Obstetrix
Dr. Liz Gwinn has just won a landmark acquittal for performing North Dakota's final abortion. Her legal battle is over, but her fight for survival has just begun. Abducted by a fundamentalist cult, she's whisked away to a secluded compound deep in the rural west.
They desperately need an obstetrician. Liz is isolated, guarded, and keenly aware of the chilling fate of her predecessor. Valued for her skills, yet constantly reminded of her captivity, she sees the desperate young women trapped within the cult's walls.
Escape isn't just an option; it's a perilous mandate. Liz must break free and expose the truth, even if it costs her everything.
- Liz Gwinn - Obstetrician
- Sarah - Nurse, cult member
- Brandon - Cult member
- John - Pastor of the cult
- Joy - David’s wife, pregnant, cult member
- David - Joy’s husband, cult member
- Charlie - Joy’s baby
- Jana - Former doctor at Harvest
- Ethan - Nightwatchman, cult member
- Jason - Emma’s husband
- Emma - Jason’s wife
- Bethany - Jason and Emma’s daughter
- JJ - Jason and Emma’s son
- Janet - Cult member
- Liz is kidnapped by Sarah and Brandon and taken to a compound called Harvest to serve as the cult’s obstetrician.
- Sarah has already determined that Joy is going to need a c-section.
- Liz begins caring for the pregnant women immediately, believing that being compliant is her best chance of eventually escaping.
- Liz learns that Jana was killed after she refused to help a woman struggling during childbirth, resulting in the deaths of both the mother and child.
- When Liz examines the children, she notices many of them have signs of physical abuse.
- Pastor John encourages the women to marry young and have children.
- Liz finds a Walmart receipt indicating they are in Idaho.
- Liz finds a cell phone hidden in Holly's house, texts her father as much information about her location as she can, then returns the phone to its hiding place.
- When it’s time for Joy’s c-section, she tells Liz that some members are going to escape and get help.
- After the successful surgery, the baby is given to Janet to take to David, but Janet and the baby go missing.
- Jason, Emma, Bethany and JJ are missing too.
- David goes after the escapees.
- David shoots Janet in the head and brings the others back to the compound.
- Before anyone can be punished, Liz's father and his VFW friends arrive to rescue Liz.
- Law enforcement arrives at the compound.
- Joy and her baby, Charlie, are taken to the hospital.
- Pastor John, David, Ethan, Sarah and Brandon are arrested.
The premise of a cult kidnapping a doctor and forcing her to tend to their pregnant women hooked me immediately. The narrative is told all in Liz’s POV and mostly in the present with some brief flashbacks. I usually gravitate toward thrillers with rapid-fire, short chapters to keep the momentum going, but the longer chapter structures here actually work well to flesh out the present-tense timeline. One thing that I struggled with was the emotional detachment. Given that Liz is a captive, I expected a much more visceral sense of fear from her point of view but it did not come across in the text. Despite that missing emotional beat, the plot itself holds up as a great story, building to a solid, satisfying ending.
If you like suspense, isolated cult settings, and single-POV survival narratives, then you will enjoy this book.
- Pregnancy
- Abortion
- Child abuse
- Corporal punishment
- Murder
ASIN: B0FMS9CYHY
Publication Date: June 9, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
