB/GYN.

Guarded, isolated, without access to the outside world, Liz nevertheless is treated with respect as the only doctor on the compound, but she is very aware of what happened to the last obstetrician they kidnapped.

She must escape, and bring help to the girls trapped at the compound, if it’s the last thing she does.

My Review 

The blurb piqued my interest, as did the opportunity to listen to an audio ARC rather than the typical digital ARC. I’ve found audiobooks a lot easier to finish than digital/paper books lately. 

This is a rather short book– the audiobook clocks in at 5 hours and 20 minutes and I listen at 1.5x speed. Despite its length, this was an impactful book. 

Protagonist Liz is earnest and likeable. Even after being kidnapped, she wants to provide her patients with the best quality care… although she is understandably nervous about the expectation to perform an onsite c-section for a high risk pregnancy. 

Liz is less than impressed with the cult that has kidnapped her, especially with its patriarchal view on just about everything. It is perhaps ironic that they have chosen a female doctor while simultaneously believing that a woman’s place is in the home. The compound residents are somewhat archetypal, behaving exactly the way you would expect members of a fundamentalist cult to behave.   

I’m certainly not giving away the ending, but I will say that the whole denouement was a bit deus ex machina and wrapped up too quickly and with too neat a bow on top. 

Jennifer Pickens does a wonderful job with the audiobook. The emotional range is solid, and there is differentiation between characters.  

I would recommend Obstetrix. I would have liked it to be longer, although I acknowledge that the plot was riveting, with palpable tension. 

I received a digital audiobook ARC from MacMillan Audio/NetGalley.