In the winter of 1789, the Kennebec River froze solid early, trapping a dead body in the ice near the town of Hallowell. Midwife Martha Ballard is the first to examine the dead man, who has been beaten and hanged — and given that he was also a rapist, deservedly so. However, nobody in the small town knows (or at least is willing to reveal) who killed the man and Martha doesn't trust the loose judicial system to find the real culprit, so in the course of her work around town, Martha starts her own investigation. In such a small town, it's hard to keep a secret, yet Martha manages to unearth a lot of shocking ones, including some that threaten her family's livelihood and the lives of her patients.
Martha Ballard was a real woman, an amazing midwife who managed to deliver more than a thousand babies without ever losing a mother to childbirth (quite the feat at that time!) and took meticulous notes. This book is loosely based on her life and some real events that took place in Hallowell, Maine in the late 1700s. It's masterfully told, and makes me want to learn more about Ballard. If you enjoyed the Outlander series, you'll likely dig this one too.
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