'The Library of the Dead’ is the first book in the ‘Edinburgh Nights’ series, a paranormal urban fantasy by the Zimbabwean-Scottish author TL Huchu. There are elements of dystopia, horror, science-fiction, and fantasy, with the story told through the lens of Ropa, a fourteen-year-old protagonist. It’s an ambitious concept, and the end result is a little like a library being thrown into a blender – entertaining, but lacking in finesse and flow.

At fourteen, Ropa is the breadwinner of her family. She can still remember a time when they had a house – although her younger sister can’t – but now they rent a space in the slums for their caravan, Ropa barely making enough to cover that. School is a distant memory, replaced by what she can do to get by: take messages from the dead to the living, ensuring they can pass to the beyond in peace. However, when one of the dead begs her to find her missing son, Ropa is pulled into a conspiracy far beyond anything she ever imagined. There’s much more magic in the world than just ghosts – and much more danger too.

Ropa makes a great protagonist. She’s feisty, brave, and simultaneously wise beyond her years and hopelessly naive. She puts on a tough face, but beneath it she cares deeply. She wants a better life for her little sister than she’s managed for herself and she’ll do anything to get it – even when her sister hates her for it. She also narrates in a Scottish dialect, occasionally interspersed with scientific terminology – something which I enjoyed, but others might find jarring.

While Ropa is the only point-of-view character, there are some great secondary characters – especially Priya, an apprentice Healer who uses a wheelchair, and Ropa’s gran, who clearly has a fascinating backstory only hinted at on page. Priya makes every scene she’s in more fun, and Ropa’s gran brings a sense of peace and calm to an otherwise turbulent novel.

Where it all falls down a bit is the plot. The idea is excellent – children disappearing from their homes, with those who return irrevocably changed – but the execution feels like a middle-grade novel with some adult themes and swearing thrown in. Ropa manages to get out of every sticky situation by sheer luck (except for one, in a mysterious house, which is brilliant). Her friendship with Priya is never explained – Priya simply decides Ropa is her new best friend – and Ropa’s general air of obliviousness makes her seem younger than her fourteen years. Personally, I think this would make a brilliant middle grade novel – but it’s clearly aimed at adults, and as adult fantasy it doesn’t work nearly as well.

The other part which doesn’t work for me is the dystopia. ‘The Library of the Dead’ is set in near-future Edinburgh, but something has happened referred to only as the ‘catastrophe’. There are mobile phones and the internet, but people are just as likely to use a donkey and cart as to use a car. Class divides have been exacerbated, with masses in slums and minorities in massive houses in the cities. There are frequent references to a distant king with an iron rule – everyone must greet each other by wishing him well – but there’s still mandatory public education and a healthcare system, even if it’s one that’s no longer free. The overall feel is cobbled together, and it doesn’t seem necessary alongside the paranormal elements.

Overall, ‘The Library of the Dead’ is a fun read with some great characters and interesting ideas, but it feels more like a hodge-podge of different books than a single linear narrative in its own right. Recommended for adult fans of YA and MG fantasy.

I had high expectations going into this book, especially with it being compared to The Rivers of London series which I love and, whilst I see the similarities in some ways, there were some parts of this book that just made it fall a little flat for me and made it a like not love read. Ropa is a fantastic character and a really different perspective to read from. I will admit to being a little shocked when I realised she was only 15, especially when this is being sold as a adult book, but although she is 15 she is old beyond her years after having to quit school and take jobs to keep a roof over her grandma and sisters heads. Luckily magic runs in her family and she makes her money ferrying messages from the dead to their loved ones, or enemies depending on the ghost. She is street wise and savvy in so many ways, and in others she is just a 15 year old girl with too much weight on her shoulders. She starts getting followed by a ghost desperately looking for her son who went missing before she died, but the woman can't pay and Ropa doesn't do freebies so fobs her off until her grandma tells her there are more important things in life than money. The more Ropa looks into the boys disappearance, the stranger things get until she is in well over her head, and will have to rely on friends old and new if she is to make it out alive.

There are a multitude of side characters from Ropa's Grandma and younger sister Izwi, Jomo her only friend from school and the person who introduces her to the Library, Priya a fellow magician from the library who looks into the child disappearances with Ropa, as well as multiple people from Ropa's life old and present and members of the Library of the Dead. With this being the first in the series, it focused more on a few leaving others not as well developed but the author will have plenty of time to do that in the sequels.

One of the things I loved about this book was the setting. Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities and having visited it multiple times, I had no trouble following Ropa on her adventures being able to picture the streets and sights in my head. That being said, it's not necessarily set in the Edinburgh I know and love, but more a post apocalyptic one. It took me a minute when reading to get to grasp with 'when' the book was set as the language was modern and yet the descriptions were almost a throwback. I do feel like this could have been described a little better and would have liked a more in depth understanding of the 'world' as it is now and why it is the way it is.

You all know me and folklore and I really enjoyed seeing the author delve into Zimbabwean magic and folklore. Ropa's skill at contacting and talking to ghosts comes from using music and different musical instruments to create a kind of beat that links up with the specific ghost allowing them to communicate with Ropa to pass on their message. Ropa's magic is really well built and I loved hearing her talk about the different musicians/musical instruments she uses and why she picks certain ones for certain ghosts. The magic of the Library was a different story. From the description and title of the book, I expected the Library to play a much bigger part than it did. The parts where it was involved felt a little rushed and undeveloped, meaning you struggled to get invested in that particular story line.

If I'm being honest, I felt that there were too many story lines. From the Libary, Ropa's ghost talking and her hunt for the missing children, the author chopped and changed between the plot lines at random intervals... usually just when you were getting invested/interested... which made the pacing of the story seem really sporadic. This meant that I struggled to pick the book up, especially if I had put it down after a switch in story line. I feel it would have been better if it were a little longer and if the author had given the different plot lines more chance to develop.

There were a few WTF moments, some good and others that came out of nowhere, and not in the good way. Because the magic system wasn't well developed some of it just seemed weird, like it wasn't needed, even though you know it was pivotal to the authors plot, it just fit nowhere in within the story. Despite all these minus points, I did really enjoy the book. Mainly I think because of Ropa's unique voice and the chance to delve into Zimbabwean folklore and magic. I will definitely be picking up the second book, if only to find out if the author develops the Library and it's magic a little more.

As usual couldn’t resist a book with library in the title and I have to say as a debut novel this stands up pretty well. A little on the quirky side I have to admit but an enjoyable read. I particularly liked the character of Ropa who is a somewhat unusual character who lives with her blind grandmother and sister in a ramshackle caravan on the outskirts of a somewhat dystopian Edinburgh.
The library in question is hidden away underground full of arcane secrets and access is denied to all but a select few. Ropa is about to find her way in but there will be consequences. Ropa is a ghost talker and as such can reach out to ghosts and communicate on different planes but this can be dangerous. Children are going missing and some ghosts are not moving on. One in particular is determined to gain Ropa’s help.Her abilities bring her into contact with magic users and she gradually finds out who are her friends and who are not.
On the whole the characters are well formed and I liked the interaction between Ropa and her friends. We can see an excellent use of the Scottish landscape and the cityscape of an alternative Edinburgh. There is dark magic, secrets and sinister characters woven through this. The narrative gathers pace as it goes along and Ropa’s determination shines through with attitude in abundance.
This is the first book of Edinburgh nights I am looking forward to more and see how this progresses. Excellent effort for a debut writer.

The Library of the Dead is a rip-roaring supernatural adventure following Ropa, our clever and independent teen heroine, through an alternative-history post-apocalyptic Edinburgh. Ropa has to cope with her job as a ghost-talker delivering messages from the dead, looking after her little sister and grandma on a run down caravan site as well as trying to educate herself with podcasts to make up for her own missed schooling. Then one of the ghosts begs her to solve the mystery of a missing boy and Ropa feels compelled to investigate.

A recommended read for lovers of urban fantasy, particularly younger adult readers. I am looking forward to book 2 already.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

I really wanted to love this book. I thought the plot was interesting and moved well. I mostly enjoyed the characters and I thought some of the descriptions of Scotland were lovely. The problem for me was that I found the language so jarring it made the novel hard to read. Roma’s slang felt extremely forced, especially when interspersed with long words, complex theories and other beautiful bits of writing. It felt a bit like a 50 year old trying to get down with the kids and missing the mark, with some sentences so stuffed with “lingo” that they were rendered unreadable. It also seemed wildly inconsistent because half the time it vanished and then reared its ugly head again.. A shame because it added nothing to the plot, and in the moments when the slang was forgotten and Roma seemed eloquent and intelligent you could see what a great book it could have been. Unfortunately that quirk somewhat ruined it for me and I found I had to keep forcing myself to pick the novel back up. A real shame in what was otherwise a twisty turn-y fun piece of magical realism.

DNF - This wasn’t really what I was expecting, a lot darker than my usual taste and also dystopian which I wasn’t expecting. Sadly dystopia is not my favourite genre and this made it hard for me to get on with. When it said the setting was modern Edinburgh and the dead I was thinking along the lines of gothic or something like VE Schwab’s City of Bones but for adults, rather than a dystopian sorry this wasn’t for me!

Not what I expected but in a good way. There's a lot of world building, the plan being for a decent sized series I think,so the plot isn't overly complex. There's some interesting ideas about magic and science, nicely explained and I really like Ropa's journey of discovery. She is as a ghost talker but it's obvious that there is so much more to her.
The characters are great, and there's a wonderful humour running throughout. The descriptiveness is amazing and I could see this being a fantastic TV series

T.L. Huchu has written a story that mixes magic, a mystery in a version of Scotland with a dystopia feel where you are unsure if it set in the past, present or future. 

The leading lady is Ropa Moyo are green hair lady with the weight of the world on her shoulder. Ropa is only 15 year old, yet you would think she was older than that due to what she has to deal with. There are moments where the cheeky, rebellious 15-year-old pop out which is great to read.

The direction in which the book took me surprised me in a good way. There is one part regarding a house that blew me away. It created an interesting element to the mystery and magic of the book. 

I would like to know more about The Library of the dead, the history, the people, who are members and if I could get a membership. 

One of my favourite aspects of The Library of the Dead is they have a disabled character called Priya. She is part of the action and doesn't let her disability stop her. She is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Also, she has a spark in her, she is differently a character to watch out for. 

T.L. Huchu creates a story and mystery that you get closure within this book but there is a little strand that makes me excited to read what happens next.

Anyone that enjoys mysteries in a world of magic, ghost than you should pick up The Library of the Dead.




My rating for The Library of the Dead is 4 out of 5.




Thank you to Netgalley and Torbook for gifting me an E-book copy for Review.

Book One of the Edinburgh Nights series. Perfect. Not the first in the “Ropa” series but the Edinburgh Nights series. Why is that a good start? Quite simply if the series is named after a character then you know that no matter how bad things get – the lead character will pull through. Reacher, Rebus, Baggins, Morse…okay maybe not Morse but you get my point. But The Library of the Dead is about the Library, it is the Edinburgh Nights series – will our lead character, Ropa, make it to the end of the book? Well I am not sharing but lets just say she is in for a terrible experience in the first of T. L. Huchu’s series.

Ropa lives in Edinburgh, in a caravan with her gran. She makes money by meeting the dead around the city and taking messages back to their relatives who will pay for the message. I particularly liked the family of bakers who were receiving recipes from beyond the grave as secret of the perfect battenburg was a closely guarded secret until it was too late to pass it to the next generation.

Edinburgh is very recognisable to anyone that has visited the city, Ropa covers a lot of ground and even a ‘Weegie like me could identify many of the areas she visited. However, Edinburgh is not recognisable as we know it. “God Save The King” is a greeting with “Long May He Reign” the response. Money is shillings again, technology such as mobile phones does exist but the city feels poor and the vibe was of a historical setting. All my confusion made the story feel nicely jarred with reality and I had no issues accepting the fantasy themes of magic, ghost whispering and the catalogue of fantasy horrors which will creep into story.

A ghost approaches Ropa – she is worried for he young son. Although she has died she cannot rest until she knows her son is safe. Ropa approaches the family but they are not helpful, she has a mission to fulfil but chasing down what is seemingly a lost cause does not pay the bills. After meeing a friend from school Ropa may finally catch a break. Her friend has a job in a secret place and he thinks Ropa may find what she is looking for there – a secret library where magic is commonplace and actively practiced. The only problem for Ropa is that her magical skill – speaking with ghosts is rather primitive for the fussy and traditional users of the library. There is also the small matter of her unexpected arrival in a place which was meant to be a closely guarded secret – a price to be paid.

Ropa wants information about young children disappearing around the city. When one child makes it home after a period of absence he has changed – hidden away by his family Ropa manages to see the child…head and face aged and withered. What dark process could have inflicted this child? Is the ghost of the worried mother going to discover her missing son is also going to age in this unnatural fashion?

Chasing down a lead one night Ropa spots something unexpected inside a house, she decides to break in to investigate futher. Inside she stumbles upon a clue which may just explain what has happened to the missing childre however entering the house was the worst mistake Ropa has made in her young life. It may also be the last mistake she makes.

The Library of the Dead pitches nicely between fantasy and light horror. The initial confusion I experienced while trying to pigeonhole an identifiable time and society structure for Edinburgh soon became irrelevant as I just accepted the story as a fantasy tale in a setting I knew. The characters are will defined and each needs an edge to survive in this slightly dark world. I read less fantasy than I once did but this was a treat and I was extremely glad I picked it as one of my first reads of the year – a strong start and I very much look forward to more in this series. More Library, more horrors and a bit of magic to keep everything unpredicable.

I started this book a while ago and never had the time to finish it but so glad I did once I got past the 50% mark I just turned page after page.

Has a great supernatural feel the plot was good and I loved the setting even if the title suggests it's about a library a lot of it happens outside the library walls and I feel that maybe a different title might be better, seeing as I was thinking the story would be about a library

Hoping that maybe book 2 might have more of a role within the library.

I really enjoyed this book but it left me wanting more

Received from Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Set in Edinburgh after an apocalypse and was really well written and quite funny in places.
Good to read about places I know and it was an enjoyable read.

A distinctly Scottish novel with a dash of the supernatural, Library of the Dead follows the intriguing mystery of missing children in the dark underworld of Edinburgh, and the plucky ghosttalker Ropa who feels honor bound to investigate.

There was a lot to love here. Ropa is a great character, built with a complex background of Scottish wit, sarcasm and Zimbabwean magic that feels very unique and interesting. As a ghosttalker she can also commune with the dead, and earns money by delivering their messages to the living. As such she often knows a lot of secrets, and this skill also opens up the darker underworld of Edinburgh to her. An underworld that includes a library dedicated to the occult. Within this world, Ropa is joined by her grandmother and little sister, as well as her friend Priya. I liked the relationships between them all - Ropa clearly lives her family deeply, taking all of the burden to provide for them, as well as her friends. The diversity is good too - Priya us wheelchair bound, but doesn't let this stop her doing what she wants.

I would have loved more world building and a greater understanding of the library, as it feels very atmospheric but lacking in character. I also found the writing slightly off putting. It's often quite winding and convoluted when I just wanted it to get to the point. The plot is also pretty standard for the genre, without any real surprises.

That said, I really liked the characters and I think this has a lot of potential to expand on the lore of the world and grow into a great series.

This book took me so long to read and I have come to the conclusion that it wasn’t for me.I kept putting the book down and I didn’t want to pick it back up but I forced myself to read it to the end and then I got a reading slump. The idea behind the book was what interested me and I usually binge read mysteries as I need to know the end. Unfortunately that didn’t happen with this book.

The writing was okay, I didn’t have a problem with it but it was cliche in some aspects. There are two different parts of the book, one in the modern day with the FBI investigating deaths and another set in the 8th century with Monks writing down a list of when people will die. Which is where we get the title library of the dead. This was a little bit of a let down for me, I expected more.

The characters i just didn’t like, the main FBI agent character is a man called Will who is over 45, with alcohol problems and an estranged kid which I think wee all seem at some point before. Other than that o really didn’t like how he was towards women and that was one of the reasons I kept putting the book down. Then there’s Nancy who is the younger FBI agent who is partnered with will. I think will says she would be attractive if she lost weight and that annoyed me. Nancy was okay but then she started a relationship with will and I didn’t see why. The bad guy want interesting either.

The ending left everything solved which I was expecting. Overall I didn’t enjoy this, the mystery didn’t grip me and I disliked the characters. I don’t think I’ll read anything by the author again.

Ropa, 14, lives with her Gran and sister in a caravan in an Edinburgh of the future. She earns a meagre living delivering messages from the dead, who haven’t yet moved on, to their grieving families. Nicola is one of these ghosts, she was murdered before she could find her missing son, Oliver. Ropa is persuaded to look for Oliver and this leads her into places that are more evil than a young girl should have to deal with. Unfortunately no one else seems to be interested in finding Oliver or any of the other children that have also disappeared. Ropa is their only hope,

Ropa is half Zimbabwean and half Scottish, with the scene set in post apocalyptic Edinburgh, an unusual combination but intriguing. She is old beyond her years, feisty, street wise and yet still likeable for all that. The descriptions of Edinburgh and its surroundings are well researched and atmospheric, setting the scene very nicely. I enjoyed the premise of the Library and its location although I would have liked to have found out a bit more about it and it’s members in this book, but I’m sure this will be addressed in the next one. The other characters are well written, with some good back stories, I particularly liked Priya who Ropa meets at the Library. A good read and I look forward to reading any further books in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not exactly what I was expecting. There was actually not that much about the library and much more about Dead talking and solving a mystery than I was hoping for.
I enjoyed the narration as Ropa was a very strong independent voice and i enjoyed her relationship with her Gran and Sister.
I think this might be the first in a series so maybe the next book will have more of her actually learning magic rather than running all over town.
The future is delightfully bleak and well described.

I don't often read things set in the UK, but the Scotland future setting intrigued me and so I picked it up and I loved it - the only reason this has 4 instead of 5 stars is because I would have loved to understand more about the future world and what happened to make it like it was, there were little tidbits dropped throughout the book but not enough to piece together the setting - I'm hoping it may mean there is more to come though so I can finally fit the puzzle pieces together! I must admit though, the intrigue of trying to fit all the puzzle piece together did keep me reading which is probably the point!

I love the idea of the library in this book, ad I absolutely adored how the MC came to find out about it, it really made you wonder about the different rules of the library and this is another place I'd like to hear more about in any potential future books in this series.

I was both baffled and intrigued throughout though with this storyline, it was a bit like I was constantly confused and there were scraps of information passed to you throughout which you had to figure out. I think I would describe this as a spooky supernatural mystery book - a genre that I think I'm now definitely interested in due to this.

While I loved the concept of this book, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style and so I struggled to become invested in the story. The characters were well written but I just didn't particularly care about them. This one didn't work for me but it's worth checking out if the synopsis interests you.

Fun supernatural fantasy adventure featuring a cynical teen protagonist in a post catastrophe Edinburgh. This was immensely readable and immersive.

Now, the most important thing to note about The Library of the Dead is that it’s more on the YA side of things than the blurb lets on. Ropa is fourteen, something that I had to keep reminding myself throughout the course of the story, as her character felt older to me – if I hadn’t had the age on the page I would have placed her in her late teens to early twenties. But she is a wonderful main character. Jaded, fearless and immortal as only teenagers are. She is also smart, pragmatic and creative. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story from her perspective.

The Library of the Dead is full of interesting characters – aside from Ropa, I loved Priya, a wheel-chair bound young woman whom she meets in the eponymous library, Rob, the leader of a band of criminals, or Wilson, henchman supreme. There are layers to all of them, and the brand of urban fantasy found in The Library of the Dead is a far cry from the bland fare often associated with the genre. This series is a breath of fresh air combining Zimbabwean magic (a culture which I don’t think I’ve seen represented before) with a Scottish setting and a wonderful library.

I am looking forward to reading more of this series, and finding out how Ropa’s story continues after the mystery of The Library of the Dead is solved. My favourite part of this volume was the setting, so I am intrigued to find out more about the library and the knowledge contained therein, although Ropa, her grandmother, and their brand of ghost talking are just as interesting for future stories.

A hugely original urban fantasy novel set in a dystopic Edinburgh, some time in the not too distant future. We follow Ropa who can speak to the dead and makes a living delivering messages between the departed and their loved ones. When she is asked to investigate the disappearance of a child, she discovers that strange things are happening and the trail turns sinister as she discovers dark magic is involved.

This is a creepy, funny, and bizarre book. Perfect for young adults and fans of Rivers of London. It’s lighthearted despite the supernatural theme, and I love how well researched the locations are. The main character is well fleshed out, her language is great and her role superb. I’m excited to see where this series goes, and hopefully discover how Edinburgh became as it is in the book. Also I’d LOVE to visit the library!

A solid 3.5 stars.
Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc.