The Black Book of Secrets
FE Higgins

When Ludlow Fitch runs away from his evil parents, he finds himself in the quiet village of Pagus Parvus where he falls into the company of the mysterious Joe Zabbidou. Joe is a pawnbroker who seems to deal mainly in secrets: he pays people money for their deepest, darkest confessions. As each sinister confession is written into Joe's Black Book of Secrets, the atmosphere in the village begins to change until one day things become positively explosive.

FE Higgins
The Black Book of Secrets

FE Higgins was born in England but raised in Ireland. She now lives and writes in a house that dates back to the fifteenth century, in a small village in rural Kent. The Black Book of Secrets, her debut novel, was published in hardback in January 2007 with the paperback following in September 2007. It met a huge amount of critical acclaim including being the first SUNDAY TIMES Children’s Book of the Week in 2007. Eion Colfer also heralded it as 'Wonderful. Anyone looking for the next big thing has come to the right place. Higgins has created a uniquely grim fantasy world that more than holds its own with Dickens or Peake. Her characters are brilliantly realised and the story grabs at the reader with hooked talons'. The Bone Magician, her second novel for Macmillan Children's Books, was published in March 2008.

(Page 19)

"He threw Ludlow his cloak and the boy curled up in the space beside the fire. He had never felt such a soft fur before and it wrapped itself around his legs almost of its own accord. Ludlow watched through half-closed eyes as Joe stretched out on the bed opposite, his legs not quite fully extended, and began to snore. When he was certain that Joe was asleep Ludlow pulled out the purse he had stolen from the carriage and hid it behind a loose brick in the wall. Then he took the paper and read it once again.

My name is Joe Zabidou I am the Secret Pawnbroker

A secret pawnbroker? Thought Ludlow. What sort of job is that? But he did not ponder the question for very long before drifting off into a sleep full of wild dreams that made his heart race."