By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book:
Title: The Green Dress
Author: Liz Tolsma
Genre: Historical
Publication Date: June 1, 2020

Fiction Based on Strange, But True, History

True, riveting stories of American criminal activity are explored through a unique stories of historical romantic suspense. Collect them all and be inspired by the hope that always finds its way even in the darkest of times.

When Harriet Peters came to Boston in 1882, the Robinson family took her in like one of their own, and Harriet became closer to Lizzie Robinson than her own siblings. Now, four years later, Lizzie is deathly sick, failing quickly just like several others in her family have done over the past few years. How can so many in one family die from the same mysterious illness? Harriet doesn’t have answers, but she is determined to help the family, bringing in a new-to-the-neighborhood doctor, Michael Wheaton.

As Harriet and Michael close in on the answer, putting their own lives at risk, can the cause be found before anyone else dies?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I have really enjoyed devouring this series with American Crimes published by Barbour novels. I have read every single one of them. Some I like more than others. But The Green Dress written by Liz Tolsma was a fascinating read. I had a pretty good idea who was doing the harm to the family members. I don't think Tolsma tried to hide the reality of the bad person from us. I was just in awe over the character's ability to do these things to their family. I loved the writing style. Tolsma took me into the story and the setting with her historical research and allowed me to enjoy the storytelling. The concept of the green dress is the novel is a little creepy. See if, as a reader, you catch it before it is revealed. I did! Overall, The Green Dress was a delightful, yet horrible story about a true event in America's history. Fans of this series should pick this one up and add it to their collection.

I received a complimentary copy of The Green Dress by Liz Tolsma from Barbour Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Green Dress

About the Author

Liz Tolsma is a popular speaker and an editor and the owner of the Write Direction Editing. An almost-native Wisconsinite, she resides in a quiet corner of the state with her husband and is the mother of three. Her son proudly serves as a U.S. Marine. They adopted all of their children internationally, and one has special needs. When she gets a few spare minutes, she enjoys reading, relaxing on the front porch, walking, working in her large perennial garden, and camping with her family.

More from Liz

We’ve all been there—started a letter or an email or even a list, didn’t like what we had, crossed it out or hit the delete button, and tried again. Now imagine that happening when you’re writing a novel.

That’s what occurred with The Green Dress. Finding the perfect place to start a novel can be tricky, but when you’re trying to balance fact with fiction, it’s even harder. I needed the fictional heroine, Harriet Peters, to have a good reason to come into contact with and become close to the factual Robinson family. And I needed for the hero, Michael Wheaton, to meet Harriet early on. So I dove into the story. Five chapters later, the hero and heroine hadn’t yet met. The book wasn’t working.

I scrapped those chapters and started at a different point. At first, it seemed to be going better. I was happy. Until I got to the fifth chapter, when I realized again that the book wasn’t working. Frankly, it was boring. So those ended up in the virtual trash bin. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking on my deadline. I was desperate to find the right starting point, at a place with high tension. Finally, I had an “aha” moment, and the story flowed from there. That’s how the first five chapters (and the rest of The Green Dress) came to be.

—Liz Tolsma