Admittedly, Puritan time period is not my favorite as a woman’s life basically super sucked back then. Yet, Lawhorn convinced me with an amazing female lead - badass feminist midwife who takes no crap from anyone, and whose husband is an equal partner. A murder, sexual assaults, and trial scenes combine to make this book powerfully relevant to today as well as unputdownable. Highly recommend the audiobook as the narration is fantastic!

Ariel Lawhon takes her historical fiction to a new level with "The Frozen River." Her earlier novels always seemed to lack . . something. . . but this novel does not. Set in Maine during the great freeze of 1789 and featuring a middle-aged woman as protagonist, "Frozen River" has a strong sense of place and time period and despite a few anachronistic attitudes ,is generally brutal when it comes to women's place in that society. Tough and very good.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a DRC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the book designer for a stunning cover!

As fine a book as I have ever read. I enjoyed this rich work of historical fiction immensely. I am grateful to have gained so much knowledge here, all the while totally immersed in the story.

Martha Ballard was a midwife in the early days of the US who kept a journal. It was very unusual in those days for a woman to be able to read and write, but that skill was only one of her abilities.

From the facts known about Martha Ballard, the author, through the magic of historical fiction, gave her a voice. The story was powerful. From the stories of birthing babies, to her care for the community, her love for her family, the involvement of historical figures - the action was riveting, and the story immensely moving. The sense of place was real and the characters were memorable.

I highly recommend this book - it was eye opening in many ways. It would inspire an incredible discussion for a book club.

A 1700s Midwife and a Murder

Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine in the 1700s was a mainstay of her community. In a time when many women couldn’t read or write, she kept a diary recording births, deaths and other happenings in her family and the community.

When the Kennebec River froze in 1789, the body of a man was trapped in the ice. Martha was called on to examine the body and determine the cause of death. She believes the man was murdered. However, not everyone, particularly the local Harvard trained doctor agrees. The man is one of the men accused of rape four months before. Because of the doctor’s disagreement, Martha is forced to investigate. In pursuit of the truth, she uncovers things that implicate those she loves and force her to decide where her loyalties lie.

Martha is a historical personage and the story is based on the diaries she kept. While the mystery is a major focus of the book. The novel also highlights how women were treated in the 1700s. I thought the author did an excellent job bringing the time to life. Martha is a marvelous character. You can’t help rooting for her. The descriptions are also truly excellent they vividly depict life in a small community in the dead of winter.

I loved this book and can highly recommend it.

Thanks for Net Galley and the publisher for this review copy.

Kudos to Ariel Lawhon, the Author of “The Frozen River,” for writing a captivating, memorable, and thought-provoking novel. I loved everything about this novel and highly recommend it to other readers. This novel is a masterpiece, and I appreciate how the author tells her story and how well-written it is. The Genres for this story are Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Thriller. The author describes the lake in almost a poetic way and vividly describes her colorful and dramatic characters.

Ariel Lawhon describes her enthusiasm and inspiration based on a real character, Martha Ballard. Martha Ballard was a modern-day woman by any standards and had the courage to stand up and fight for what she believed in. In 1789, when women and men were not treated as equals, Martha did get the respect of being a midwife and healer. Thanks to her husband, she learned to read and write. Martha wrote all of her daily activities in diaries that later became historical documents.

In 1789, in Maine, it was a frightfully cold and intense winter. The Kennebec River has frozen, and several men discover a dead man in the ice. This man was accused of rape, and there are several suspects. Unfortunately, the political system sometimes seemed biased, leaving Martha no choice but to discover the truth at great danger.

This was an exceptional novel in 2023 that I highly recommend.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is an excellent book about a midwife in the late 1700s. In the beginning of the book, she is called to check a body and determine the cause of death. The body belongs to a man accused of raping a friend and patient of hers, along with another man, who just happens to be a judge. She determines the cause of death to be murder. However, the courts are as equally determined to state that it was an accident. Using her journal as proof, she goes to court and attempts to find truth and justice. A true story about a remarkable woman, this book will make you laugh and cheer. You don’t want to miss it!

THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon 🎧 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WOW. I felt immersed into the atmosphere of this book from the first chapter. The audio was fantastic! Some pretty heavy themes that are laid out right in the description of the book so I think you’ll know right away if it's for you or not.

Martha Ballard, the local midwife and healer finds herself in the middle of a trial for a suspected murder. After delivering a baby, she is summoned to examine the body of a man who was frozen in the Kennebec River. She recognizes him from a heinous crime performed months ago, of which she recorded her diary.

I loved the vivid descriptions and chilling atmosphere of this book. And I fell in love with Martha who was assertive, confident + an advocate for women in a time where women were not considered equal. And I of course bawled at every birth scene.

I can't believe this was the first book I've read by this author! She's most known for her book Code Name Helene. Have you read it? Seems like I need to make my way through her backlist!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mood: 🍷🍫
Spice: 🌶️ implied intimacy between husband and wife
⚠️: check book description for TWs

I read Martha's diary as an undergrad many years ago. I found it to be dry and dull. This story is vibrant and thoroughly enjoyable! Lawhon's ability to bring characters and history to life in an entertaining story is incredible. This novel is an example of stellar historical fiction. I loved the way Lawhon weaved her story into the gaps of real history.

The Frozen River is an 18th-century historical mystery that follows Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine, who finds herself trying to solve a murder that possibly connects to her friend’s violent rape. The story covers one tumultuous year in Ballard’s life as she manages her large family, births babies, fights for justice, and conducts autopsies.

I loved reading a historical fiction novel that was during “peace time” and shortly after the American Revolutionary War. It was a refreshing change from the typical 20th-century novels of the genre.

Ariel Lawhon wrote The Frozen River based upon on a woman who did exist, left behind daily diary entries, and has been forgotten to history. I have enjoyed past books by Lawhon and knew I could trust her to thoroughly research a story. And she did not let me down! Lawhon was prodigious in simulating daily life in Colonial Maine and the nascent United States. I was fascinated with all the details Lawhon managed to include without weighing down the story’s pace.

The Frozen River managed to be both gripping and beautifully written. Lawhon crafted this book with vivid descriptions, creating a chilling atmosphere. In doing so, she wrote the Kennebec River as a character itself that greatly influenced the town. Furthermore, I became immersed in this story and infuriated alongside Martha. My spouse may have laughed at me yelling at the book several times. (If a book elicits a response from me, that usually means it is good.)

My only quibble with this book was that I wanted to know Martha more. I felt like who she was at heart was kept at a distance. We only come to know her as someone in the town does, as an outspoken, confident woman who championed women and justice.

Overall, The Frozen River is a novel filled with vivid detail and an engrossing mystery. Lawhon has written yet another deep, yet readable historical novel about an amazing women, of which few have heard. I recommend this book, especially if you are tired of WWI and WWII stories.

Note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from its publisher, Doubleday Books. Regardless, I always provide a fair and honest review.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson was a mystery at a time from the 1780s on the Kennebec River. The river had started to freeze and a man was found frozen in the ice. Maine was still owned by Massachusetts and rules were enforced by men for men. He was brought into the local tavern and the midwife was called on to determine his cause of death. The dead man, according to Martha, was murdered, despite the fact that a new local doctor believed otherwise.

Martha Ballard was a midwife and a healer for the area around Hallowell, Maine. Her husband runs a mill on the river. Their mostly grown children still live at home or at least in the area. Martha and her difficult horse Brutus were welcome almost everywhere. She kept a journal to document the weather, but mostly to chronicle her daily work. As a midwife, Martha had some leeway, but not a lot because she was a woman and therefore under her husband's authority.

This starts an interesting tale of the people and their lives on the Kennebec River during the winter in Hallowell, Maine. The river, the settlers and the winter along with a murder all interact to create a fascinating tale. Martha as the main character with her healing skills allows her to meet and help various people and find clues about the murder. Her husband and children are important characters that support her and all hold some information that could be helpful.

I found this story fascinating. I was interested in the court system, medical trends and the way people interact. I found myself cheering on Martha as she figured out the who, what and why of the murder. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson was a great read!

A historical telling of the life of a midwife with murder and intrigue. Martha Ballard, whose character is based on a real midwife named Martha Ballard. Has a patient who is taped and a trial ensues. In the meantime, several gripping storylines make place moving the novel right along. Well researched with memorable characters and flowing dialogue. The character of Martha reminds me of Claire in Outlander. No time travel here but a strong woman and a riveting story.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Fantastic! This story held my interest from the beginning! Rich characters, setting, and the plot was paced well.
First time reading this author and I'll definitely read more!

Fascinating story, even more so when you realize how much of it is based on true events! Reminded me a lot of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

Really enjoyed this historical fiction mystery centered around a real midwife's accounts. This story kept me engaged and reeling to the end with multiple subplots that were equally interesting and all led toward a solid conclusion. Can't wait to meet the author in person at a book signing in January!

If it was possible to give Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River more than five stars, I would. I loved every single word of it. Not only is it based on the life of an actual midwife in 1790s Maine, but Ariel Lawhon takes entries from Martha Ballard’s actual daybook and crafts a book that is sure to speak to not only lovers of historical fiction, but to mystery/thriller/suspense lovers too. This is one of those books that I will be telling all my bookish friends about. If you only pick up one book this year, this should be the one.

This is historical fiction at its best. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Martha Ballard and the world she lived in. We don’t often think deeply about what life was like in the early days of the U.S., especially when the justice system was brand new and the biases were being baked in. The stories told in this book were stark. The author also did fantastic work in portraying the natural world of the winter in the late 1700s - what it was like for Martha and others to get around on horseback, what it was like to have that river freezing up and then thawing again at the end of winter. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

It's a beautiful thing, to go back in time with authors as they bring back to life important people from the past so we can hear their story.
Taking place in Maine in the late 1700's when the Kennebec River is frozen. Martha Ballard is a married, lifelong midwife. She has ushered in hundreds of lives, not many of the women in this rural area have access to a doctor. Many of the women fall pregnant before a marriage takes place. Martha is privy to this information, and quite a lot of other personal information like who the father is but she keeps this information to herself. Margaret keeps a daily diary with personal information about her clients. The judicial system, if you could even call it that is so different than today. Quite a bit of the book involves a rape trial of a woman accusing the town's judge and another man. Where is the justice? It reminds me of Reba's song, The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia. There's a similarity there. There is also a spectacular murder trial.
As the author says this work of fiction is what could have happened in Martha Ballard's life and not a biography. The book is inspired by real events. I like realistic books, and this is written like a biography. If I can learn something from the historical fiction, I read I am all for it, may it be a person, place or event I am here for it. This book has inspired me to start reading biographies again in the new year. I do need to add some non-fiction back into my reading selections and this would be a great way to start. The book is compelling, and it leaves me to wonder how many other fascinating people from the past I have yet to meet through books to hear their story.

Pub Date 05 Dec 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

@gmabookub has picked a winner!

At 448 pages or 15 hours, this is not a tiny book. And yet I blew through it because I simply couldn’t put it down. I was immediately engaged and invested in the story.

Set in the late 1700s, this is the story of a badass midwife who isn’t afraid to go head to head with the men in town to defend a woman raped by two of the most influential men in their area. A dead body uncovered in the frozen river, accusations of rape, mistreatment of women, there is a lot packed into this one winter. The daily diary kept by the midwife, Martha Ballard, is at the center of it all.

Based on the diaries of the real Martha Ballard, this book has something for everyone - historical fiction, murder mystery, a trial, bad guys, and a heroine to cheer for.

I was so excited to read this pick from the 2023 book releases and let me tell you that I was not disappointed!

This historical mystery is inspired by the diary of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife, who never lost a single mother in over 1000 deliveries.

When a man found entombed in ice, also happens to be the same man accused of a horrible attack, Martha tries to seek justice for the women that nobody else wants to protect. I loved this book from Martha's point of view and I am a huge fan of Lawson's writing. She is the absolute queen of biographical fiction.

This book is brilliantly written and so well-researched that I could not put it down.

This was just okay for me. A like, not a love. 3.5 stars, rounding down to 3.

When I saw Ariel Lawhon had a new book coming out this year, I was ecstatic. Her novel, Code Name Helene, is one of the best historical fiction books I have read in a long time. I recommend it all the time to HF readers, because I know they will enjoy it as well. I had plans to purchase or retrieve her latest from my library as soon as it was available, so imagine my delight when this dropped into my inbox a couple weeks prior to its release date. Then the day I pick this book up, I discover it is GMA December book club pick! Yay! We are definitely in for a treat here, folks! And the reviews that are currently out there are all solid 4 and 5 stars. People are loving this book! Needless to say, my expectations were set high and rightfully so! Lawhon is an amazing researcher and author.

However, I, unfortunately, do not fall into that category. Oh, I wanted to be! I just didn't get that gripping, all consuming feeling while reading this one like I did with Lawhon's previous book, and it hurts for me to have to say that. I am not quite sure what about this book did not work for me, but I found myself bored while reading it. I do have somewhat of a theory as to why that I'll dive into more below.

The setting was beautiful. It was described with such vivid details. It wasn't hard for me to imagine this brutal winter in Maine, and the time period this story took place. Remarkably, it was not bogged down with too much detail, or became too wordy to where I was not able to enjoy the story taking place.

It just felt different than Code Name Helene for me, which with the author not having much to go on with the protagonist, Martha Ballard, and her life, but her daily journals I recognize this not an easy feat to capture. But I think because of that it just felt like I was reading a mystery novel set in the 1700's versus a historical fiction novel where I am learning all about the amazing life of midwife in the beginning days of our country. Don't get me wrong! We learn about Martha, and what it took to be a healer and midwife during this time. However, I felt the murder mystery aspect overshadowed the historical fiction, and we get more of a Nancy Drew element to the whole story. And that is okay! If you walk in expecting that, you'll possibly enjoy this book. I just was not realizing that was what I was going to get upon reading this book.

As always with historical fiction, some of my favorite parts are the end when the author delves into what was true and what was fiction, and Lawhon did not disappoint with providing those details. It amazes (and saddens) me that the only reason we know about this woman, who delivered over 1000 babies and did it so well she never lost a mother during childbirth (!!) is her journals and her diligent record keeping. It is a testament to how little women were regarded in history and I love how Lawhon brings these women to light and gives them a voice! I look forward to her next book and I cannot wait to see what it will be about.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.