The Secrets of Newberry

The burden of secrets held by 3 generations of Bynote women, suicide, murder, revenge, love, witchcraft, mystery, molestation, humor and redemption. The Secrets Of Newberry has it all! Mr. McGlothin's melodic writing style captures your attention early on, and keeps you entranced throughout the novel. He paints a vivid picture of the town of Newberry and transforms the reader to that time and space. The many surprises, twists & turns throughout the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Loved it!

What a great read! Setting the stage in New Orleans 1955, two young men Hampton "Swagger" Bynote and smooth talking Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux, quickly became business partners in crime. Bone's begin to depend on the young unsuspecting friend "Swagger" to pull off the next heist. Hampton being from a poor black family was eager to get in on the takings. But little did he know that "Bones" had more than money and women on his mind. As Hampton falls for the young Ms Magnolia Holiday, other atrocities surrouning his life begin to reveal themselves. Hampton, a quick thinker, seems to know just how far to take dealing with the southern plantation mentality and what it takes to settle a deal. The women of Newberry, a small town just outside of New Orleans, have been keeping secrets of their own. They've become victims of the way of life in old Newberry and can't seem to find their way out of this horrible sin. Satisfying the sexual appetite of the white plantation owners. As for Bones, he's on a mission of his own. His long time friend Swagger begin to see the reason for the duo ever meeting. Was it by chance, or be design? Read on readers! You don't wanna miss out on "The Secrets of Newberry".

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.

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 sexu

In 1955 in Newberry in St. Bernard Parrish, Louisiana, mulatto Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux and black Hampton Bynote meet in the antebellum Twin Cedars Casino, an illegal gambling house. They team up as cat burglars in the nearby French Quarter. Back in St. Bernard their occupation allows them the best of women as they can afford to indulge. That changes at the Funky Butt Dance Halls when Bynote meets and falls in love with Magnolia Holiday. However, their latest robbery goes bad leaving New Orleans Councilman Huey Boytte dead; killed by Bones. NOPD tries to prove the black partner did the homicide, but settle on a lesser felon that leaves Bones free and Hampton doing fourteen months. In 1971, Hampton and Magnolia raise a family together as he has gone scared straight since being released from prison. He loves Magnolia and their two daughters. However, his quiet family world is threatened when his former cat burger partner arrives with a job for the two of the. With Bones also comes violent criminals and even nastier people who menace his loved ones. The setting makes for a fabulous historical thriller that uses crime to enable the reader to compare two eras (near the beginning and near the end of the active Civil Rights movement). The audience sees how various subcultures perceive relationships in 1955 and in 1971 as Victor McGlothin purposely uses stereotypical beliefs to enhance the deep story line. Harriet Klausner