Customer Reviews

The Black Book of Secrets

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Why no one knows about this book yet is a mystery to me. I found it in a French bookstore, in the English section, in Quebec City. This is an absolutely wonderful first book filled with true horror and wonders for all ages.

I don't know why the book's publisher has chosen to categorize this book only for 9-12 year olds, as it reads quite fine to me at 29. I bought it without noticing it was a children's book, and got a good way in before I even realized that was the intention.

The story starts out with an anguishing bit of horror, and then quickly moves through the English countryside as we follow our city-boy protaganist to where he lands in Parvus Pravil, where he meets and apprentices with the most extraordinary pawnbroker.

The pawnbroker specializes in people's secrets, and at midnight invites townfolk to his shop where they tell them his worst secrets and he pays them for their safe keeping.

I think fans of Harry Potter, The Sandman, and Lemony Snicket, all will truly enjoy this novel.

Also, I have no idea what this other review is talking about as this story is very clearly about a little boy, who in no way discovers a book of secrets, but instead, helps write one.

Everyone has secrets. Some small, others big. Imagine if you could sell your worse secret and have someone else deal with it. Such is the premise of the book, THE BLACK BOOK OF SECRETS.

Ludlow Fitch barely escapes a terrible fate in the City. Latching onto a carriage he finds himself in a village and a new twist of fate. A mysterious pawnbroker, Joe Zabbidon, offers him employment to write down the villagers deepest, darkest secrets in the Black Book of Secrets.

At first everything seems like a dream come true-Ludlow has a warm bed, employment, and respect. This was something that alluded him as a pickpocket back in the City.

But not all villagers are happy with the pawnbroker. Jeremiah Ratchet owns most of the village. He watches as those who used to be in his debt, no longer fear him.

What secrets are in the book? Jeremiah hatches a plot to gain assess to the book and hopefully get the villagers back into his debt.

All the while Ludlow has his own secret, one that gives him nightmares every night. Though he is thankful to Joe for what he's done, he can't help but wonder about the pawnbroker. Is he the devil like some whisper?

I LOVED this book! From the very first page I was transported to this fantasy world. Who wouldn't want to sell their darkest secrets? This is a fast-paced read that will keep you glued to each villager's secret. Some of the secrets are pretty graphic but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to read more!

The details of the time period were realistic. I admit, I squimmed when I read about Barton Gumbroot's special talent of pulling teeth to sell to the wealthy.

I recommend this book to those who love reading historical fantasies.

This book is very unique in that the plot reveals little secrets and hints about the character that make you wonder if the book is in the supernatural genre. However, the author leaves that open for interpretation because everything could easily be explained by natural causes and effects. It is a fun mystery book for the young adult audience with twists and turns sure to keep anyone enthralled.

This book is also unique because the author takes the time to describe all of the characters in depth. Every character is important and none are to be overlooked. There is also the clever placement of a symbol at strategically placed intervals in the chapters. Its meaning is revealed at the end of the book. It's a very clever tool to use in the formatting of the book. Even the outward appearance of the book is interesting. It is built as the Book of Secrets is described in the story. It almost gives it a creepy feeling when you look at its black edged pages.

As a whole, the book is very clever and an enjoyable read. I would especially recommend this book for the grades of seven through ten, but anyone could enjoy this book.

I didnt realize it was a children's book either when I purchased. It starts off well, and the writing style is unique. It was not before long I was into the story and wanting to know the outcome and the ultimate secret of Joe. I will be honest, the story ended long before the book does for me. And the book's ending was quite disappointing. To me it seems that the author wrote themselves into a corner and didn't come out of it too well. There are some lessons here that I am not sure I want my child to learn either.......that if you had a hand in someone's death, even indirectly, that you should keep it a secret. What kind of lesson is that?

"When I opened my eyes I knew that nothing in my miserable life prior to that moment could possibly be as bad as what was about to happen. I was lying on the cold earthen floor of a basement room lit by a single candle, no more than an hour's burning left. Instruments of a medical nature hung from hooks in the beams. Dark stains on the floor suggested blood. But it was the chair against the opposite wall that fully confirmed my suspicions. Thick leather straps attached to the arms and the legs were there for one purpose only: to hold down an unwilling patient. Ma and Pa were standing over me.
" 'E's awake,' crowed Ma excitedly.
"Pa dragged me to my feet. He had me in an iron grip, my arm wrenched up behind my back. Ma held me by the hair. I looked from one to the other. Their grinning faces were only inches away from mine. I knew I should not look to them to save me.
"Another man, concealed until now in the shadows, stepped forward and took me by the chin. He forced open my mouth and ran a blackened, foul-tasting finger around my gums.
" 'How much?' asked Pa, drooling with anticipation.
" 'Not bad,' said the man. 'Thrupence apiece. Maybe twelve in all.'
" 'It's a deal,' said Pa. 'Who needs teeth anyway?'
" 'Someone, I hope,' replied the man dryly. 'I sell 'em for a living.'
"And they laughed, all three, Ma and Pa and Barton Gumbroot, the notorious tooth surgeon of Old Goat's Alley.
"Once the money for my teeth was agreed with Barton, they moved quickly. Together they dragged me over to the surgeon's chair. I kicked and shouted and spat and bit; I wasn't going to make it easy for them. I knew how Barton Gumbroot made his living, preying on the poor, pulling their teeth, paying them pennies and selling them for ten times as much. I was racked with fear. I had no protection. I was going to feel it all. Every nerve-stabbing twinge."

Oh man! I shiver as I read that opening scene and realize how, four decades later, I am still so traumatized by my own childhood experiences in the world of dentistry.

In contrast to the struggling Ludlow Fitch -- who is about to escape that basement room with most (but not all) of his teeth still intact -- I was more like the lamb being led to slaughter. Every six months I would obediently enter the little shop of horrors that constituted the office of my childhood dentist, Dr. Arthur Roberts, where he would constantly discover new places to drill into my teeth. I would sit there and quietly endure the agony of every nerve-stabbing twinge.

It was not until I was in middle school, when my mother found a new dentist closer to where we then lived, that I learned that other dentists first administered Novocain to eliminate the pain of the drilling. I am still unclear whether Dr. Robert's lack of pain management was a strategy to get me to do a better job of brushing my teeth, was a byproduct of my parent's dental plan, or whether Dr. Roberts really was a nineteenth century kind of dentist and I was just too young to be administered the proverbial shot of whiskey -- like in a cowboy movie -- before his getting down to business.

In any case, young Ludlow Fitch escapes his parents, the despicable tooth surgeon, and the City by clinging precariously to the back of a departing carriage "like an organ-grinder's monkey," and ends up in the mountain village of Pagus Parvus, where he is taken in by Joe Zabbidou, a mysterious character who has arrived in the village at the very same moment. During the day, Joe runs a pawnshop he's established where he pays handsomely for worthless junk. And, after midnight, Joe is a pawnbroker of secrets, paying handsomely for those secrets that the villagers want to get off their chests in order to attain some peace of mind. Ludlow becomes his scribe, carefully getting every word written into the Black Book of Secrets.

Ludlow, who over the course of his entire childhood in the City was forced by his parents to be a thief, cannot fathom what Joe's angle is:

" 'What exactly are you doing, Joe? Who are you? Why did you come here?'
"He leaned back on the counter and stretched his long legs out in front of him. 'I am just an old man, Ludlow, trying to help those in need.'
" 'But the book, the money. You give all the time. What do you get back?'
" 'It doesn't have to be about taking. Don't you think it's enough to give? Why should I expect anything in return?'
"I was beginning to understand, but it was not easy. I suppose I was still a thief at heart. My whole life in the City had been about taking for myself and taking care of myself."

THE BLACK BOOK OF SECRETS offers readers an intriguing view of the human psyche as the equilibrium of this isolated village, located in the distant past, is set off-kilter by the arrival of Joe and Ludlow:

" 'Why must it be human nature to hear one thing but believe it is another?'
" 'Because we want things to get better,' I said. 'Otherwise we would all give up.'
"Joe closed his eyes. 'Dum spiro, spiro,' he said. 'While I breath, I hope.' "

It is an exceptionally well-crafted and mysterious tale.

Now, the question is: what is YOUR darkest secret?

Look at these reviews - unique, different, gothic, interesting, delicious, macabre, vivid, thrilling. How is that for making an impression on readers?

I don't know why the Higgins books have not made it into the mainstream, or why they get so little buzz, but I congratulate you on having found this site, and encourage you to give this book a try. It is a great introduction to quality writing.

Enjoyed all the 4 books in the series. Great writing, imaginative and original plots! Makes dirt look good and you tend to churn in the plots from your memory and relish 'em.

I honestly did not expect much from this book. It was just something I found in a sale at dirt cheap price. But I was pleasantly surprised. The Black Book of Secrets is a very unusual book. Ludlow Fitch, a 16-year-old boy, runs away from his cruel parents and by chance reaches a village called Pagus Parvus in the dead of the night. There he meets a man called Joe Zabbidou who has come out of nowhere to live in the village and has a secret. He is a pawnbroker by day and a trader of secrets by night. Ludlow becomes his assistant.

The bad guy in the village is Jeremiah Ratchet who has half the village under his debt and is a very cruel man. The villagers start to trust Joe and come to trade their secrets with him in the night. Most of them have to do with Jeremiah's cruelty. Joe is unable to do anything in spite of knowing how cruel Jeremiah is.

I don't want to reveal much so I wont tell you what happens. But I loved the end as much as I loved the book. I loved reading all the secrets and wondering how everything tied together. The Black Book of Secrets is supposed to be a children's book but I think it's very dark to be read by children. It could be more of a YA novel.

The back of the book says the author found Ludlow's memoirs concealed within the hollow of a wooden leg. She pieced together the memoirs and filled in the gaps with her imagination. I don't know how true it is but the result is a very entertaining book.

Definitely recommended.

Previously I had read The Bone Magician (the second book in this series) and really enjoyed it. I was eager to read this book since it was supposed to be even better than The Bone Magician. While I didn't think this book was better, just different than the Bone Magician, I absolutely loved it and devoured it from cover to cover.

Ludlow Fitch flees his evil parents and ends up in the sleepy rural town of Parvus Pravil. There he meets another new resident to the town a Pawnbroker named Joe Zabbidon. Joe is not any Pawnbroker; he is a Pawnbroker of Secrets and he needs some help with the everyday running of his Pawnshop. Ludlow ends up apprenticing to Joe and finds out that there are more secrets in this sleepy town than he could have imagined. Ludlow also witnesses how a simple Pawnbroker can change the fate of a town.

I adored this book just as much as I adored The Bone Magician. This book is dark in tone, very Gothic but not without humor here and there. It takes place in a sort of Victorian era in a rural setting. There are many unpleasant things that happen and Ludlow must navigate around them to find his calling.

Higgins does an absolutely fantastic job with description and creating a moody, dark atmosphere...that (while a bit spooky) never gets too scary. The author weaves an intricate plot and the quirky characters throughout are very engaging and fun. I had trouble putting this book down and thoroughly enjoyed the writing style.

The book ends well and I am eager to read later books in the series for example: The Eyeball Collector and The Lunatic's Curse. This is an excellent book for middle grade and older readers who like a little creepy in their stories and enjoy dark Gothic settings. It is just a very well told story in the traditional story-telling sense.

Overall I absolutely loved this book. The writing is a pleasure to read and creates a wonderful Gothic atmosphere. The mystery and the quirky characters really make the book hard to put down and keep the reader engaged. I would recommend this book for fans of Joseph Delaney's Last Apprentice series, fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, and any readers who like a Gothic book with a touch of fantasy to it.

This is a hugely entertaining tale of a magical almost wizard like 'secret pawnbroker', his pet frog and his young apprentice Ludlow. The setting is very atmospheric in a Dickensian type era of tooth-pulling, bodysnatching and gruesome pies. The young hero runs for his life from the rank city and is befriended in the country by the mysterious 'secret pawnbroker' who sets up shop in a new community. The book leaves you guessing the whole way through whether the pawnbroker is good or evil and whether his intentions are to help, to exploit the community or perhaps worse.
The book is expertly written and presented as the work of the author F E Higgins who found Ludlows's memoirs and Joe's black book of secrets in a hollow wooden leg, which also features in the story. The extracts from the black book and extracts from the memoir are mixed with the real time action in a believable and gripping tale.
The characters who again are almost Dickensian with their absolutely fabulous names are a well thought out community with lots of interesting secrets to tell. The darker the secret the more the secret pawnbroker pays...
Very highly recommended! Don't miss this one!