I enjoyed this story immensely. This story is set in 1789 Maine and follows perspective of Martha Ballard, a midwife of over 30 years who is called upon to perform an autopsy of a body found in the river that was frozen over. 

This story is set up a small town mystery with many characters that have their own backstories and histories that link with Martha’s. Doctor, a Black woman from France, was a cool character that I look forward to doing for research about in the future! 

I enjoyed seeing how her love for the people in the town and, particularly, her family motivated her to bring people who have done wrong to be brought to justice. 

I continually thought about this book whenever I wasn’t reading and kept looking forward to picking it up again. The fact that this story is based on a little known midwife made it all the more compelling for me. 

CW: sexual assault, depictions of hanging, violent acts

🌶️: pg. 155, 349 (sexual references), pg. 223, 337 (fade-to-black)