Frozen River – Lawhon Ariel (2025)

Maine, 1789. When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, midwife and healer Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine the cause of death. Through her work, she knows much of what happens behind the closed doors of Hallowell, and her diary records every birth and death, crime and scandal in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha had documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen, one of whom is now found dead in the ice. When a local physician dismisses her conclusion and declares the death an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder herself. As winter progresses, the trial approaches and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha relentlessly pursues the truth. Her diary becomes central to the scandal, implicating people she loves and forcing her to decide where her loyalties lie. Inspired by the life of the renowned eighteenth-century midwife Martha Ballard, this tense historical novel follows a remarkable woman who defies the legal system and refuses to be silenced in her pursuit of justice.