It’s the 1700s, a body is found in the frozen river, and the local midwife seems to be the only one asking the right questions.

The Story for ‘The Frozen River’

Martha Ballard was a real midwife centuries ago. She kept a journal documenting her work, the weather, and parts of her life. The author took what she knew about this actual woman, and created a beautifully written mystery inspired by true events.

We start the book with a body found in the ice. No one seems to be mourning the man who appears to have been beat, hung, and tossed into the icy cold water. He had recently been accused of rape. While many wanted him dead, no one knows who did it. However, the only person who is making assessments and asking the right people the right questions is the local midwife.

Throughout this novel we learn more about the town, its people, and this who dunnit via the many births that “Mistress Ballard” attends. As well as the court proceedings surrounding the “alleged rape” as the deceased is not the only accused. While, Martha Ballard learns more about the events surrounding both the rape and the murder, she’s the only one who begins to put the pieces together. All while uncovering another crime right under her nose. All of which seem to be connected.

Overall Grade: 9/10

While my go to books are Stephen King, horror, Star Wars, or Supernatural (the CW show), I was hesitant to grab this one, but it came highly recommended by more than one friend who knows me very well. So I grabbed it, and was instantly sucked in. From beginning to end I was fully engaged. Not only was I sucked into the mystery of it all, but it was interesting reading from the viewpoint of a woman who lived centuries before me during America’s infancy. Many woman couldn’t read then, and many men were still bearing both physical and emotional scars from fighting in the ‘Revolutionary War,’ and the ‘French and Indian War.’

At a time when America and the constitution were new, and forensics weren’t a thing, solving a murder, or proving a rape seemed near impossible. However, despite the advancements in both law and science today, we still face some of the same problems: believing women. Martha appears to be a woman ahead of her time, but really she was just a strong woman living in a more oppressive time. They’ve always existed, and they’re always underestimated.

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