This month’s book club goes back in time to late 1700s Maine and Ariel Lawhon’s novel The Frozen River. Lawhon based her historical murder mystery upon the journal entries of real life midwife Martha Ballard. Martha delivered over 800 babies and was called as an expert witness in many court proceedings, most notably the rape case against Judge Joseph North, which is the central controversy in the novel.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Jane Oppenheimer.

What I liked about The Frozen River

The plot moved quickly right from the start when two men discover a battered body in the quickly freezing river, and Martha Ballard examines the dead man. It’s obvious to her, and others, someone murdered him. Lawhon expertly created many likely suspects as the story unfolded.

A strong, likeable character with a will of steel, Martha is happily married with six children of her own, ranging from 11 to 30 years old. The dynamics between her, her husband, and her children are realistic, enduring, and, at times stressful as it is with all families. She has a firm moral compass, which wavers when justice fails and causes tension between her and her husband.

Lawhon conducted an incredible amount of research for this book. I enjoyed learning about the midwifery, candle making, legal system, and more. The historical aspects weren’t superfluous, but instead were necessary to the story and woven in expertly.

What I didn’t like about the novel

Judge North is what my editor calls a mustache-twirling villain–raping, pilfering, running away from trouble. He has no redeeming qualities. When writing drafts of my novels, I tend to create incredibly evil characters (it’s so much fun to do) and then add a human element later, making their actions more understandable and creating empathy for them. Lawhon hasn’t done this with North.

Also, there’s a lot of premarital sex in this book–it seems like every character does it. I wondered how accurate this was. Additionally, rape is very prevalent. Is this also accurate?

Jane Oppenheimer does a decent job of narrating the audiobook, but her male characters aren’t quite as good. This wasn’t enough to turn me off the book though.

I wanted more (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

I’d love to see a movie version of this book and am pleased to learn that it’s been optioned by Maven Screen Media and is in the early stages of production as a feature film.

How has the novel affected my writing

I’ll strive to ensure that every detail in my books serves a purpose, whether in the moment or in later chapters. I’m also open exploring the life of a little-known heroic figure and novelizing their life. Any suggestions?

The Frozen River gets 👍🏻  👍🏻 👍🏻  👍🏻 

for expertly inserting me into the Maine in the late 1700s.