“The Frozen River” is a novel by Ariel Lawhon, published on December 5, 2023¹. The book is a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history¹.

The story is set in Maine, 1789, when the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice¹. Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine the cause of death¹. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell¹. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community¹.