The Black Book of Secrets by F. E. Higgins

When Ludlow Fitch is a victim of a horrible betrayal, he decides to leave the City. On the same night that he enters Pargus Parvus, another man, Joe Zabbidou enters the sleepy village. Zabbidou is a pawnbroker with a difference; he buys people's deepest, darkest secrets and he's looking for new customers—and an apprentice. The mysterious Ludlow seems perfect for the job. However, when he begins his new life as a scribe, noting the villagers' horrendous secrets, Ludlow's dirty past threatens to resurface.