Another of the true crime series from Barbour Publishing, this one explores the horrific, gruesome grave robbers who exhumed bodies for “medical experimentation”.  We follow the adventures of a poor girl, Josephine, who is thrown into this life in order to save her father from debtor’s prison and the murderers after him, barely escaping death herself.  She’s thrown into the precarious position as a spy at the cotton mill, on the lookout for fatal injuries. It’s an interesting tale with intriguing characters. The ever-present Alvin lends to the mystery woven throughout, we meet mean-spirited Audra and Gerald, and of course a little romance is sprinkled in with Braham. 

The author dealt with this topic without becoming graphic, making for a very interesting read. 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a positive review.  All opinions are my own.

This is a well written story about a subject of the past most of us would rather forget about.  What would it be like to be buried alive; whether hurried to your death on purpose, or because the medical field was not advanced enough to always catch when a person wasn't officially dead yet.  Josephine Clayton, the main character in the story has a personal experience with escaping death at the last moment and feeling forced to be a part of the grave diggers, also referred to as the resurrectionists.  While the medical field needed bodies to continue their study of science and medicine, robbing graves of freshly buried corpses was not legal and had to be accomplished under the cover of darkness.  Follow Josie as she hides terrible secrets while working as a mill girl and using her knowledge of herbs to try and save lives.

Wow,what a book and story! Gothic,brave robbers,medical experiments,it never ended! Exciting as they come and this is a different kind of book that I usually read. Well written,graphic where you really know what's what! I don't like to tell the story cause if I did you wouldn't read the book and you really will miss out!!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  			
			
From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.			

Forced to Spy for Grave Robbers
True Colors – Fiction Based on Strange-But-True History
 
In 1824, Josephine Clayton is considered dead by everyone in her Massachusetts village—especially the doctor she gas assisted for several months. Yet, she is still very much alive.
 
After the doctor’s illegal dealing with his body snatcher to obtain her body, Josephine awakens, positioned as the next corpse for his research. To cover up his crime, the doctor tries to kill her, but Josephine begs to be spared. They strike a deal—Josephine 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 the body snatcher procure her replacement.
 
At the mill though, Josephine is praised for her medical remedies among the other female workers, 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?

Oh dear ... I found my train of thought wandering all over the place whilst reading this book. Then I remembered that I had read a previous book in this series (The Pink Bonnet) and didn't like it.  Ditto here. (Oh, the price of promising honesty!)  Different author, same problem. 

I really wanted to like this book but I just could not get into it --- it was stilted and, well, boring and it was halting me in my tracks.  As a librarian, if I do not learn something new or get engaged in the characters I do not finish the book as there are too many good ones out there to read and review. #saidthatiwouldbehonest  I didn't bother to finish it beyond a few pages in.

NOTE: I STILL cannot link this review to LinkedIn - there is something wrong with the linking/programming and it will not happen.

3.5 stars- This is the latest book in Barbour’s true American crime series. This series takes true crimes in American history and creates a fictional story around these events. The crimes are pretty heavy in nature so I wasn’t expecting a light hearted read. It starts off morbid and pretty much continues down that path the whole book. After being mistaken for dead and even buried, Josephine Clayton wakes up to discover she is about to become the local doctor’s next medical experiment. Shocked and frightened to say the least she is saved from this gruesome fate but only if she gives the doctor a dead body to replace hers.
I was unfamiliar with the Resurrection Men and grave robbers but upon doing a little research I learned there were quite a lot of them in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Apparently donating your body to science was not a thing back then so doctors and scientists would pay a pretty penny to grave robbers for fresh dead bodies to dissect. 
The story was well written but it was just a bit depressing to read at times. Even though it did have some romance in the story (and I did like Braham and Josephine), it sometimes felt like their relationship was a bit swift for me. Plus, I was surprised that as the head of the cotton mill that Braham would have been so quick to form a relationship with one of his workers. 
I felt for poor Josephine, caught between a rock and a hard place in trying to help her father and having to be a part of such a horrible operation as body snatching. I’m not really sure what I would have done in her situation but am thankful I do not have to worry about it. 
One thing I liked in the previous books in this series was the author’s note at the end giving more historical background about the true events in the story. This book did not have such a note. I think it would be great if the author would add one, giving more insight into the history and her research. 
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very enjoyable read that was well written and kept me in suspense. This is not my normal genre but I enjoyed it and would love to read more from this author. Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was the first book I'd read by Angie Dicken, and I was blown away! From the first lines, I found it impossible to put this novel down. Hauntingly beautiful, the characters were rich in depth, and the settings oh-so-real. A must read for those who love historical romance.

I requested this book because it was in the True Crime Category. It is NOT true crime. I was disappointed and the story made no sense to me so I quit reading it. 
It might be for some readers, just not for me.

The Yellow Lantern is the 3rd book in the True Colors Series.  The story was more serious than in the first book, The White City, but it was still another enjoyable read.  It is about the business of grave robbing for medical and scientific study at the beginning of the 19th century, which I didn't know happened.  I would have liked some more historical background information at the end of the book just so I would know what American crime this book was about, but that's more of a personal thing, it isn't necessary to enjoy or understand the book.

The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken is book three in the True Colors of Crime series. While I enjoyed the first two and can't wait for the fourth one, The Gray Chamber, The Yellow Lantern didn't catch my attention as much. It was pretty dry and didn't capture float my attention. The premise was interesting, but Dicken spent too much time setting up the story like a Regency romance novel that I think the suspense element got kind of overlooked. Of course, the happily ever after ending happened between the main hero and heroine, but I wanted a lot more for the suspense element since this is what the series is being advertised as. Overall, The Yellow Lantern by Dicken promised to be something wonderful, but turned into something a little try and not that suspenseful. I still can't wait to read the next book in the series. 

I received a complimentary copy of The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken from Barbour Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Angie Dicken takes you back in a time when crime sometimes was swept under the rug a time when time has a way of erasing the past... Loved traveling back a reading about a girl named Josephine Clayton and how she escapes death and keeps living while others believe she is not. When reading this book you truly get a feel how hard it was to live in 1824 when cotton picking and fight to survive was an every day must. Follow Josephines journey and find out what her ultimate choice is and what price it is paid with. 
  A wonderful read and would recommend it to anyone who loves history story's with a twist to it.

I requested, through Netgalley and Barbour Books, to read and review The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken. I was given an advanced reader ebook to do this. My opinions are my own and not required.

I have read the previous books in this series and enjoyed them. Each one by a different author. I was hoping I would feel the same about this book, but I do not. The concept is intriguing and has a lot of promise, but this book fell flat. It started strong but soon weakened to a slow, slightly boring read. I was totally confused on the main male characters relationship with his uncle. I never really knew if it was his biological uncle or just a kind person. Braham's, the nephew's, background was told but not in a clear manner and not one that made any sense. I don't see a real family treating one another as this was.

The main female character was a bit more interesting but still fell flat. She seemed to be the only one that reflected a Christian personality and that wasn't very strong. They all attended church but that seemed to be the main thing that made this a Christian book and it was disappointing.

This book had a lot of potential and the history would have been interesting. I am sorry the history part was so weak also.

I have not read any other book by Angie Dicken so I cannot comment or compare. I am not sure I will read more if they are like this one. I also hope that the editing is done better before going to market as there was a lot to be desired in that area.

I will not recommend this book to my friends. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

FTC Disclosure: NetGalley gave me a complimentary copy of this ebook. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

Wow. From beginning to end, this story swept me away, into the gothic night of 1820s Massachusetts, where graves were being robbed… and hearts shattered.

The opening scene was so shocking and vividly written with powerful wording that I knew I was in for an adventure vintage actor Peter Lorre would probably have starred in as a show-stealing secondary character. The further in I got, the more I found to love about the book. That first impression of creepy gothic vibes grew stronger with each fresh turn of events. Yet, there was a thin thread of hope that tenuously broadened and lengthened until the final page revealed it wasn’t a thread alone but the complete foundation upon which the whole book was compiled.

I’m interested to see more from Mrs. Dicken. Are all of her stories so vividly told? Do they each sweep the reader away to another moment in time? Has she written any other gothic tales… or will she? This is definitely a genre in which she shines.

I received an arc of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Josie is caught up in a grave robbing scheme, after she is saved from being murdered by the doctor she works for. 

This book kind of confused and bored me, honestly. There was so much going on that I was confused about which character went where and why they mattered at all. Also, what is up with the whole romance thing? It kind of felt like it was a ''fairy tale'' in a historical setting.

The Yellow Lantern is a edge of your seat, engrossing book. Well written and well characters. I would read more by this author.

I just finished reading “The Yellow Lantern” by Angie Dicken. What a gripping tale! I was hooked at the first paragraph. It was a great historical read that not only kept me intrigued but also educated me on something in history I knew very little about.

Josephine Clayton (Josie Clay) had a passion for healing herbs. She was happy "...among the scents, textures and memory of a less complicated time." "Mourning had taught her that living proved more difficult", especially after her mother's death. Josie worked as medical assistant to Dr. Chadwick. Chadwick was too quick to operate on a patient who was transferred from a sickbed, a patient "...who doesn't have much longer on earth."

Josie fell victim to the doctor's deception. "Dr. Chadwick with knife raised stood over her in his coat of dried blood...Sir please, I am alive." In exchange for her life, "she had agreed to assist in remedies and ailments. The messy business of exploring stolen bodies for clues and cures was something she'd not expected. But when her father was taken to debtor's prison, she had no choice but to stay and earn his way out." Alvin Green, farmhand at the Clayton's farm said, "Your father does not owe money. He owes bodies...you are replacing him at the graveside."

Josie's cover was to apply for a job at Gloughton Mill in Massachusetts. The year was 1824. Packed in her luggage were a black veil and ebony gown, mourners garb. Newly hired mill girl Josie would spy on the cotton factory operations. Soon, Josie Clay was "rising on the platform of stubborn compassion with a work ethic to admire." Her work ethic and healing skills did not go unnoticed. She ministered to a mill girl injured on the job and mixed elixirs for several sick girls. Manager Braham Taylor had definitely noticed. "A dormant protection woke up in Braham with great force."

Josie was trapped in a web of lies and deceit. Posing as a mourner and being a lookout for the body snatchers was a way to ensure successful grave-robbing. When Braham's beloved aunt died, Josie insisted on spending the entire night by her graveside. Aunt Myrtle's grave remained undisturbed.
Josie needed to break free from this immoral resurrection business.

"The Yellow Lantern: True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime" by Angie Dicken could arguably be classified as historical fiction, historical romance or Christian romance. The novel seemed to be more about the girls work at the cotton mill and less about systematic grave-robbing. Examination of one's moral compass cannot be understated.

Thank you Barbour Publishing, Inc. and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Yellow Lantern".

I think this story line, especially where relating to grave robbery, had the potential to be much more interestingly written. The book starts off strong with Josephine awakening in a terrifying situation and draws the reader in, but I found the bulk of the story when she is working as a mill girl quite dull. I did enjoy the historical vision of women working in mills during this time period and the highlighting of unsafe work conditions.

Author Dicken has several published novels with good reviews and I was initially delighted to read The Yellow Lantern,  Dicken writes with skill and sets the scene in an eerie, compelling opening.  However, The Yellow Lantern was a disappointment to me. I recognized before starting that it was written for a niche genre. and from the description, I expected thrilling drama,  Instead, the book delivered a preposterous storyline, tepid characters, contrived dialog and so much repetition of trite phrases that I started counting them.  Characters "narrowed their eyes" a dozen times throughout the novel, "slumped" nine times, "grimaced" nineteen times, and "sighed" an astonishing twenty-four times!  As American body-snatchers were active during the time period of the novel, I expected some factual detail rooted in history instead of the melodramatic Dr. Chadwick and his uncertain motive and sanity.  Most troubling to me is that I found very little evidence of active Christian faith in the mawkish main character, Josie Clay.  She seemed maudlin about life and fickle about Braham, her love interest, and when love was finally (and abruptly) mutually declared, it seemed too little, too late.

This book is well written and will keep you on the edge of your seat.  It is full of suspense and will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you Barbour Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.