Tuesday, August 27, 2019

"The Yellow Lantern" by Angie Dicken -- Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway

About the Book

Book: The Yellow Lantern
Author: Angie Dicken
Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense
Release Date: August, 2019
The Yellow Lattern CoverJosephine Is Forced to Spy for Grave Robbers
Step into True Colors—a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime
In Massachusetts in 1824, Josephine Clayton awakes on the table of the doctor she’s assisted all these months. She was presumed dead by all and has become the doctor’s next corpse for his medical research. Frightened, the doctor tries to kill her, but Josephine begs to be spared. A deal is struck—Josie will leave her village and work at a distant cotton mill. All the while, she’ll await her true mission—posing as a mourner to help his body snatcher procure her replacement. At the mill though, Josie is praised for her medical remedies among the mill girls, gaining attention from the handsome factory manager Braham Taylor. Yet, when Braham’s own loved one becomes the prey for the next grave robbing, Josie must make a choice that could put her dark past behind her or steal away the promise of any future at all.
What price will Josie pay for love when her secrets begin to unravel?
My Thoughts
 "The Yellow Lantern" is different from the first two books in the True Colors series in that it is based on a collection of similar events (grave robbing) rather than a specific person who committed crimes like the first two books were. It is sort of sad to realize that medical advancement had to come with the cost of stolen bodies. It took me awhile to get into this story. I was confused as to what Josie's role was supposed to be. How was posing as a mourner for the person who died supposed to help the grave robbers when they were the ones who told her that they had died in the first place. It wasn't until Josie actually assisted that I finally understood what her role was. I also wasn't really sure what Mr. Clayton's crime was or where his debt was coming from. I liked Braham and how his insecurities were realistic. I, however, didn't have a clear picture of what his past was. It mentioned indentured servitude, but then it also talked about the slave master. Was his dad a slave or a servant? Once the story reached the point of Josie's first "grave robbing" experience, the book drew me in more. The pace seemed to pick up then and kept my attention better, although I felt like it sort of ended without wrapping up some of the things, like what happened with the will and the ring leaders of the network? I look forward to reading more books in this series. 

About the Author

AngieDickenAngie Dicken credits her love of story to reading British literature during life as a military kid in England. Now living in the U.S. heartland, she’s a member of ACFW, sharing about author life with her fellow Alley Cats on The Writer’s Alley blog and Facebook page. Besides writing, she is a busy mom of four and works in Adult Ministry. Angie enjoys eclectic new restaurants, authentic conversation with friends, and date nights with her Texas Aggie husband. Connect with her online at www.angiedicken.com.

More from Angie

Barbour’s True Colors Crime concept intrigued me from the very beginning. Being the daughter of a doctor and discovering the ties of grave robbing to the early medical profession, I was excited to dive deep into 19th century Massachusetts. Grave robbing around Boston and New York was often employed by doctors desperate for medical advancement. Men and women were both involved in the procuring of bodies for doctors. Finding these accounts led me to take took a look at the current medical remedies of the time—tinctures, elixirs, and herbal concoctions. My heroine was created in the tension of a desire to heal and the desperation of medical pursuits.
Amidst these medical ties to the historical moment of 1824, something was also shifting among women in rural areas of New England. Many women were employed by newly built cotton mills (Lowell Mill was my inspiration for the fictional Gloughton Mill in The Yellow Lantern). These working opportunities for women offered an escape from their home-bound lives and the rare chance for independence. Of course, with such industrial environments, injuries, and sometimes death, would occur. Noting the accounts of these kind of fatalities in historical articles, my research came full circle.
I found three strong threads to weave into my grave-robbing story—desperate doctors in need of research, a doctor’s assistant needing an escape from her village, and a mill, not only offering that escape, but the chance at bodies for the desperate medical community.
My heroine, Josie Clay, found life in the tangle of these threads of mills, medicine, and grave robbing—all playing out within the pages of The Yellow Lantern.

Blog Stops

Genesis 5020, August 15
All-of-a-kind Mom, August 15
Bigreadersite, August 16
Emily Yager, August 16
Kathleen Denly, August 19
Simple Harvest Reads, August 21 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Godly Book Reviews, August 21
A Reader’s Brain, August 21
Betti Mace, August 22
Hallie Reads, August 23
Mary Hake, August 23
Pause for Tales, August 25
amandainpa, August 26
Texas Book-aholic, August 27
janicesbookreviews, August 27
Back Porch Reads, August 28

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Angie is giving away a grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of each of the books in the series!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

"The Yellow Lantern" is available in paperback:
  • Series: True Colors
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Barbour Books (August 1, 2019)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1643520830
  • ISBN-13: 978-1643520834
  • Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches


and in Kindle edition:
  • File Size: 1882 KB
  • Print Length: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Barbour Books (August 1, 2019)
  • Publication Date: July 15, 2019
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07Q84YWFG


I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

2 comments:

Anne Payne said...

Intriguing story line!

James Robert said...

Thanks for sharing your book with us. I think we all enjoy hearing about new books we previously didn't know about. Also, thank you for the giveaway.