The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon Summary

The Frozen River by Ariel is a historical mystery novel based on Martha Ballard’s real-life diary of the eighteenth-century Massachusetts midwife who turns herself into an amateur detective to solve a brutally violent crime that took place in her community. Maine, 1789. : The ice on the Kennebec River takes a man to his death deep and congeals him in place.

Having been summoned to examine the body and make conclusions on the cause of death, Martha Ballard stands a chance of dying before she completes her task. Since Martha is the local midwife and healer, she knows how to keep her mouth shut. Her diary reflects all the births and deaths, the murders, and the blunders happening in the town of Hallowell. In that diary, she also reported the details of a rape that she claimed to have been raped four months back.

And now one of the men accused of that heinous attack is found lying down, frozen, in the ice. As tight and airtight as far as Martha is concerned, she is convinced to the point that she has all the answers to what went down that fateful night whereby the act of rape was committed and to the two crimes she is too convinced that there is than meets the eye.

As the trial proceeds and the winter turns long and cold, the rumors and suspicions around H’s conduct increase, and so the diaries of Martha become the focus of scandal and the breaking point of both her family and her community. In his new book, Ariel Lawhon tells the story of an unsung heroine who was brave and tender and fought for justice only for victims nobody cared. The Frozen River is an enthralling, nerve-wracking, and heart-touching story of a woman who dared to fight and, in the process, created history for American citizens.