THE FROZEN RIVER

Listeners will be launched back to the eighteenth century by this audiobook, inspired by the diary of the American midwife and healer Martha Ballard. The story weaves Ballard's journal through Lawhon's thrilling mystery of rape and murder. Jane Oppenheimer gives life to this first-person account, which includes birth, death, rape, and family, as well as the challenges of life in early America. Oppenheimer handles Martha's voice smoothly and uses tone and cadence to expertly deliver the dialogue of the other characters in the story. Complex, twisting, with flashbacks and diary entries, this clever novel is handled beautifully by Oppenheimer. Imagine "Call the Midwife" meets Maisie Dobbs, and sit back and enjoy the ride. C.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2024]