Our 2025 Book: Frozen River

Please take this quick 5-minute survey for a chance to win a copy of The Frozen River, the 2025 One Book, One Sioux County selection. We want to know what you think!

Mark your calendars: 2025’s main event will be on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at Northwest Iowa Community College.

About the Book The Frozen River

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

About the Author Ariel Lawhon

Ariel Lawhon is a critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her novels include: The Wife the Maid and the Mistress; Flight of Dreams; I Was Anastasia; Code Name Hélène; The Frozen River; and When We Had Wings (co-written with Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner). Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, Indie Next, Costco, Amazon Spotlight, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. She splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.