How often do we ponder and wonder where our life has gone? Nothing stops moving, be it time, the seasons, evolution or as we look into the mirror, aging!

I spent 30 years as a librarian and now 12 years as a library volunteer. I lost count years ago of the number of books I have read. Since the start of the “I love a mystery book club” I read an average of three books a week which puts it at somewhere well over 700! I read a variety of genres, but my favorites are history and mystery.

Every once in a while you read a book that you cannot stop talking about. “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon is one of those. To my delight, it is a historical mystery based on the biography of Martha Ballard  (“A Midwife's Tale”). The novel  takes place in Hallowell, Maine in the year 1790. The story deals with Maine history, family and a murder in a small community.

Lawhon discovered Martha's story while sitting in her doctor's office and it sparked the idea for the book. Martha Ballard defied the legal system and wrote herself into American History. People Magazine says “Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine.” She certainly hit a vein because there are currently nearly 300 people on the waiting list for this gem!

If you like historical mysteries you might also try one of these:

• “The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel” by Douglas Brunt. Diesel was one of the world's greatest inventors. His disappearance from a ship on the eve of World War I is one great mystery.
  
  

• “The Secret Life of Sunflowers” by Marta Molnar is the true story of Johanna Bonger, the sister-in-law of Vincent Van Gogh. She had inherited his paintings which at the time were considered worthless. Although penniless  she somehow managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.
  
  

• “In Her Own Footsteps” by D.J. Richardson is a compelling story of Flora Ross and her struggles for identity and independence in the colonial west.
  
  

• “The Women” by Kristin Hannah tells the story of Francis McGrath, a young nurse in the service during the Vietnam War and what happens in her life once she returns home.

Happy reading mystery lovers!