A Tales from the Secrets Closet

October 1, 2008
Gr 4-6-Full of creatively descriptive language, this delightful story moves along rapidly, bordering on but never crossing into campy. Billy Bones lives with his parents, the proverbial skeletons in the closet, who have the job of guarding the secrets and lies of the residents of High Manners Manor, including the current household head, the nefarious Sir Barkley Braggety Biglum VI. His recently orphaned niece, Millicent, now lives at the mansion, where she is relegated to the attic. Naturally curious, she often sneaks out of her room to explore. She comes upon her grandmother, Dame Biglum, who has been shut away upstairs, and the Bones's secrets closet. After recovering from their initial fright, the youngsters become friends, and they work together to uncover secrets about the Biglum family history, Billy's puzzling origins, and Barkley's latest plot. Meanwhile, in the Afterlife, investigations about the Boneses' own family mysteries are underway. All works out in the end as secrets are revealed, goodness and truth win out over lies and deception, and villains get their just deserts. Characters are aptly namedthe unlikable housekeeper, Miss Primly; the collector of souls, Uncle Grim; and the lawyers Hack, Whack, and Plunder. Cartoon sketches add to the drama and humor. "Billy Bones" is a fun read."Jennifer D. Montgomery, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Billy lives in a closet full of secrets, and it's not a bad life. Everything changes when Millicent comes to High Manners Manor. Can Billy stop her from exposing his secrets? Does he want to? Lincoln is a little too delighted by his own fantasy-world-building, but skimming over the ponderous descriptions reveals a cheerfully creepy tale of family mystery.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)