Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River is an intense and eye-opening piece of historical fiction set in the brutal winter of 1789, in the town of Hallowell, Maine. It’s a suspenseful mystery based on the real-life diary of Martha Ballard—a well-known and respected midwife, healer, and self-appointed community investigator. We appreciate novels that are meticulously researched
This multi-century novel by Daniel Mason is a sweeping story that chronicle the history of a single location in the forests of Western Massachusetts from the 17th century to the present day. Rather than focusing on a single family, the narrative follows a “yellow house” as it acts as a silent witness to a succession
Unlike our other entries, this 2025 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid in not set in New England. But I recently read it, and wanted to mention it. It’s an emotionally resonant, high-stakes drama set against the backdrop of NASA’s space shuttle program in the early 1980s. The novel delves into the lives of the first
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel is a classic New England Gothic romance, exploring inherited guilt, retribution, and atonement. The story centers around the aristocratic Pyncheon family in Salem, and a dark mansion built by Colonel Pyncheon on land stolen from an accused wizard Matthew Maule. It carries a generational curse: “God will give him blood to
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This one is a true classic. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 work, The Scarlet Letter, is considered by many to be a masterpiece of its time. The book remains a popular assignment in high school and college, and is a cornerstone of American literature, providing a haunting look into the heart of 17th-century Puritan Boston. Often cited
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The Winthrop Woman was quite a popular book when it appeared in 1958, but it’s one of those books that is forgotten by many, except for some die-hard fans. It’s worth a look because it’s a meticulously researched historical novel detailing the life of Elizabeth Fones, a startlingly independent woman defying the rigid, dogmatic Puritan
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In the autumn of 1891, four lives are on an intersecting course, and the results could be deadly. After being swept away by a flood, Amanda Grant tries to find shelter in a strange wilderness. She is offered refuge in a place called Angel Falls. But the dream-like landscape is not what it seems. Union
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It’s the late summer of 1891. After fleeing Montana to escape a corrupt lover, Amanda Malcom finds herself lost and abandoned on the plains of Wyoming. She must deftly avoid those who pursue her, while attempting to return to civilization. That will mean forming strange partnerships to carry her through some very dark moments –
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Amanda Malcom has stood by her friend and lover Jeb Thomas through some harrowing times. But their arrangement grows strained as they head west. When they reach the rugged copper mines of Montana, she comes face to face with violence and decadence. It quickly sinks in that she may have made a terrible choice. In
