The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

October 2, 2025

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Martha Ballard is a midwife who also acts as healer and coroner for the small community of Hallowell, Maine. When a body is pulled from the river, Martha is called to examine the corpse and determine the cause of death. She soon discovers that the man was murdered and then thrown in the river. But the case becomes more complicated when she learns that the dead man along with another of the town's prominent citizens had been accused of rape.

Based on the diary of a midwife in 18th century Maine. Martha's diary was at first discounted as not being of any historical importance since most of her entries record the daily life of an 18th century woman, which were wonderfully adapted by the author. But it also contains glimpses of the world around her, particularly where the law in concerned. She refers to her husband's friend Paul, who turns out to be Paul Revere (yes, that Paul Revere). Revere actually borrowed a horse from Martha's husband Ephraim to make his famous ride. I listened to the audiobook of this historical novel, and I can see that it might be a slog to read since story moves as slowly as a frozen river thawing. Possible triggers include descriptions of rape, misogyny, and injustice. Will appeal to readers who enjoy reading about strong yet little known female characters.

Sawmill circa 18th c.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

February 25, 2023

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

After divorcing her abusive husband 12 years earlier, Olivia McAfee and her son Asher live a quiet life in New Hampshire. Olivia has a successful beekeeping business, and her son is a high school senior and star hockey player. When Asher's girlfriend is found dead, Asher is accused of murder. But in the course of the trial, unexpected facts are revealed that point to another suspect.

Picoult once again takes on current topics, including domestic violence, abusive fathers, and gender reassignment/correction. I believe this is her first collaboration with another author for a full-length novel. Like most of her books, the reader is seeking answers most of the way through the book (although I guessed the truth shortly after Lily, the girlfriend, is discovered at the foot of the stairs). The characters backstories are gradually revealed in flashbacks; Lily's story is told backward, from the day of her death to the time she and her mother moved to New Hampshire. Olivia's history with her abusive doctor husband isn't much of a surprise (you never know what's going on inside a marriage), but the episodes of abuse go on longer than necessary - does the reader need to hear about EVERY time Brandon abused Olivia? I also got tired of the teenaged angst (why hasn't he called me? did she break up with me? does he still like me? is she sorry she slept with me? Lotsa drama), and there was a lot of repetition. Really, the book could have been 100 pages shorter without damaging the narrative, and considering how long the book was, there was no resolution with either of the fathers - one minute they're part of the story, and the next minute they're just gone. I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story got more interesting about halfway in. I listened to the audiobook which had two different narrators for Olivia and Lily. 

The parts about bees and beekeeping were interesting, and often had parallels to the story. Mad honey is apparently a type of honey that can make you very sick or affect your mind if you eat it. Personally, I don't like the taste of honey (although I have a honey and orange blossom shampoo from Beekman 1802 that smells divine), and I have a mild allergy to bee stings.

This would be an excellent choice for a book club since there are many topics to discuss. Recommended.

Different types of beehives