This was a book that brought to life a very difficult time in Memphis, with evil cruising the streets, no child was safe.  I have read books about the Memphis Children's Society before, but never one that brings it to quite so personal of a level.

The story is about young widow, Cecile Dawd, and her three-year-old daughter, Millie Mae.  When times get tough for Cecile she goes looking for work leaving her daughter in the care of an elderly neighbor.  Never did it occur to her that her neighbor would call Georgia Tann and give her daughter away.  Cecile does not give up and is determined to find her daughter, no matter what.  When she meets Tann's legal assistant, Percy, she is more than outraged that he helped take her child, but then he realizes that what he did was wrong and helps Cecile try to find Millie Mae.  Their attempts are great, but it seems Tann is always one step ahead of them, and hinders Cecile from finding her daughter.  

This was a book that brought the time of the Memphis Children's Society to a more personal level, especially being a mother.  The emotions, the roadblocks, the feeling of defeat in not having or being able to find your child.  And to think there were so many that could not find their children.

I am loving this new mystery series and cannot wait to read the next.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I definitely felt for the poor widowed mother who lost her daughter. Until reading this book, I knew nothing of Miss Tan or the Tennessee Children's Home Society, so it was an eye-opening read to see that a place like that existed and that a person could be so cruel. I couldn't believe that she was able to steal and kidnap children just to sell them to richer families who wanted a child. I couldn't imagine being that mean, and I wonder if the families knew they were technically getting kidnapped children, not true orphans.

The single best thing about this book? It has a unique historical backdrop, one I haven't read about in fiction yet (let alone even heard of the whole affair before). It kept me pleasantly surprised as the story unfolded, as I had no clue whatsoever what was going to happen next. (A piece of history I don't know about? That's a bonus for me!)

Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based children's home, is snatching children right off the street, to sell them. Whoa! This is true stuff, people. Now, this particular story takes place in 1932. Cecile Dowd is now a single mom with a daughter, Millie Mae. Little three-year-old Millie Mae is taken... and just like that, Cecile goes on a manhunt to track down who took her daughter. Cecile enlists the help of the man who aids Georgia Tann in her kid-snatching endeavors. He's turning a new leaf it would seem, and he has access to the information.

The writing style is fairly good. The setting is super intriguing to me. Plus, it's true crime fictionalized AND falls under the Christian fiction genre? Yep, I just had to pick it up.

I love the premise of this series in basing stories upon true crimes. The Pink Bonnet is the second one in the series. I was previously exposed to the crimes of Georgia Tann through a novel by Lisa Wingate. Simply horrendous what happened to children and families at the hands of one woman over decades. While the crime itself is fascinating, I found some details of the fictional story line to not be fully plausible. Overall, it was a good novel and I look forward to the next in the series.

Love love love this series!!! It's managed to tie together several of my favorite things: true crime, historical fiction, and Christian fiction. Highly recommended!

This book is heartbreaking, and yet an excellent work of fiction. The history is sadly fascinating. I loved the perseverance of the main character!

The Pink Bonnet is part of Barbour Publishing’s new true crime series, which makes this statement from the front matter a little laughable:

"This book is a work of fiction … Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental."

Um, no. The Pink Bonnet is a fictional story based on the real-life Georgia Tann of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, and her kidnapping and sale of babies and children in adoption between 1924 and 1950. Tann was aided in as many as 5,000 illegal adoptions by a lawyer, a judge, and a mayor.

Anyway …

I’ve previously read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, a dual timeline story which dealt with one fictional family broken by Georgia Tann’s misdeeds, so I knew The Pink Bonnet was going to touch on the tough subject of adoption. Liz Tolsma was an excellent choice to write this story, as she’s an adoptive parent herself, so understands some of the issues firsthand.

The Pink Bonnet is the story of widow Cecile Dowd, whose three-year-old daughter is handed over to Georgia Tann by her neighbour, who was babysitting Millie Mae while Cecile ran an errand. Cecile will do anything to get her daughter back, but soon finds that logic and law aren’t on her side.

She needs help—which comes in the form of Percy Vance, one of Georgia Tann’s lawyers. Vance has his own reasons for supporting Tann’s adoption crusade. He begins to doubt Tann’s motives when he realises Mrs Dowd isn’t the uncaring and ignorant mother Tann portrayed.

This turns The Pink Bonnet into what could have been a run-of-the-mill romantic suspense chase to find Millie May. Instead, the author adds a layer of complexity by introducing two families who have recently adopted girls from Tann—girls they soon come to love. Is Millie one of these girls? Which one? And what will happen if and when Cecile Dowd finds her daughter?

There are no easy answers. I’ve read one previous novel in Barbour’s true crime series, The White City by Grace Hitchcock, the story of America’s first serial killer. In some ways I found that easier to read, because the author had injected touches of humour which kept the book from becoming too dark.

The Pink Bonnet had no such light-hearted moments, which increased the tension almost to the point of being unbearable (especially as I knew Georgia Tann was an evildoer who really did ruin thousands of lives). But it’s also an excellent novel that wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions about adoption.

The story is timely, given the news stories of ICE officials taking suspected illegal immigrants into custody—including reports of children being taken on their way to or from school … something Georgia Tann was known to do.

Overall, The Pink Bonnet is a well-written and thought-provoking story, but one that might hit too close to home for some readers given the subject matter. Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

This was a very sad story of how things actually happened in it’s time.  What a mother will go through, the lengths she will go to for her child. They are endless. A true mother never gives up on finding her child. This book will reach into your soul and yank out your heart. It has all the feels.

Very well written. Likable and unlikable characters. You will recognize some of the famous names too. This book will keep you on the edge.

Thank you #NetGalley for this book.

A 5 star book that I highly recommend.

The Pink Bonnet


What I think you should know: 

   The Pink Bonnet is the second book in the True Colors series, however it can be read as a stand alone because each book features a different true crime. This book contains a fictionalized tale about the dark side of adoption in the early 1930’s. It includes a real woman, Georgia Tann who an adoption in Memphis, Tennessee from 1924 to 1950.

What I wish I would have known:  

Just how very heartbreaking this book is. If you have ever loved a child you may find yourself wondering what you would do if you were in the shoes of Cecile . This book contains children who have been taken from their families, often times kidnapped or taken under false circumstances. 

Who I loved the most:
Cecile Dowd is such a strong mama, she was willing to go to the end of the earth to try to get back her baby.  While I grew to love Perry Vance my heart ached for RD. Griggs and his wife.  I also enjoyed how  Liz Tolsma, the author,  showed the darker side of politics and how far it reached.

Who will love this book( Just to name a few):
Fans of True Crime
Fans of Historical Fiction
Fans of Suspense

I received a complimentary copy for this book from Celebrate Lit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.

This is set in the early 1930s and the mother of a 3-year-old girl who is widowed. She is doing all she can to provide for her child and trusts her daughter to the care of children’s home. We find the director is known for the disappearance of many children. Her daughter ends up disappearing too. We go on the search along with her mother looking for this young child and hope they are reunited as a lawyer helps. The author does a wonderful job taking us through the journey and the emotions. Readers feel the mother’s determination to find her daughter and we are there in full suspense from start to finish. The author tells a fiction story of true crime happenings of the time providing readers an emotional picture of what parents had to deal with during that time and the heartache they felt.

It took me a bit to get into this book... but once I did I very much enjoyed it. I was shocked it was based on a true story... what a horrifying event for any parent/child to face!!

It's been some time since I read a Tolsma novel. But, let me tell you. This was a wonderful way to get back to her work! She took the perfect amount of true history and added beautiful details to it to turn this into an incredible, mysterious fictionalized novel. Definitely worthy of 4 stars and recommendations!

The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma is not the typical book I’d select. I usually am not drawn to mysteries, crime, or even covers like this one. However, when I read the description I just couldn’t stay away. Then when I realized it was “based on strange-but-true history” I was riveted. The story had me locked in quickly, the first few pages dove right into the excitement which led to this being a very quick read.

Something sinister overshadows the Tennessee Children’s Home Society

The main character Cecile Dowd is widowed and struggling during the great depression, I don’t necessarily relate to her circumstances themselves; but the description of her child Millie and how she felt as a mother with a busy toddler who just can’t stay out of mischief… that I could relate to. I think this fact is why when the story takes a dark turn and Millie falls into the “clutches of Georgia Tann the corrupt Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society director” I felt like my own child was in danger.

I loved how Tolsma weaved together the suspense, mystery, and adventure. Honestly I felt like the faith aspect did not play a major role and when it was mentioned it was more like a fleeting or added thought or sentiment. This didn’t bother me as I feel like faith can be that way in our lives sometimes. However, if someone picked this up to read a historical fiction or mystery not realizing it had a faith element they might be taken aback by the inserted spiritual thoughts, or if the reader selected intentionally to read a “Christian fiction” with hopes of being encouraged or challenged spiritually I didn’t feel this story provided that.

All that said the story itself was fascinating. It made me want to learn more about this terrible piece of history and I thoroughly appreciated the “Author’s Note” at the end which included pieces of what was real and what was added by the author for the sake of the story.

The story will whisk you away, and definitely enraptured me in the adventure and suspense of whether or not Cecile Dowd will ever be reunited with her daughter. 

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own.

The Pink Bonnet is one of six books in the True Colors series. The books in this series are based on historical stories of American crime. The true story that inspired The Pink Bonnet is shocking and hard to believe. From 1924 until 1950, a corrupt lady named Georgia Tann ran an adoption agency in Tennessee. She was involved in many illegal procedures including kidnapping thousands of children and selling them for outrageous prices. The Pink Bonnet uses some fictional characters, but instances like this really did happen by the hands of Georgia Tann. In this book, Cecile Dowd's daughter is kidnapped by Georgia Tann and Cecile will stop at nothing to get her daughter back. Nothing can stop a mother's love.

I was so surprised to find out that this book was based on real circumstances. This story is so sad to read as you think about the thousands of parents who suffered the loss of their children. The author did a good job of telling this story and building characters that felt real and relevant to this historical crime story. I have enjoyed this series and look forward to reading the next book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

This book, as well as a following book in the series, The Yellow Lantern, left me bored. I just could not get invested in the story and the first few chapters were difficult to figure out what was happening and who the characters were. There were many abrupt and confusing aspects to the story.  While the horrors that Georgia Tann inflicted on the children placed in her care were real, this book just did not appeal to me.

I guess the writing style is just not one I particularly enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Cecile Dowd is struggling to provide for her three-year-old daughter. Unwittingly trusting a neighbor puts little Millie Mae into the clutches of Georgia Tann, corrupt Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society director suspected of the disappearance of hundreds of children.

The writing style or something just didn't jive for me. The story seemed choppy and relied on Tann's pure evil to carry it.

2.75☆

This book along with the series I had kept seeing pop up in my searches for books coming out soon! The look of the book attracted me to it, so I read what it was about, I had heard of the Tennessee Children's Home Society before. So I jumped at the chance to read this book. This book captivated my attention from the beginning to the end! My heart went out to the characters and goes out to the children lost in real life to this sad, sad story.
In the book The Pink Bonnet. I loved how Cecile would not give up even when everyone including the police was against her. Cecile loved Millie so much that she never gave up, even when hope faltered she persisted. Her strong faith in God kept her going. Cecile's strong determination helped expose the cruelty and horribleness of Georgia Tann and her evil empire. Cecile is a woman worth admiring.
Percy was a man who had grown up without much and got caught up with the luxuries that he had been given for his lawyer services to Georgia Tann. But when he met Millie he began to question them. Percy showed great bravery in the fact that he gave up literally everything to try to help Cecile find Millie again.
Little Millie she was so brave and spunky. She never forgot her mother at all even when everyone around her tried to tell her that she was gone. Millie was a fighter and never gave up even when abused and stolen.
I highly recommend this book. It will teach you a lot and keep your attention from the first sentence to the very last!
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

What an intriguing take on this part of history. Cecile Dowd and her plight had my heart from the beginning. Percy, on the other hand, has some maturing to do, but I so enjoyed his character development!

The historical aspect is intriguing and grotesque as you wonder, how could this have happened? Definitely a great book worth discussing over.

I was both intrigued by this book and horrified that it is based on what really happened back in Memphis, Tennessee in 1932. This book kept me up reading almost all night and was the first thing I had to read in the morning! As much as it was an intense topic I enjoyed seeing the characters come together.

Next book to read in the True Colors Historical Stories of American Crime is The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dickin

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

The Pink Bonnet is a perfect companion read to Lisa Wingate's book Before We Were Yours.  Both books are about children who were kidnapped by Georgia Tann, the Tennessee Children's Home Society director.  During her tenure, Georgia Tann is estimated to have kidnapped over five thousand children between 1924 and 1950.  One thing that makes The Pink Bonnet stand apart from Before We Were Yours was that this author gave me a closer view of Georgia Tann and her evil ways.  Every time Georgia was featured in the book it was a cringe worthy performance and I doubt the author really had to exaggerate.  A person who is estimated to have kidnapped over five thousand children probably would be a horrible person to be around.  It's just surprising that she got that many people to look the other way when it came to protecting the lives of innocent children.  It would have been heartbreaking for families to have their children stolen from them and be told that you were unfit to parent them.  I like how the author even let you into the psychology of the flip side of the equation.  Many of the receiving parents justified their adoptions because they thought they were saving their adopted children from deplorable situations.  Little did they know, that many of these adopted children were actually kidnapped from loving families who unwillingly gave their consent for these adoptions.

I found this book to be highly suspenseful and riveting.  I actually read it in one day because it grabbed me from the beginning and never let up.  I just can't imagine having to live through the kind of experience that Cecile lived through and have so many people turn you away when you think they should be obligated to help you. (Cecile's 3 year old daughter was kidnapped by Georgia Tann.) This is the second book I have read in this new true crimes series and have found both books to be very entertaining.  I am looking forward to reading more books in the series. 

Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Pink Bonnet.  All thoughts expressed in this review are my honest opinions of this book.