Tuesday, August 27, 2019

About the Book

Book: The Yellow Lantern

Author: Angie Dicken

Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense

Release Date: August, 2019

Josephine Is Forced to Spy for Grave Robbers
Step into True Colors—a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

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?

Click here to grab your copy.

About the Author

Angie Dicken credits her love of story to reading British literature during life as a military kid in England. Now living in the U.S. heartland, she’s a member of ACFW, sharing about author life with her fellow Alley Cats on The Writer’s Alley blog and Facebook page. Besides writing, she is a busy mom of four and works in Adult Ministry. Angie enjoys eclectic new restaurants, authentic conversation with friends, and date nights with her Texas Aggie husband. Connect with her online at www.angiedicken.com.

More from Angie

Barbour’s True Colors Crime concept intrigued me from the very beginning. Being the daughter of a doctor and discovering the ties of grave robbing to the early medical profession, I was excited to dive deep into 19th century Massachusetts. Grave robbing around Boston and New York was often employed by doctors desperate for medical advancement. Men and women were both involved in the procuring of bodies for doctors. Finding these accounts led me to take took a look at the current medical remedies of the time—tinctures, elixirs, and herbal concoctions. My heroine was created in the tension of a desire to heal and the desperation of medical pursuits.

Amidst these medical ties to the historical moment of 1824, something was also shifting among women in rural areas of New England. Many women were employed by newly built cotton mills (Lowell Mill was my inspiration for the fictional Gloughton Mill in The Yellow Lantern). These working opportunities for women offered an escape from their home-bound lives and the rare chance for independence. Of course, with such industrial environments, injuries, and sometimes death, would occur. Noting the accounts of these kind of fatalities in historical articles, my research came full circle.

I found three strong threads to weave into my grave-robbing story—desperate doctors in need of research, a doctor’s assistant needing an escape from her village, and a mill, not only offering that escape, but the chance at bodies for the desperate medical community.

My heroine, Josie Clay, found life in the tangle of these threads of mills, medicine, and grave robbing—all playing out within the pages of The Yellow Lantern.

The third installment in the series, True Colors : Historical Stories of American Crime is one of shock and dismay. I have heard talk about movies where body snatchers were involved, but I had no idea that this practice was true until

 I read this story. 

Josephine is the focus  of this story where she is forced to be part of

a horrible plot to steal dead bodies. My heart broke as she felt she

had no choice but to agree to help. She wanted to free her father

from people who threatened to take everything from him. She felt like

she had no choice even though it was against everything she believed in.

The story does  raise the question of how far you are willing

 to go in order to save a loved one. Josephine was spared from

 death but I think she died a little inside each time she had

to do the unthinkable. I did enjoy her friendship  with Braham.

His obvious attraction to Josephine is perhaps what helped

 her to finally realize she could not carry out any more body snatching. 

The author provides a great history lesson about  cotton mills

 during this time period. Women working in conditions that

were dangerous as machines broke down seemed to be an

everyday occurrence. There was little pay for these women

 and accidents seemed to happen more frequently. It was a perfect

 breeding ground for death and an opportunity for body snatchers

 to meet their needs. 

I loved trying to figure out who was the mastermind behind

this unthinkable plot to steal dead bodies. It was interesting

to learn that doctors used these bodies to do medical research on. 

Another intriguing part of the story was the use of mixing

 herbs to help heal the sick during this time. There are so many plants

and herbs today that have helped the medical field  and to read

its use during the early 1820’s was inspiring. 

The story is indeed hard to grasp at times but the author

 does a great job of giving readers questions to ask themselves.

Did Josie trust God enough to help her? Why would a father put

his daughter in such danger? “The love of money  is the root of all evil,”

as the scripture says is very relevant in this story. Money was at

the center of this crime and it devoured many people who gave into greed. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion