Billy Bones: A Tale from the Secrets Closet by Christopher Lincoln, Avi Ofer (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Deep within High Manners Manor, Billy and his skeleton parents live in the Secrets Closet, where they're in charge of filing all the secrets and lies of the unscrupulous Biglum family. Then Billy meets Millicent, Sir Biglum's niece who has been recently orphaned. Together, Billy and Millicent encounter ghosts and other uncanny creatures as they explore each other's worlds and uncover the biggest secret of all: Billy was once a Biglum.

Chris Lincoln has created a richly imaginative, highly original world. In this spooky adventure in the tradition of filmmaker Tim Burton, friendships bloom, betrayals linger, schemes entangle - and heroism appears in the most unexpected places.

Children's Literature

The Bones family consists of three skeletons that live in a small closet in the High Manners Manor. Their closet is packed tightly with many family secrets, lies, and half-truths. As the Basic Guide to the Afterlife explains, humans have never, thankfully, entered a secrets closet. That changes, though, when young Millicent moves into the Manor. Millicent stumbles upon Billy, and they quickly become good friends. Millicent's sad spirits are further lifted when she meets a sweet old woman who turns out to be her estranged grandmother. The three quickly become friends and they form an alliance that is desperately needed to stop Millicent's greedy uncle, Sir Biglum, from stealing the valuable paintings that Millicent's dearly deceased father left for her. Will Sir Biglum be able to keep his skeletons in the closet, or will all of his lies and secrets be revealed? This story is original and suspenseful, and the creepy characters are surprisingly warm and endearing, proving that humans can sometimes be scarier than monsters. Reviewer: Denise Daley

VOYA

Ten-year-old Billy Bones spends his days locked away in the darkest, most secret closet in the Biglum mansion. There he watches as his parents sort and file the Biglum family's biggest secrets, shady half-truths, and darkest lies into crates and chests that crowd the small space. Life is boring and a bit lonely for Billy, whose only friend is a beetle named Scamp, but when a little girl named Millicent moves into the attic of the big house, excitement follows. An amateur sleuth, Millicent quickly uncovers a host of surprises: ghosts, manifestations, an old woman locked away, and more important, Billy and his family. Released from his secrets closet, Billy and Millicent work together to uncover the mysteries surrounding the Biglum family and its evil heir, Sir Biglum. Although there is much to discover, nothing is as shocking as the secrets they uncover about Billy himself. A delightful new take on skeletons in the closet, this book offers a unique story for fans of both mystery and the supernatural. Although the "secrets" are uncovered without great difficulty, the narrative remains gripping as specters appear around every corner. The most colorful character, however, is the elderly grandmother, whose spunk and tenacity will quickly find her a place in the hearts of readers. A fast and fun read, the story wraps up a bit abruptly and without much trouble, but most readers will be attached enough to the characters not to mind a "happily every after" for all of them. Reviewer: Courtney Wika

School Library Journal

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 named-the 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

Kirkus Reviews

Newly orphaned Millicent Hues has a natural curiosity that suits her new home, High Manners Manor. Sadly, her explorations are curtailed by her greedy uncle, Sir Biglum, and his housekeeper, Miss Primly. High Manners is a house good at keeping its secrets, but the last thing Millicent would have expected was to stumble upon a closet with honest-to-goodness skeletons in it. The Bones family members are the official secret-keepers of the household, but young Billy Bones, tired of his closet home, shares Millicent's desire for adventure. Sir Biglum's own secrets are intricately tied to Billy's past, and it's up to these intrepid new friends to uncover the truth behind the lies and to defeat the villains who wish to destroy them. Lincoln's book has an easygoing charm that never demands much of its readers. Despite multiple death scenes (most related in flashback), it's a light read with a gentle tone. Not a particularly new or original piece of work, but one that's sure to amuse those kids with a love of the mildly macabre. (Horror. 8-12)

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