The Pink Bonnet: True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime
(True Colors)
by Liz Tolsma 

Paperback, 256 pages
Expected publication: June 1st 2019 by Barbour Books




Goodreads synopsis:
A Desperate Mother Searches for Her Child
Step into True Colors -- a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

Widowed in Memphis during 1932, 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. With the help of a sympathetic lawyer, the search for Millie uncovers a deep level of corruption that threatens their very lives.
 
How far will a mother go to find out what happened to her child?

***

4.5 Stars

This is the second book in the True Colors series by Barbour Books. These are Historical Christian romance history lessons. They take real events and weave them into a story that we can all relate to.

This is a story I think we can all relate to even if we don’t have children. A woman goes out one day to try and find a better job and leaves her small child with an elderly neighbor. When she returns home the neighbor has signed away her rights to the child and give her to the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The woman had recently lost her husband and was struggling to make ends meet. This put Cecile on a long quest to find her daughter with any means possible.

This is a very sad tale. If you look up Georgia Tann, the child trafficker, on the internet you will discover all the horrible things she did. I am not sure how a woman back in the late 1920’s got such power but it is truly sickening.

This was a sweet story about how Cecile finds love while searching for her daughter. There are as lot of twists and turns in this book so you won’t be board. If you are anything like me you will read faster in order to find out how they come to find little Millie and bring Georgia Tann to justice.

Highly recommended.

This is a fast paced story that is slightly gut wrenching. I had never heard of Georgia Tann until now. I suppose the subject matter is partly the reason I had a hard time liking this book. The romance seemed forced and not realistic and the Christian aspect seemed to be just thrown in as a bonus. The characters were difficult to relate to and most were not very likable. A lot of dialogue but not a lot of character depth. It read more like a short story that has been stretched out. I would give it a 3.5 if there was a more precise scale for those reasons.
Thanks to the author and publishers for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Liz Tolsma chose such an interesting topic in writing historical fiction about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Truly these criminal activities affected so many people. Because of that, I liked how Tolsma created several scenarios depicting people who were affected differently by the actions of the director of the society and her cohorts. Of course, all these adoption stories involve some level of hurt which the author balances well in the novel by adding a romance in the mix. Overall, The Pink Bonnet was a quick suspenseful read with history that we need to watch for in today’s world. I am looking forward to the next book in this true crime series, which is also a stand-alone book but written by a different author. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Wow! Great book!!! Thought provoking and scary. I didn't put it down. Loosely based on actual events, this is a fictional story about a woman, down on her luck, whose child was taken by mistake and adopted out to another family. Well written and fascinating! Loved it!

Wow! NOT your stereotypical historical fiction novel (which I enjoy) but SO much better! The Pink Bonnet tells the story of a child who was taken from her single mother and sold to a new family. The story takes place in Tennessee in the 1930s and is based on true historical events. As a parent, it was especially heart-wrenching to read, but very much worth my time. Read this book!!! It is amazing!

I would like to thank #Barbour Publishing Inc and #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I would like to have given the book a 3.5 instead of just a 3.
For anyone who is not familiar with the Tennessee Children’s Home Society run by the infamous Georgia Tann, this book provides a good introduction.
The Pink Bonnet is a fictionalized account of this decades-long travesty of child trafficking. This story occurs during the depression, a distressing time in and of itself.
Widowed Cecile, the female protagonist, comes home from work one day to discover that her neighbor has illegally signed her name to “legal” papers allowing Miss Tann to remove Cecile’s three-year-old daughter Millie. She is removed on the pretense that Cecile cannot give her the advantages a wealthy family could give. Basically, her child is stolen and given to a more “deserving” family, for a price, of course.
The rest of the story describes Cecile’s desperate attempt to find her daughter and get her back. It seems no one can help, or no one will. She will not give up.
The book also explores the moral dilemmas of the men who work with Miss Tann or those who have innocently adopted a child who has actually been kidnapped from a loving home. The reader feels the desperation of the parents, the hopelessness of the situation.

I had been seeing ads for it pop up and I probably read the description several times and each time thought, "No, that would probably be too scary and sad for me." I'm still not sure why I decided to go ahead and read The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma,  but for some reason I did. And it was spooky. I think it wouldn't have been so scary if I hadn't known that it was actually based off of true crimes that happened in Tennessee in the 1930s to 1950s! But it was worth reading, even through the scary parts and the sad parts. Although this was the true crime that happened, the book itself is a fictional story.  Liz Tolsma did a fantastic job describing what it must have been like to have one's child kidnapped and adopted by someone else. I kept thinking that Cecile was a real person and I wanted to cry with her and hug her and do all that I could to get her daughter, Millie, back. I was definitely wondering if there would be a happy ending or not, but I'm not going to tell you if it ended happy or not. I'll let you read it to find out for yourself.

I recommend this book for those who enjoy historical mysteries, and true crime stories.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a disturbing but captivating tale of a time in history when unlawful adoption practices were allowed. These practices damaged the unsuspecting parents as they were forced to lose their children. These practices also damaged the children whose true identities were ripped away and replaced with identities that would prevent their natural parents from ever finding them as well as keeping the children from knowing who they really were.

Enter Celia Dowd, who refuses to accept the theft of her child by Georgia Tann who operates the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and engages along with others in these unlawful adoptions and you have a story that will keep you captivated to the end.

The author is a gifted storyteller. I have not read much of her work. However, what I have read has proven to me that she is not a “one-time wonder”. I look forward to reading much more of her works.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book that was provided by the publisher through Net Galley. However, the thoughts and opinions presented here are my own.

It was a few months ago when I learned about the true story of the evil woman named Georgia Tann, a notorious child trafficker who ran the Tennesse Children’s home from 1924 to 1950. Someone should write a book about this woman, I thought to myself.

And like magic, The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma appeared.

The author does a great job bringing this horrible woman to life and gives us a fictionalized look at what could and probably did happen to poor mothers who crossed paths with Georgia. This woman would steal children then sell them to wealthy people. She did this by any means necessary even if it meant lying to the police, the court system, politicians.

There is a fantastic podcast on Criminal here about Georgia Tann.

The plot:

Widowed in Memphis during 1932, 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. With the help of a sympathetic lawyer, the search for Millie uncovers a deep level of corruption that threatens their very lives.

How far will a mother go to find out what happened to her child?

I like this book, it made Georgia Tann come alive. Once you read this book, listen to the podcast I linked to above. This is true crime like you’ve never heard before!

PreOrder here.

This is a difficult book to read as the plotline involves the kidnapping of a young child and her mother's unswerving attempts to get her daughter back. The book is set in Memphis in 1933, during the time that Georgia Tann operated her infamous child trafficking operation through the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Georgia Tann and her associates are characters in this book, although the storyline is a work of fiction. An author would be hard-pressed to find a villain more nefarious than Georgia Tann. I have read other accounts of Ms. Tann's callous and criminal dealings with children and find that is echoed accurately in this book. Although I felt the romance part of the book was a little incredible, given what was going on in Cecile's life, I have to admit that she certainly needed help and Percy filled the bill. The writing is good and the dialogue feels genuine. The sad detail of the pink bonnet is a haunting element I will not soon forget. Four stars from this reviewer.

As I read The Pink Bonnet, I thought that this story could have really happened in Memphis back in the 1930's. only to discover that it was based on factual events. Reading about a mother having her child taken from her wasn't easy as Liz Tolsma writes in such a way to make you feel as her well-developed characters do. I found it to be a very satisfying story. I received an ARC from NetGalley. I chose to write a review and share my opinion.

I'm absolutely loving this series. I love fiction based on true crime, and the fact that it is Christian fiction makes this unique! This installment is based on Georgia Tann, the real-life bogeyman of the Memphis streets whose reign of terror lasted from the 1920s all the way up to 1950. I can just imagine parents telling their children to beware of the Black Cadillac Limousine cruising the lower-class areas of Memphis - only this wasn't like telling your children to be good or the bogeyman would get them, it was a legitimate fear for any parent unfortunate enough to live below the upper classes of society.
I could not put this book down. Georgia Tann's institution was the Tennessee Children's Home Society, and one of the main characters is a fictional attorney who worked on the adoptions she facilitated. Being an attorney in child welfare and adoption cases, this book held a special attraction for me. I can fully appreciate the fear of finding out that an agency or home is not what they purport to be, and feeling completely alone in an effort to right the wrong being done... I loved Tolsma's characters, I loved her writing, especially the sense of time and place evoked from the story. She describes clothes, shoes, vehicles, and even hairstyles, that bring the 1920s to life. The characters are realistic and relatable, and the pace of the plot never drags.
I found a whole new area of interest within my 1920s niche. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, fiction based in true-crime, legal fiction, or just a great fast-paced mystery. I can't wait for more of this series.

First sentence: "Momma, Momma, watch me."

Premise/plot: Love true crime stories? Love historical fiction? Enjoy Christian fiction? The Pink Bonnet is the second book in the True Colors series published by Barbour Books. Each book in the series focuses on an American crime. The Pink Bonnet focuses on the case of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society.

Cecile Dowd is a widow struggling to raise her three year old daughter, Millie. But even on the hardest days, Cecile would never, ever, ever consent to give up her daughter for adoption. Why would she? Though their home may not be fancy and their food abundant--it is the Depression after all--she does provide a good home for her daughter. And she loves Millie with all her heart.

When a neighbor offers to babysit Millie so that Cecile can go on a job interview, Cecile says YES, thank you. When she returns, her daughter is gone. Her neighbor signed the consent forms for Millie to be put up for adoption. Is this a matter of misunderstanding? Can Cecile go to the Tennessee Children's Home and ask for her daughter back? Can she convince the authorities that her daughter was kidnapped, that she never consented to give her daughter away? If it was this would be a short story. But though she doesn't convince anyone at the Home of the mistake, she does convince the man who took her child into custody--Percy Vance. Together they set out to find Millie and set things right. They do this at great risks to their lives.

My thoughts: Suspenseful and action-packed, that's how I'd describe Liz Tolsma's The Pink Bonnet. Only two or three characters of this novel were real, almost all of them were fictional. This is important to keep in mind, in my opinion.

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, it is so intense (perhaps to the point of being emotionally draining) that it is almost by necessity compelling. It kept me turning pages. On the other hand, the melodrama is high with this one. Is there such a thing as too much? Perhaps. Is the characterization of the villains realistic or pushed to extremes? I can't answer this. I don't know the specifics well enough. Is the romance natural or forced? I personally felt that it was a little much to make this historical drama into historical romance.

As I started to read The Pink Bonnet, I was completely unaware of the dark period of American History that I was embarking into. In sharing the story of Mrs Tann, of Tennessee Children's Home Society, Liz truly captures the emotions and pain that parents like Cecile Dowd experienced as she came to realise that her daughter had been kidnapped and sold. Previous to this Cecile and her 3 year daughter Millie, had been making the best of hard times. Cecile's husband had died and they were far away from her parents who had disowned her. The nightmare began when Cecile left her daughter with her neighbour as she had been in the practice of doing for the occasional bit of child minding. Cecile pushes past the accepted boundaries as she and a new friend searched for her cherished daughter. I am still grappling with the incredulous operation that Mrs Tann ran for 25 years, selling around 5,000 children; many from loving homes.

The Pink Bonnet is part of a series of true crimes stories. Set in the 1930’s, the novel portrays the scandal with the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and Georgia Tann. Based on a true story, Tann ran an adoption scam and was kidnapping children and selling them to the highest bidder. The story focuses on Cecile Dowd, who’s daughter was given up for adoption without her consent. She hunts down her daughter with the help of attorney Percy Vance, while no one believes that Tann would do such heinous things.

The Pink Bonnet is a well-written, fast paced novel, but the topic is not a happy one. If you are sensitive to stories about child abuse, steer clear. It’s hard to believe this novel is based on a true story. While I liked Cecile’s tenacity to find her daughter, the love story seemed a bit contrived at times. Also, the end seemed like it had some inconsistencies. I read a review copy so hopefully the final version will flow better. But as far as a suspenseful crime story, the plot moved fast and kept me reading and on the edge of my seat.

I received an ebook review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Another of the books in the series True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime, author Liz Tolsma tackles the true story of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society debacle in the 1930’s. Reminiscent of “When We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate, the author tells the story of a woman’s struggle to find her three year-old daughter who had been brutally stolen from her by Miss Tann. It’s a heart-wrenching read, yet the main character, Cecile, is wisely portrayed as a very strong woman who will do anything to fight for the return of her beloved Millie.

I received a copy of the book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

What an interesting time in American history! I never knew the story of Georgia Tann and the crimes she committed. While the crime fires the imagination, I have to admit that this retelling of the story was a little lackluster. At first it was too good; I have a 7-month-old niece and the panic portrayed by Cecelia Dowd at the loss--no, theft--of her child hit a little too close to emotional home. But as the story progressed, the characters never deepened. I lost my emotional connection to Cecelia, didn't feel that Percy was the hero he was meant to be, and felt that the dialogue was continuously stilted and unimaginative. I didn't fall in love with Percy like I should have, and felt that the middle section of the book repeated details that we already knew. I did like the multiple point of view (several ancillary characters were intriguing) and the ending was satisfying. All in all, I didn't think this was as stimulating a read as it could have been, but it is a decent option as a beach read.

I was provided this ebook free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Rated PG for mild portrayal of physical abuse.
--no sexual content
--no language
--mild violence
--mild physical abuse

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After the 1st book in the “True Colors” series, blew me away, I was looking forward to the next offering in the series. I was rewarded! In “The Pink Bonnet,” author, Liz Tolsma, explores the underbelly of Memphis Tennessee in the 1930s when parents dared not to leave their children alone, for fear they may just disappear.

Imagine leaving your child with a neighbor so you can go on a job interview. You return home to discover the neighbor has given her to someone who runs an orphanage. What lengths would you go to, to get her back? That’s just what Cecile is facing in “The Pink Bonnet.”

“True Colors” is a series of historical stories of American crime. While the main characters are fictional, the books are based on actual events. “The Pink Bonnet” is based on the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and Georgia Tann, the woman who ran it. The crimes committed by this woman and her cronies in high places are amazing! As an adoptive mother, herself, author Liz Tolsma took great care to respect the legal process of adoption, and the gift it is to both parents and their adoptive children.

I completely enjoyed “The Pink Bonnet,” and the characters in this amazing story. The romance was especially well crafted. I found myself anxious for the children in the book, and looked forward to learning what would happen next,

As in all “True Colors” books, “The Pink Bonnet” is clean, with no sex or curse words. Virtues such as honesty, loyalty, and doing the right thing, even when it is hard, are held in high regard. If you like true crime but don’t like the cringe-worthy language and behavior that are often included in those books, “The Pink Bonnet” is for you. It’s available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma

I Loved this book. From the very first chapter I knew I was going to enjoy reading it and it did not disappoint. I could not put the book down as the story kept me on the edge of my seat.

The drama and suspense are excellent. I have not read any books by this writer before and will definitely rectify this in the near future.

This story was even more intense to me knowing that it’s based on true crime.

I would like to thank Net Galley and the Publisher Barbour for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

While I really liked the concept, this book didn’t deliver for me.

What I Liked:

The side-plot of Gladys escaping her abusive husband was a great theme and communicated well. I liked the setting and the unique premise—I’m surprised honestly there aren’t more books yet written about Tennessee Children’s Home Society. It felt factually accurate, though the depiction of Georgia Tann was very extreme and not well-rounded.

Okay. My issues:

First of all, when a woman’s child is missing, that will be her sole focus. And sure, Cecile claims that finding Millie is her only desire in life and that without Millie she is depressed and in terrible grief. Yet, she still manages to somehow fall deeply in love with a man, which really bugged me. If you’re desperately grieving over the loss of a child, you can’t silmeataneusly be head-over-heels hopelessly, joyfully in love. It just doesn’t work that way and honestly caused me to dislike both Cecile and Percy.

It’s good to mislead readers, but when it came to Pearl and R.D., and Fanny (which, a 3yr old named Fanny? Really?) it just felt like it was too much of a distraction to the reader and not enough of significance to the story. It was also hard to keep track of both storylines and keep them straight. A lot of the plot felt forced and unnecessarily elaborated, and it didn’t really hold my interest.

I really liked the concept, but it just didn’t deliver. I was disinterested by the plot and indifferent towards the characters. I admire the author’s boldness at addressing this concept, and I really wanted to like this book, but I was, unfortunately, not impressed. 2.5 stars