The Secrets of Newberry [Paperback]

Victor McGlothin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2010

Two lifelong friends are about to discover the hard side of life in The Big Easy after a heinous crime is committed . . .

THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY

1950s New Orleans couldn't be sweeter for Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux and Hampton Bynote. Friends since meeting at an illegal gambling house outside Newberry, Louisiana, they indulge themselves with all the fine women, good food, and wild nights they can handle. All seems good in N'awlins-especially for Hampton, who plans to make a clean break from riotous living after falling for the woman of his dreams, classy Magnolia Holiday. But the love of a good woman may not be enough to pull Hampton from the brink of disaster when his pal Bones murders a white city councilman during a simple robbery gone wrong.

Now with the local police and FBI hot on their trails, Hampton and Bones must decide whether friendship is worth losing their freedom-and possibly their lives.



"McGlothin creates a sizzling slice of life in 1947 . . . He weaves convincing historical elements into a fast-moving caper."

-Publishers Weekly on Ms. Etta's Fast House

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McGlothin (Sinful Too) explores themes of race in 1955 New Orleans via the spirited capers of his two protagonists, Bones Arcineaux and Hampton Bynote. Hampton, from the nearby village of Newberry, is a young and defiant black man who befriends Bones, a young mulatto dandy. They partner as cat burglars hitting affluent French Quarter residences until one heist ends in the murder of a white city politician. Back in Newberry, Hampton falls in love with Magnolia Holiday, but they're separated after the New Orleans cops, unable to nab Hampton for the murder, arrest him for a lesser crime that gets him locked up for 14 months. Jumping ahead to 1971, Hampton and Magnolia are settled with a family when Bones shows up with plans for him and his old friend, but despite their criminal association, a more ominous issue arises from an unexpected quarter. Though the villains are little more than piggish caricatures, McGlothin's rugged prose captures the sultry locale, and the suspenseful edge is a nice complement to the story's social conscience. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"McGlothin's rugged prose captures the sultry locale, and the suspenseful edge is a nice complement to the story's social conscience." (PW )

"Victor McGlothin has written an amazing story of spiritual and emotional redemption. DOWN ON MY KNEES is a welcome addition to Christian fiction." (#1 Essence Bestselling author of Grown Folks Business Victoria Christopher Murray )

"McGlothin unravels at a relentless pace a sexy and twisted story of marital and spiritual unfaithfulness, culminating in a shocker of a conclusion. Eric Jerome Dickey, watch out." (Publishers Weekly on Sinful Too )

"I found myself lost in the story, living the moment with the characters and feeling their emotions. I recommend this book to those who love post-civil war era stories and romance." (APOO Bookclub )

"The last few chapters had me furiously turning pages to find out what happens." (The Free Lance-Star Laura L. Hutchison )

"A talented storyteller with a knack for telling a convincing story, McGlothin manages to weave an entertaining story that may indeed ring true to many readers... WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO will introduce readers to yet another new and refreshing voice in the world of contemporary African-American fiction."
(QBR on WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO )

"The twists and surprises are both plausible and unbelievable, the novel both engrossing and entertaining." (Booklist on WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO )

"4 Stars... Victor McGlothin has written a superb, true-to-life book. With a masterfully created plot, it explores the turbulent lives of three courageous women. This book offers a gripping, emotional glimpse into the dark world of the unknown."
(Romantic Times BookClub on WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO )

"A fast-paced, soulful, dramatic story." (The Sunday Oklahoman on WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO )

"An absolute page-turner...intriguing and thought-provoking" (New York Times Bestselling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby on AUTUMN LEAVES )

"Credible, honest." (Kirkus Reviews on AUTUMN LEAVES )

"The pacing of the story and the storyline itself ought to keep the reader interested until the last page is turned since there's plenty of drama and secrets to keep you wondering and guessing until the end. Victor McGlothin has told a story that is sure to satisfy fans of his first novel, AUTUMN LEAVES, as well as new readers."
(Book-remarks.com on AUTUMN LEAVES )

"McGlothin creates a sizzling slice of life in 1947. McGlothin weaves convincing historical elements into a fast-moving caper, and Baltimore Floyd is a delightful scoundrel." (Publisher's Weekly on MS. ETTA'S FAST HOUSE )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (June 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446178136
• ISBN-13: 978-0446178136
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,308,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Essence Best Seller- Victor McGlothin is a former bank vice-president who nearly forfeited an athletic scholarship due to poor reading skills. His knack for weaving passionate tales of suspense and drama, ('Autumn Leaves,' 'What's A Woman To Do?' 'Every Sistah Wants It,' and 'Down on My Knees') has book clubs across the country adding his novels to their Must-Read lists. Victor, the on-line columnist of highly entertaining Victor Said', a real Brotha to Sistah look at relationships, has also given his loyal readers several reasons to hail him as a refreshing voice in African American fiction. Living in Dallas with his wife and two sons, Victor is working on future novels and as a contributing writer for D Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fictional World that Seemed Real, June 21, 2010

By 

Shelia M Goss (Essence Magazine Best-Selling Author of My Invisible Husband, Delilah, Hollywood Deception and more.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secrets of Newberry (Paperback)

The Secrets of Newberry opens up in 1955 and readers are immediately introduced to Hampton and Bones in a scene that sets the stage to Bones and Hampton's odd relationship. Victor McGlothin does an excellent job of drawing a picture of that time period in south Louisiana. The town of Newberry is filled with secrets that can easily get a man (or woman) killed. McGlothin is without a doubt an excellent story teller. This has to be his best book to date. If I didn't know beforehand, I would have thought this was a true story instead of a book filled with made up characters. I look forward to reading more books like this by Victor McGlothin.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read!, June 17, 2010

By 

A. Jarrell Hayes "Give a poet a pen" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secrets of Newberry (Paperback)

There are secrets worth killing for. And there are secrets worth keeping in order to prevent killings. Victor McGlothin's new novel, "The Secrets of Newberry", is rife with both types of secrets.

Set in the 1950s, in Newberry, a small town near New Orleans, Louisiana, McGlothin weaves a tale where the chief secrets center on the white man's lust for black flesh. No matter what shape, size, or age of the black flesh, the white men in this novel can't get enough of it. In order to keep the peace and to prevent violence, the abused and molested Blacks remain quiet about their encounters; sometimes out of shame and fear, other times out of pride and love.

Hampton Bynote is a black man in his early 20s trying to forget his own past while trying to deal with life as a black man in the deep Jim Crow south. His experience growing up as good friends with the son of the white plantation owner of the land his family sharecrops on, and his own take-no-stuff attitude, makes Hampton feel he deserves to be treated equal to Whites. He displays his defiance against the Jim Crow laws through violence and petty crimes against Whites.

Hampton's schemes and misdemeanors evolve into felonies when he runs into Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux, a white man, at an illegal gambling house. Bones convinces Hampton to join him in burglary scheme where they rob rich Whites and give to themselves. Hampton is fine with stealing, but Bones has something more vicious and dastardly in store for those they rob, and when Hampton finds out what Bones is really up to, he begins to have second thoughts.

All this is going on while the secrets of the White man's craving for black flesh are being unraveled in Newberry. Hampton discovers more than he ever wanted to know about the sexual practices of his mother and sister, and the lengths they would go to keep their secrets secret from the men folk. In the past, there was a violent uprising of black men once they learned of how black women were used sexually by the white masters, and of course the white men didn't want another one, yet they couldn't let go of their secret lust of flesh. So the white men convinced the women it was in their best interests to remain quiet about their affairs; and the black women consented willingly.

McGlothin is a wonderful storyteller and is able to transport the reader into the 1950s with use of language. The characters - and even the narration - speak straight from the era, with the fast talking, slang-filled dialogue that increases the book's realism and enjoyment factors. Hampton is a great character, especially when he falls in love with the equally marvelous character Magnolia, and the suffering they endure in order to keep their love pure, honest, and without secrets.

McGlothin perhaps extends the novel longer than it needed to be, taking it into the `70s. The novel lost a bit of its charm during the transition, and the events within the later part of the book seem to be a reach to connect readers to sexual abuses more familiar in contemporary times. The book didn't need this extension; nor does the addition take away from the brilliant story. "The Secrets of Newberry" is definitely a must read.

Reviewed by A. Jarrell Hayes
Book Review Editor
The Black Urban Times (online)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and quite the page turner., May 22, 2011

By 

Jennifer "Jennifer D." (Warren, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secrets of Newberry (Paperback)

Wow, what a story. I couldn't put this one down, it was so intriguing. I really liked Hampton and wanted to see everything turn out ok for him, even though he kept getting himself into trouble.

The story was really well written. Hampton is looking for something more than life on a plantation can offer a black man in the 1950s. Things seem to be going fairly well for him and then he meet Bones. Bones becomes Hampton's ticket to the life he wants while at the same time being the one thing that can take Hampton's dreams from him.

The story moves pretty fast, and at times I felt a bit too fast. Some things just seemed to me that they needed to simmer a bit more before coming to conclusion. There was a lot that happened in the story though and I think that's part of why everything moved so fast. Had it been a slow story it either would have been too long to hold my attention or it would have been missing so many pieces.

It was a pretty good story and I really enjoyed it. I really didn't want to put it down because I wanted to see how Hampton was going to get him (and his family) out of the binds that they've gotten into. While things don't always go the way Hampton planned he was pretty quick on his feet and was able to at least put band-aids on the situations that arise.

I liked Hampton and really wanted to see good things for him. I also liked Magnolia (Hampton's love interest). But I think my favorite character was Pearl Lee, see just seemed to be so level headed. Although she does have some moments when her heart takes over and she throws that level-headedness out the door.

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. This is not a paid review and is a truthful and honest review.