Family secrets and ominous prophecies, original characters and melodramatic plot twists—everything is present in abundance in this captivating, truly English book. If Diana Setterfield, in her "Thirteenth Tale," reminded readers of novels by the Brontë sisters, then F.E. Higgins immerses us in the mystical atmosphere of Dickens and Oscar Wilde stories. Ladlow Horkins, treacherously betrayed by his own parents (the narration, as in Stevenson’s "Treasure Island," is mostly from the perspective of a young hero), ends up in a small and very strange town where nearly every resident has something to hide; where a book-seller is ready to kill for a priceless copy; where a pawnbroker takes other people’s secrets as collateral. What secrets does the "Black Book of Secrets" hold—for which people are ready to do anything? That is what our hero will have to find out in this intriguing mystery novel. A stunning book with an amazing, gripping, and unlike anything else plot, classic English language, interesting characters, and intrigue.