Abstract to the book "The Icy River" by Lohen A.: 1789. Neighbors respect Martha Ballard, a midwife from the small town of Hallowell in Maine, not only for her knowledge of medicine and strong character, but also for her ability to keep secrets, so necessary in a strict Puritanical society. Therefore, when a man's body is found under the ice of the river in the middle of winter, Martha is the first to be called to examine the body. The deceased is Joshua Burgess, who, along with city judge Joseph North, was recently accused of raping the wife of preacher Rebecca Foster. Martha, who took care of the victim, is both a witness and a confidant of Rebecca, and she suspects that the death of the rapist is not accidental and there is something more behind it… Read more…