The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

Just finished this exciting title (Ariel Lawhon: The Frozen River) inspired by Martha Ballard, 18th century midwife’s diary that turned out to be an amazingly plotted thriller while retaining authentic picture of America just after the Revolutionary War. I was amazed how the author carefully withdrew information and gave the reader in surprising doses all the backstory, one chunk of a time. The language is beautiful, the characters are perfectly crafted and you can’t wait to turn the pages. Reviewers say it’s two long (over 600 pages in my edition) but I was never bored, just the opposite. Immerse yourself in Maine’s freezing winter, follow the mysteries around a dead body, discover how a midwife knew more about women than doctors of the time. There is a lot to learn about the subordinate position of women of the time and how they were fined when raped (!) while the male perpetrator walked away in numerous cases with impunity. But it’s not only about the dark side of the age. Love, honesty and integrity is a main topic of the story, even when law or “justice” may not be on your side. Highly recommended to lovers of rich historical fiction with mystery elements - 5* from me!

Ariel Lawhon is an established, best-selling novelist focusing on historical stories. THE FROZEN RIVER is my first experience with her work. The story is set in Maine in the late 1700s, and follows our hero, Martha Ballard, as she plies her trade (midwife) while navigating the political and social structures of that time. It should be noted that Martha and the many characters in this story were real—Martha herself being a famous figure for delivering over 1000 babies without loss of either baby or mother. Many of the events surrounding these characters in the novel are actual historical events. The story itself is fiction, of course, and the author lets us know in an epilogue how she wove both fact and fiction together. The story (kinda) revolves around a body (a man) found in the frozen Kennebec River, which is soon to be determined a murder. We soon discover the dead man is one of two suspects in the rape of one of Martha’s friends. I say “kinda” because the body is soon forgotten in favor of the rape accusation. The other suspect in the rape is a prominent judge (judge North) who is involved in various, nefarious business dealings around the area which connect to Martha and many of the locals. Martha is a key participant in the rape trial as she was the first to examine the victim. The writing is superb, and we can see why Lawhon is a best seller. Her characters (with the exception of North) are beautifully rendered with exceptional attention to personality and motivation. There are no stereotypes here. Lawhon’s writing is flows effortlessly, reveals intimately yet never gets in the way of the story. Lawhon’s not trying to impress us with her ability. So well done. That said, there are a couple of weaknesses to this story. As alluded above, there is not a strong driver—backbone—to propel the events. That is, the plot is weak and almost non-existent. We start with the murder (the body found in the river), but that is quickly gets forgotten in favor or the rape trial. This is all interspersed between the many births Martha attends. I you like “Call the Midwife” you’ll love this book. Even the trial isn’t that big of a compelling factor. I kept asking myself what’s on the line for the main character? What needs to the resolved? Heck, why are we here? Judge North, unlike the other characters is a one-dimensional bad guy from the start. I kept hoping the author would flip something on us, or spring some sort of surprise, but nope. Another weakness (very minor) is over-research. I expect the author to do her research to make it an authentic as possible, but I don’t want to be hit over the head by it. Multiple pages of how to make candles should’ve been rethought. The author has modernized several aspects of the main character and speech patterns of the time. Martha’s morals and attitudes would fit in well today. That’s ok, in this case. The author has to make the story and characters as palatable to readers as possible. It’s all about the sales.

Riveting: the writing was compelling; the characters were likeable (except when they weren't supposed to be); the history was well-researched and incredibly interesting; and there were meaningful insights tucked throughout the telling, on topics ranging from death and aging to relationships and happy marriages. While there is a central mystery in the Frozen River, it's not a detective story, but a question of justice. What I didn't realize until after finishing the book was that it was based on a real-life midwife and events. Martha Ballard was self-educated and strikingly independent, someone who seemed like she would make an interesting friend ... then, or now. If you're curious about what it was like to be a woman shortly after the revolutionary war, what it took to run a household, or the state of law (and medicine) in our young country, don't hesitate to pick this up.

I cant put the book down The Frozen River is an engaging historical novel that blends rich period detail with a compelling mystery. Set in 1789 Maine, the story follows Martha Ballard, a determined midwife whose life becomes entwined with a chilling discovery a man found frozen in the river and the secrets that begin to unravel in her community. What stood out most to me was how vividly the time and place are depicted; the author brings early America to life with immersive descriptions of daily routines, midwifery, and community dynamics, without ever letting the history feel dry or distant. Martha is a thoughtful and grounded protagonist whose intelligence and resilience drive the narrative. Her voice adds emotional depth and authenticity, making her struggles and triumphs feel real. The mystery element adds steady intrigue that kept me turning pages, even when the pace settled into the quieter rhythms of colonial life. At times the story lingers on everyday details, which may feel slow to readers who prefer nonstop action, but for anyone who enjoys character-driven historical fiction with a strong sense of place, that slower pace only adds to the atmosphere. Overall, The Frozen River is a well-crafted, immersive read with thoughtful prose, a memorable heroine, and enough suspense to make it hard to put down especially if you enjoy historical fiction with heart and depth.

Great read. Good character development and storyline.

Set in Maine during the grueling winter of 1789, this tale of a local mystery involving the small community of Hallowell and the family of the local midwife Martha Ballard is probably a bit too “small” (limited in scope and ambition) to count as literary fiction, but a nice example of well-written and well-researched historical fiction. This may have something to do with the fact that, as the afterward reveals, Martha Ballard was an actual historic personage, a midwife of considerable accomplishment (delivered over 1000 babies) who nevertheless might have lapsed into obscurity if she hadn’t (1) been literate (not common for women at this time) and (2) faithfully tracked her daily activities via entries in a series of daybooks. Upon this scaffold Lawhon has reconstructed Hallowell as it would have been then, a community linked by shared hardships – epidemics, bitter winters – but also shared aspirations – courtship, work, marriage, family. Sexual assault, misogyny, and hypocrisy are also part of this world, however – an issue that comes to an ugly head when the wife of the local minister accuses two local notables of rape. Appreciated the time that Lawhon has obvious put into getting the period details (food, clothing, medicinal herbs, judicial practices) accurate. Also appreciated that the protagonist, Martha, has no detectival aspirations – this is a story about family and community that just happens to involve a murder, not the other way round. But other parts of this do hit as a bit anachronistic: her idyllic marriage, her feisty feminism, the suspicious absence of period-appropriate hardship (hunger, exposure, poverty, small-town bickering /feuds). Not enough to distract from the pleasure of the story, but enough to have left me feeling a little unfulfilled – like tasty jam spread over plain white bread instead of something full of grains and seeds and authentic flavor. Nevertheless, feel comfortable recommending this to others as a rich, character-driven drama with intriguing sides of period history and feminist overtones

One of the best books I’ve read so far this year! Excellent writing and story.

Martha Ballard is a historical figure, a midwife who also had other medical skills. She is an unusual figure for her time—literate (a rarity) and a wife and the mother of a large brood who traveled the area quite independently to deliver babies. In Ephraim, she had a strong, trusting, industrious, and helpful husband. He was a man of faith. He saw his wife’s potential and taught her how to read. He also helped her overcome trauma she had suffered as a young lady. The setting of The Frozen River is the winter of 1789-1790 (actually 1785 in historical records) and was known as “the year of the long winter” in Hallowell, Maine. Martha is called to document a body found in the river, caught by ice. Thus begins a murder mystery that is so much more. A pastor’s young wife is the victim of multiple violent rapes. In the process of disclosing the truth of the events, the author also reveals much about women’s rights at that time. In summary, they had few. To even give testimony in court a woman had to be accompanied by a husband or father. It was clear that a man’s testimony had greater weight than a woman’s. Premarital sex was fairly common, but if a pregnancy was the result, the woman could be jailed or fined. The man incurred no consequences. Pre-Bill of Rights, the court system was very different than what we have in America today. It was similar to what is commonly referred to as “frontier justice.” Townsfolk flocked to a local trial where the jury was composed solely of men and the judge was likely to be biased. There were other levels of courts depending on the accusations and the findings of a lower court. In some cases it was clear that justice would not be done, and so men would take action on their own following the dictum of “an eye for an eye.” Death from natural causes, sickness, childbirth, or accidents was something the people of that time had to live with. Although expected, accepting it was still very difficult, especially for mothers. Life was not easy, and circumstances often left people bereft of material needs and emotional support. The author, Ariel Lawhorn, makes the characters come alive. Without being melodramatic, she presents the characters as real people with flaws and strengths, individuals that the reader will really like despite some weaknesses or truly detest because of the evilness they harbor in their hearts. There were many secrets to be revealed, but those were skillfully hidden until the author chose to disclose them. Even then, the motivation for the matter might remain unknown for a time. Because of the rapes and other types of violence found in the book, it is a hard book to read and certainly not a book to read right before bedtime. It is a page turner that is not for the faint of heart, but reveals so much about a remarkable woman and a time of history that required much of people.

I love historical fiction, from an educational viewpoint as well as enjoyment of the actual story. Ariel Lawhon’s book, as she herself states in the author notes at the end of the book, was inspired by, as opposed to based on, Martha Ballard ‘a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into history’ and is therefore not completely factual. Martha Ballard kept a comprehensive daily diary for several decades (it can be found online but looks very difficult to decipher.) The author also states that a Pulitzer Prize winning account of Martha Ballard’s life, taken from her diaries, is available entitled ‘A Midwife’s Tale.’ However, Ariel Lawhon’s storytelling is evocative and I was drawn into the story immediately. The story begins as Martha is called to examine a body that was found in the icy river Kennebec. She is a well known midwife and healer in the vicinity and records each birth and death in the village of Hallowell, where she lives. The dead man is one of two well thought of locals who were accused of raping and assaulting the local minister’s wife earlier in the year. Martha determines Joshua Burgess, the man in the river, had been murdered. She has opposition in the form of Dr Benjamin Page. He undermines her decision regarding the cause of the man’s death and, further into the story, also calls into question her methods of midwifery. Because he was Harvard educated and Martha was a mere woman, he considered himself far superior, even though Martha had delivered hundreds of babies and had never lost a mother in childbirth. Women in the 18th century were rarely, if ever, believed regarding allegations of rape and Martha was determined to advocate for Rebecca Foster. A trial date is set. Martha refused, as much as possible, to be constrained by the conditions of the time and stood strong in her beliefs. Ariel Lawhon’s characters are fully and naturally realised, along with their experiences, whether it was the unrelenting winter or personal struggles hampered by the rulings and/or behaviour of men. The Frozen River is a fascinating, thought provoking and insightful read which can also be classed as a murder mystery. This is the first time I’ve listened to a book narrated by Jane Oppenheimer, I thought she did a great job, giving distinct voices to the cast of characters. It’s also my first book by this author, I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.

Fabulous book, the ending did not disappoint. A great read.

Perfectly well delivered! - paperback cover A solid 4.5 stars from me! And honestly, I can’t even pinpoint exactly why—it’s just that good. For starters, the book is incredibly easy to read. Although it’s historical fiction, it doesn’t get bogged down with excessive historical data or events. Instead, the author keeps the focus on the story, making it all the more engaging. That said, the historical backdrop is still well-explored, offering an insightful look into 18th-century American life without feeling like a history lesson. What I loved most was how the novel highlights the experiences of women from this era—bringing visibility to voices often overlooked in history. Ariel does this masterfully, presenting their stories in a way that feels natural and authentic, without glorifying or diminishing their struggles. And then there’s the mystery! In fact, this book could just as easily be classified as a thriller rather than strictly historical fiction. The suspense kept me hooked from start to finish, making it an even more compelling read!

I love reading historical fiction and this is a masterpiece. Hands down the great book. Great writing and so wintery feeling and cozy.

Very good and pleasant reading