Well - I continued to have freeze issues - my workaround didn't last too long !
I logged onto to Steam's Community Forum and discovered that I was not alone so I asked the developer for some help. I got an immediate response from him and was advised to try this..... While in game, hit the "m" key on my keyboard which will disable the background music.
I did just that and have had no freeze issues at all. I even went back to replay the sections that gave me the problem and did not experience an issue!
Ok, so the mood of the game changes slightly - but I am continuing on without a freeze and hardly noticing the missing background noise.
If anyone is having the freeze issue, muting the background music by hitting the "m" key may help you too.
Happy Gaming !