The Frozen River

"Dig your crime novels blanketed with a late 18th-century, New England snow? How about with a capable, middle-aged midwife in the role of detective, telling the men in power things they absolutely do not want to hear? This compelling story begins in a river community in Maine with a body frozen in the ice; it unspools with the alleged assault of a minister’s wife. This is a most uncozy mystery that addresses the unbalanced power dynamics of men and women, rich and poor. Bonus: The character of the midwife and some plot points are based on a real person, Martha Ballard. Not quite true crime but true enough!"