I have really enjoyed this series, and Tolsma brings another wonderful story to the table. Tolsma's stories are always rich in history and emotion, and I was curious how that would come into play with a true crime plot line. Not to worry, in true Tolsma fashion, it's all there. And dare I say it opened my eyes to some things I wasn't expecting!

I received a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first story by the author, Liz Tolsma. I was cautiously intrigued by the story line, however, I gave it a try. I found the story hard to read. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the writing style; hard to say which.

*I received a copy free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. What I have expressed are entirely my own thoughts.*

What a story. I’ve not heard much about Georgia Tann, but what she did was despicable. For the book, it was filled with heart and a mother’s love.

I had read a book earlier this year about this same topic, this same woman, Ms. Georgia Tann, and it was wonderful. This book added more layers onto the book I originally read and was the “icing on the cake.” What a sad book; yet there was hope throughout as well. I love the characters; I loved the scenery and setting; I loved the storylines throughout and I loved how it made me feel as though I was right there. I highly recommend this book; although be prepared to have your heart ripped out throughout the pages as you feel what the characters are feeling as though you’re living it yourself.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions were strictly my own.

This is the second book in this series and, oh, how it grabbed my heart! A true crime story, this book focuses on a missing child. It's the 1930's and Memphis Tennessee Children's Home Society has some major issues happening. Georgia Tann is historical, as is what happened to the children in this situation. It's shocking and heartbreaking and it also made a superb book for this series! How could I say that? Because it shows up a strong fight for freedom. When good wins over evil, or you at least expose everything in the fight to try to do so. I was deeply moved by this story, and I'm so glad that the author picked it and put it in this series,

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my copy of this book. This review is all mine. A positive review is never required,

This is an incredible fictional story based on true crime!

I love both Cecile Dowd and Percy Vance. They are so well developed that I felt like I truly came to know them. Their relationship was forged in the midst of a intense trial that changed their whole lives.

The plot captured my attention from the very beginning. My heart broke for all of the women whose children were taken by Georgia Tann. She was truly evil personified.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

This book falls in line with “Before We Your Yours” by Lisa Wingate. I thought the book was very beautifully written and accurately describe the whole situation with Georgia Tann. There was a little bit of everything in this book for everyone – romance, history, intrigue, drama. Tolsma wrote this book in a way that makes it easy to hate Georgia Tann, love and feel bad for little Mille, as well as her mother, Cecile. This goes to show that what Tann was doing with the adoption ring not only affected the children but ripped apart children and their parents. This was brought out well in this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5

This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Barbour Books in exchange for a review.

DNF, not my style of book. I liked The White City okay but the rest of the True Colors are just not doing it for me.

I enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me of "Before we were yours". My heart broke for Cecile and Millie Mae. It is sad to know that is based on actual incidents

Wow, what a story The Pink Bonnet is! If you've previously read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, the name Georgia Tann will be familiar. This was well written and I couldn't put it down. I hour to read more from Liz Tolsma in the furore.

This book was about Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society as told by a mother whose child was stolen. The topic is definitely upsetting but the story didn’t flow as well as it could have. It seemed to jump all over the place.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I must say that I enjoyed this book much more than the first book in the True Colors series. The story is more compelling and emotional. Knowing this fictional tale is based on true events is heartbreaking and moving. The Christian aspect was integrated better, a bit more realistic about prayer and need than the other book.
Overall, the book loses a star for a stereotypical romance and in the inability to make strong women work together for a common goal.

This story is fiction told from the point of view of a mother whose child was stolen. I had a hard time getting fully invested in the book, as it felt a little choppy and disjointed to me. At times I felt the action was forced and didn’t flow well, and some of the scenes seemed unrealistic. That said, Tolsma did a good job of describing some of the horrors that occurred under Tann’s reign of terror.

Before reading this book I was vaguely familiar with the story of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society but I had no concept of the evil that occurred in this agency over the course of 26 years. There were over five thousand children kidnapped during that time for the sole purpose of being sold to the highest bidder. Parents in Memphis had to make sure that their children weren't left alone because of this dangerous woman who wasn't above kidnapping a child as they walked down the street or played in the park. Georgia Tann somehow convinced the public that she was acting in the best interest of the children because of neglect from their natural parents and she and her crooked allies terrorized Memphis and the surrounding area from 1924-1950.
Author Liz Tolsma uses these true facts as the basis for her new novel, The Pink Bonnet. It is the summer of 1933 when widow Cecile Dodd leaves her three year old daughter with a neighbor for a few hours and returns to find her daughter gone. Over the course of the next few months Cecile desperately searches for Millie Mae and it appears that she may never find her little girl again. With the help of lawyer Percy Vance, Cecile follows clue after clue and each time that she thinks she may have found her daughter, another roadblock appears.
The Pink Bonnet is fiction but it is based on the historical facts of this horrendous crime spree and the author really kept me in suspense . There are three different families with little girls who had recently been adopted and I was kept guessing until the very end to see if one of them was actually Millie Mae Dodd.
This story is filled with terror, human suffering, and intense mental anguish but it also shows the fierce determination of a mother desperate to find her little girl. It also reminds us that the deepest childhood hurts can be reconciled by the mercy and peace that comes from knowing a loving Heavenly Father. Percy Vance realizes that 'For the first time in his life, that heavy weight of not belonging, of not having a family, lifted from his chest because he belonged to the family of God.' (p. 239)
I recommend The Pink Bonnet to all who enjoy historical Christian fiction, mysteries and true crime stories but I must advise you that this isn't always an easy book to read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

While adoption is a beautiful thing, there is a sad side to adoption. There is grief. Adoption is a result of living in a fallen world.

What happens when there are corrupt people in authority? What happens when judges and others are not upholding truth and justice but using their power for their own good. That was the 1930’s in Memphis. I think in this day and age it is hard to think of what life would be like then. Not just corrupt but also the Depression. That was the time and place where Cecile Dowd lived.

The book needs to be read through Cecile’s eyes. She is a widow, alone with no family, trying to care for a three-year-old daughter. Then her daughter is gone. A neighbor has a part to play in that. Now Cecile is trying in a corrupt environment to find her daughter. Where can she get help? What does she do? Will she continue when it is difficult?

To find someone in that time and place that slowly begins sees the truth and is willing to take the risk to help is amazing. Everyone needs someone like that. Cecile found him and not the person that you might think but to see the help he brings is wonderful.

So for us today be the person that will speak up for those in difficult situations and do what is right to help those who need help.

After reading The White City by Grace Hitchcock and loving the way that the author fictionalized but still explained the crime of the time, I enjoyed it so much that I went out and found out more information about H.H Holmes. I also went out and grabbed the rest of the series of True Colors. The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma tells the story of Georgia Tann aka Miss Tann who ran the Tennessee Children's Home. She was named the Baby Thief as she would snatch children out of what she called "neglectful situations" and sell them in illegal adoptions. Most of the children did come from bad situations and she saved a few, but the majority were kidnapped from their parents. In The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma, we meet Cecile Dowd and her three-year-old daughter Millie Mae. Cecile's husband Nate has passed away and she is working and trying to be a great mother especially during the current Depression sweeping the States as this book is set in the 1930s. Cecile leaves her daughter with their neighbor one morning while running errands, only to discover her daughter has been kidnapped by Miss Tann when she gets back. The Pink Bonnet will follow Cecile's journey as dangerous as it will be to get her daughter Millie back safe and sound. Her journey will be a rocky one especially since Miss Tann has a lot of powerful and influential not to mention dangerous on her side. Will Cecile ever find her daughter again or has Millie been lost forever? I am now looking forward to reading more of the books in the True Colors series and learning more about Miss Tann. The True Colors series are perfect for any crime buff around and since the accounts are fictionalized, the books are easy to read and enjoyable.

It is so disturbing that this book is based on true events that actually happened, here, in the United States where this bad stuff should never happen. When Cecile Dowd is at work, her neighbor thought she would do her a favor and gave her daughter to an orphanage until Cecile could get back on her feet. Unfortunately, her daughter is sold. The lawyer for Georgia Tann realized what a mistake he has made working for her and he starts work with Cecile to get her daughter back. Very good story.

The Pink Bonnet is the second book the the True Crime series and I thought it was rather good. The story itself was heartbreaking, seeing that it was true, that that type of thing really did happen. I think that fact made this book all the more heartbreaking and thrilling.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. As said above, I loved the storyline and I thought the author did an amazing job of bringing a real life mystery to life. Despite this, I was not a big fan of the characters. They were human and flawed, yes, but I didn’t find them very realistic. There also seemed to be some inconsistency with how they acted. The mother, for example, is a strong, stubborn woman who won’t let anything stop her at one point, and then the next, she’s a mess of tears and hysteria because of a misunderstanding. Now I do take into account that her daughter was kidnapped and that surely played into the emotion swings, but it still didn’t seem to be very realistic.

All in all, though, I did think the storyline was well written and I found it fascinating that this book was based off a real mystery. The main issue I had was with the characters, their inconsistency, and really the way they acted at some points.

**I received a complementary copy of this book via Celebrate Lit tours. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own, though. **

If you’ve read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, you are aware of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society historic scandal. (If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.) Liz Tolsma’s The Pink Bonnet, the second True Colors novel, again revisits this tragic history, but from the perspective of a mother in search of her child.

Cecile Dowd is a young widow, and though she loves her Millie Mae very much, most days it is a struggle to provide for her. After a neighbor allows Millie Mae to be taken by Tann, Cecile has no choice but to find her. Her desperate search leads to startling, heartbreaking revelations, especially when Tann’s lawyer Percy Vance sees the truth.

A solid historical story with a bit of romance, The Pink Bonnet has great moments of suspense. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to more from the True Colors series.

Interesting atmospheric thriller set in the 1920s. Slow build to a really creepy story. I have annoyed the previous novels in the True Colors series of historic American crime. This one really captured a sense of time and place with tremendous suspense.

Thank you to Barbour Books and Net Galley for the Advance Copy.