THE FROZEN RIVER

THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon

Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River is a masterful work of historical fiction. In 1789, Martha Ballard (a true historical figure) was a midwife in Maine. One night she attended to a woman who had been raped. The woman accused two men who were highly respected in the town. When one of those men is found dead, frozen in the ice of the Kennebec River, Ballard as a "medical professional" is called in to examine the body. She can draw no other conclusion but murder. The question becomes who is the murderer and does it somehow tie in to this accusation of rape. Ballard investigates, but she lives in a world that often chooses a man's word as truth over a woman's despite the evidence that is evident.

Interspersed with the main story line is the fact that as town midwife, Ballard knows the secrets that are going on behind locked doors including babies born out of wedlock and the destruction that leads to for the mother but not the father. Understandably, she struggles with how to handle some of these situations.

I am going to diverge for a moment and talk about our author. Ariel Lawhon is a Christian, however, her story is not what we would call Christian Historical Fiction. The book does reference scripture in multiple places, and redemption and righting wrongs are at the heart of the text. However...

HEADS UP- The book deals with a lot of relationships behind closed doors. That being said there are no intimate details to encounters. Ballard, herself, enjoys a robust relationship with her husband, again with no intimate details. There is a very small sprinkle of curse words. There are also a couple of what I would call crass words.