Josephine Clayton wakes up as the doctor is bringing the scalpel nearer to dissect her. Doctor Chadwick is as shocked as she is to find her alive and in his panic tries to persuade her to let him kill her. Because as he says, the whole village thinks she’s dead.
She begs for her life and the shady Alvin (the doctor’s procurer) also begs Chadwick to spare her. After been hidden in the dirty cellar (because the doctor has a reputation to maintain and her being alive will blow the whole distasteful business open) and much more begging on Josephine’s part, she leaves town to go and work in a cotton mill. Doctor Chadwick however reminds her that she owes him a body.
Josie meets Braham Taylor and many other girls and women at the mill and strikes up a friendship, however all the secrets she’s keeping come with her. It turns out she’s quite adept at healing people with herbs, something she enjoys more than dissecting bodies. Her father was in a debtor’s prison, she helped the doctor dissect snatched bodies and she has to help Alvin snatch a body. Then Braham’s aunt dies and Josie is faced with a choice: Help Alvin snatch the body and live with the guilt if she doesn’t get caught, or protect the body from body snatchers and live with the possibility of her past coming into her present.
This is one of the True Colors books of historical crime, thus it is not entirely fictional. The 1800’s are filled with stories of body snatchers both in America (where this is set) and England. The cotton mill is essentially what the British would call ‘a workhouse’ the only alternative for destitute and poor women and children besides turning to crime.
A strong opening by DICKEN which continues through the book, there is an undercurrent of examining one’s own morality and the description of the attitudes and beliefs of the time period are accurate. I rate this book 3 stars and thank Barbour Publishing and Netgalley for the copy.

This was a different kind of historical fiction for me. I don’t read a lot of true crime stories. This storyline and the history behind it was so interesting. The intrigue and like able characters kept me turning pages.

This book just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into it, I just didn’t relate to any of the characters and the story just didn’t grab me.

I love reading historical books. Even though they are fiction, they are based on something true. I did learn a part of history by reading this book. I had not heard of body snatchers. 

I loved Josie and how she knew about herbs. She was a very caring person. She loved to use her knowledge to help people. 

I love this series — fiction based on strange but true history. I will look forward to reading more books in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher through Celebrate Lit. This review is my own opinion.

The Yellow Lantern is the third book is Barbour Publishing’s True Colors series, fiction based on real crimes. I previously read the first two books and enjoyed them, but I was a little apprehensive to read this one about grave robbers. Thankfully, the book turned out to be more suspenseful than spooky or scary. The opening scene did give me the heebie-jeebies, but it laid a good foundation for the rest of the story. There were quite a few characters and I was intrigued how things would connect in the end. There were a few surprises, most of them connected to the web of grave robbers. 
This is my first read by Angie Dicken, she is a new-to-me author. I thought the book contained just enough description to not get bogged down, and I loved the individual personalities of the different characters so that they came alive on the page. I enjoyed the romance between Josie and Braham, and I felt for Josie and the terrible bind she was in. I also enjoyed learning more about the mill girls and their lives working the mills. 
This story will make you grateful for medical research and for the people who voluntarily donate their bodies to be used to forward medical discoveries.
I recommend this book for lovers of historical mysteries, especially ones based on real historical incidents.

This was a great story! I loved the mystery and  the desperation. The eventual truth and freedom. The characters were so well written with wonderful depth. The love story was beautiful, sweet, and clean. The ending was perfect. I definitely recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own and are expressed voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't finish this book. It wasn't what I was expecting, I thought it'd be more,... true crime.

This book wasn't my cup of tea. I do think it's a good book just not for me.

The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken is the latest release of the True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime series, and its kind of creepy. The creepy don’t read this late at night kind of creepy. 

As with the previous novels in this series, I’ve learned some rather interesting things about history, things that I had previously thought of as untruths. On this one, I was way wrong. During the 19th century there were a number of beliefs surrounding the dead, beliefs that were strongly held and protected by law. It was considered the height of offense and very much against the law to remove a body from its grave, but someone is doing exactly that in a small Massachusetts village. I thought grave robbers, body snatchers had more to do with robbing the dead of valuables; I was wrong. 

Josephine Clayton has survived an illness, being pronounced dead, buried and then snatched from the grave. All while being alive. When she realizes it is her employer, Dr Chadwick, standing over her preparing to truly end her life, her terror knows no bounds. Relief sets in when Alvin, a former farmhand for her father, steps in to safe her life, but that relief is short-lived when she learns the costs. 

A thickly woven web of lies, deceit and utter greed ensnares Josephine in its grip and it is only her fear of reprisal that drives her, for now she must supply the next one, the next body for the money grabbing schemers. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and am under no obligation to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own, and freely given.

This story drew me in from the very beginning.  I  am fascinated by history but never knew anything about body snatching.   I enjoyed the characters of Josie and Braham and empathized with each of them for their problems.  
Many thanks to Barbour Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

(rating: 3.5/5)

In this book of historical fiction, set in New England just before the beginning of the Victorian Era, a young woman named Josephine Clayton works for a doctor to pay her father's way out of debtor's prison. But when Josephine becomes sick and is presumed dead, her buried body is stolen by a man working for the same doctor. The story starts with her waking up, about to be dissected, and when the doctor sees she's still alive, he plans to dissect her anyway. To save her own life, and to keep her father out of trouble, Josephine ends up embroiled in the doctor's schemes of body-snatching. She is planted at a cotton mill in the next town over, to spy for the body snatchers and help with the actual snatching. But when the next victim is a loved one of the cotton mill's manager (named Braham Taylor), a man to whom Josephine has become close, the gruesome business becomes a nightmare.

This book was a decent read overall. The setting was interesting. The bigger side characters had personality. I liked the back-and-forth POV between Josephine (or as we know her through most of the book, Josie) and Braham. 

I was usually really happy when it switched back to Braham for a while, which tells me I connected with his character more than with Josie. I think that's because his troubles seemed a lot more real and understandable to me. But it's not that Josie doesn't have serious issues. I just think her storyline was convoluted enough that I was only vaguely aware of the danger or of her reasons for going along with the body snatching plot. Her father was in trouble with...the doctor and some creditors, but I don't know who they were, or if I'm even right about that. Alvin (Josie's "handler") was bad but sort of good (which isn't bad in itself), but was owed money, yet still chose to hold back the first body he snatched in the story? It wasn't until near the end that enough of this network of body snatchers was sorted out enough that I was at least able to appreciate the conclusion. This was probably my biggest problem throughout the book.

I began to get frustrated with Josie's decision to help her father, whose decisions had been pretty terrible, even though it made her do some things she really didn't want to do. In some ways, I appreciated her loyalty, but it got to a point where it seemed like maybe he father would actually be better off (safer, if nothing else) in debtor's prison, or regular prison, or wherever his confusing problems might send him.

For the first quarter of the book, at least, I was reminded strongly of NORTH AND SOUTH by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's set in a cotton mill, the male lead runs the cotton mill, and the female lead is not terribly happy about coming to the town. It's also set in a similar time period. I love NORTH AND SOUTH, so that may have helped draw me into the book at first, but it did veer off to become a vastly different story, and a good one in its own right.

The other big downside, in my opinion, is that the body snatching was really not as big a part of the plot as it seemed like it should be. I mean, it haunted Josie throughout the book, and at the end, we can see an inter-connectedness that we didn't necessarily know was there sooner, but it was supposed to be a twist, I think, that these things were connected. So they didn't seem to play into the body snatching plot, except that it was predictable enough that I didn't really see much shock factor in the reveal. Or maybe it wasn't supposed to be a surprise, and in that case, it was just kind of bland. But in the end, she wasn't actually that involved in the plot, and I can't say more than that without spoiling things.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. The book is listed as Christian, and it holds up well in that department. The romance was sweet and clean (just how I like it), and I would recommend this book for fans of Christian romance, though probably not for fans of crime novels.

Everything you could want… I guess. I wish there had been a bit more historical fact. I wish the protagonists were a little more developed (at times they felt a little banal.) The gruesome side of this tale and the secondary mystery held my attention more than the actual main storyline. I will say, however, that the author opened the book with a remarkably intense scene that set a tense background to the whole of the book.

Overall, a quick read that I would recommend for a bit of historical mystery, drama, and danger – a little on the light and perhaps even a tiny bit colourless. This one might not be exciting enough for someone looking for a thrill.

My thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this complimentary title. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever heard of people robbing graves to conduct scientific experiments on the bodies? I never had until I read The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dickens. This True Crimes novel taught me a lot about this crime that actually did take place in history while also telling me a fictional story about a lady, Josephine who is forced into helping rob the graves. I also learned more about the mills through the fictional character Braham who supervised the mills in the story. As I read, I really felt bad for Josephine since she had to make some really hard decisions for herself and her family. I can’t even imagine stealing corpses. I didn’t like how creepy the book is, but I think the creepiness was caused by my overactive imagination and wouldn’t be a problem for most people. However, if you are really sensitive like me to things such as grave robbing and corpses, then you might want to skip this book.  But, I’m still really glad I read it, creepy as it was, because I was able to learn about something I had never heard of before.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical mysteries and true crime stories.

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

I enjoyed The Yellow Lantern very much! I've never read a story about either the dead-body-snatchers of the 1800's or the ladies who worked in the cotton mills, so I felt like this book told two very interesting storylines...and did it well. I also enjoyed the romantic chemistry between Josie and Braham and how their story developed. It's well written and engaging. This is a first by Angie Dicken for me and I look forward to reading more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. A positive review was not required.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Title: The Yellow Lantern
Author: Angie Dicken
Series: True Colors: Historical Crimes  of American History
Publisher: Barbour Books
Release Date: August 1, 2019

Personal Rating: 4.3    Star Rating: 4/5

The True Colors: Historical Crimes of American History series is a fictional series based on some of the worst crimes in American History. After reading The White City and The Blue Bonnet, I knew I'd continue to read all the books that follow. [Read more…]

The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken begins with Josephine Clayton waking to a nightmarish situation. It scared me. I don't like being scared, but knew it was a great set up for the rest of the story. I'm so glad I continued reading. I wanted to know how Josie was going to handle her situation. Not only did she need to save her own life, but also the life of her father. Would she be able to save their lives and still have a clear conscience?  

Josephine was a vulnerable character, but her love for and willingness to help others gave her strength. There is quite a contrast between Josie's ability to use herbs to heal and the business of grave robbers, mourners, and resurrection men.  A somewhat secondary story came with  Braham, Josephine's foreman, and Gerald.  Braham's background intertwined with Josphine's and I found his story to be just as captivating.

The crime that this book is based on has been written about and used in movies.  I appreciated being able to learn more about it and had it been written any other way, I would not have finished it. I applaud Angie Dicken for her ability to keep it clean and morally focused. The faith content is written into the story well. It isn't preachy and well written.

I enjoyed this book, but would have liked more historical facts sprinkled throughout the fictional story.  However, the author wrote a Dear Reader letter at the end and it gave more of  the historical background to make the story seem more believable. 

 I will continue to read the books in this series and if you are a fan of true crime, then I recommend this book.  I also recommend it for those who don't like scary stories because this is written in good taste and with positive, moral lessons. I don't recommend this book for younger teen readers.

*I received a copy of this book from Barbour Books via netGalley.  All opinions expressed are my own. "

About the Book
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 Terrance. 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?

The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken is part of the True Colors series. It is fiction based on strange but true history.
Josephine is forced to spy for grave robbers. Her father has made some bad decisions which forced her to work for a doctor. The doctor ends up being a little bit crazy. He steal bodies to do medial research on them.
They force Josephine to work in a manufacturing plant to let them know when someone dies. There have been several accidents at the plant.
Barham is the manager of the plant and has his own backstory. He has seen terrible things on a plantation that had slaves. His father died and he is raised by his uncle. His cousin hates him.
Barham and Josephine befriend each other.
This was not my favorite of the series. But well worth the read when you realize these are based off true stories that you have not heard about in history.
Violence - stealing dead bodies for research, a couple manufacturing accidents 
Sexual content - kissing

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.

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: This is a very unique mystery that will captivate readers from the beginning.  A fictional novel based on true facts, this story gives the reader an insight to the horrific things that happened at the turn of the century.



This story will certainly keep the readers' attention.  The author has created very believable characters.   The readers will either like them or hate them.  


This is a wonderful story for those who like a good mystery.  This one has many twists in the plot to keep the readers on their toes.

I found this to be a decent fictional true crime novel about the grave and body snatchers in the 19th century., which I was completely unaware of in history. While I liked the main character Josie, I never really understood why she felt so compelled to be forcefully put in the situation she was in to aid the body snatchers.  Because of that, the story lost some points for me.  I did like that it turned into a a bit of a mystery to be solved as well as being a bit of a romance fiction to go along with the true crime plot.  I would recommend for those who like historical fiction as well as true crime fiction.

A very interesting read!
A more unique story topic I am not sure ive read before. The author did a great job of explaining the emotions and actions of the characters, I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you want a unique story to read. 4 out of 5 stars for originality, great character building, and the mystery.
I volunteered to read this book from Barbour Publishing in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed with in are my own.

Sometimes truth IS much stranger than fiction...

To be perfectly honest, I picked up The Yellow Lantern because it was part of the True Colors series and I had absolutely no idea what it was about. I hadn't even read the back cover blurb on my copy when I started reading. Boy, was I in for a shock right off the bat. Seriously! Right there on the first page the heroine wakes up after having been presumed dead and actually buried! Trust me, Angie Dicken knows how to hook her readers right from the start and keep them good and hooked.

I thought it a bit ironic that this book is about grave robbers and just a few days ago I was watching a short youtube biography/documentary about two real people convicted of just that offense. Weird, right? 

Anyway, The Yellow Lantern is an excellent addition to the True Colors series and I enjoyed it very much. It's deliciously dark and morbid in places. Manipulation, fear, betrayal, greed, and murder all have their places. But there is also a strong thread of hope, through faith,through the love in friendship and the love in romance. Angie Dicken has nicely packaged all of these threads in an entertaining and riveting story with roots in real events from history. Definitely a book that I would recommend...

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

This book was nuts! I don't read mystery-thrillers much, so this one was way out of my league! It had it all! I found the plot to move steadily and kept thinking about the story throughout my day and wanting to get back to it to finish!
Body snatching and research on cadavers! Whoa! I knew this happened back in the day but never considered it to be a storyline for a book. I'm so glad to have read this book and gained new perspective on an old practice.