I had to rate this marvelous book using a “category’ of ‘literary historical mystery.’ The history is generally good quality for contemporary fiction and the mystery is excellent. I rated the literary aspect because the history is so well used and there are occasional quotes from Shakespeare and other influential English authors.  Also, the language and style is wonderful when Lawhon describes the still somewhat wild natural environment and there is also some symbolism used quite effectively.  Lawton usually writes historical fiction and has 10 books in that general category, as well as a nice following. 

The Frozen River 
by Ariel Lawhorn 
Read by Jane Oppenheimer, 15h 5m
Rating: 8.5/A – literary historical mystery  

This book is definitely “fiction, inspired by the true story” of Martha Ballard as written by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s “A Midwife’s Tale” and which won her a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1991 (and which I’ve started).

In reading that Wikipedia piece (after finishing the The Frozen River) I realize that a LOT more of the plot, more than I thought, really happened and was noted in Ballard’s diary (Ulrich’s book). Over a period of 27 years, she wrote more than 14,000 pages!  (Stay tuned – I’ve just started the Ulrich – both Audio and Kindle. )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Ballar

The actual diaries are available at: https://dohistory.org/home.html (and I’m not even going to try to read them.)

Of course there’s a lot of fiction in Lawton’s book, but because she’s published 9 books of historical fiction prior to this one she’s pretty good and has a nice following. (I might try another book!)

So, and this is written without any criticism from me whatsoever, The Frozen River is obviously and nicely intended for contemporary readers. It was inspired by an actual Pulitzer Prize winning history book (“A Midwife’s Tale“) which used Martha Ballard’s diary and contents as its central subject. In other words – although it’s thoroughly grounded in historical evidence, the novel has plots for today’s readers and a heroine with whom they will identify. The heroine in these sorts of books often takes on the viewpoints of the readers in order for the author to gain reader sympathy. also Lawhon has lovely descriptions of the natural environment including a fox which could be symbolic.

The setting is Kennebec Valley, Maine, November, 1789 where Martha Ballard, a middle aged married woman works as a midwife and has a husband and 5 grown or nearly grown children of her own . Her husband and boys run a sawmill. Except for a few back stories the tale is told in a linear fashion.

After a community dance a dead body is found trapped under the new ice of the river. Martha, being a midwife, knows more about medicine and general doctoring than most folks in the community so, after he’s dragged out, she is called on for assistance until the authorities or professionals can arrive. When they do the opinions start to get mushy – accident? murder? hanging? Lots of people seem to have had grudges against this young man.

Yes, a few courtship rituals are described some medicine and It is a bit different for our protagonist who says, “Having a child out of wedlock does not make you a whore.”

Another quote: “Our Puritan fathers would have us believe that = love making rarely happens outside the marriage bed, but I know better than most that  it rately happens, for the first time at least, within that bed.” –    (Chapter “Darwin’s Wharf Monday January 18”)  

BUT! That said, don’t be so sure we in the 21st century don’t have our own prejudices. Here’s the Washington Post review of the Ulrich’s book including some statistics about illegitimate births in the 18th century and now.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1991/01/08/unwed-motherhood-insights-from-the-colonial-era/14ff7ff2-d03d-4552-86c5-73b8c15341b0/

There are other crimes in this small town area and fraud is a big one in this book – it’s from the diary. And there are courtroom scenes which are tense and twisty.

There’s the murder of course – but there are also some interesting courtroom scenes in various locations  up there in the wilderness of central Maine.    
One refreshing aspect of this book is that it appears to lack the anachronisms common to many other historical novels aimed at women.