Overview

Murder Ballad is set in Edinburgh in 1791, a city alive with music, gossip, and sharp divides of class and power. Isobel Duguid is a street singer whose songs draw crowds and trouble in equal measure. Alongside her is Clessidro, a famous castrato whose success masks constant danger. When a wealthy woman shows interest in Isobel’s darkest song, known as The Fiddler’s Wrath, old crimes and buried truths begin to surface. Isobel finds herself pulled into a web of ambition, desire, and lethal consequence.

Voice & Atmosphere

We were quickly caught by the sense of place. Lucy Ribchester writes Edinburgh with confidence, moving between elegant drawing rooms and grimy closes without losing momentum. Music runs through every chapter, not as decoration but as force. Songs carry memory, rumour, and threat. The tone is rich and immersive while staying clear and sharply paced.

Characters

Isobel is determined, proud, and keenly aware of how fragile her position is. Her voice is her power and her risk. Clessidro lives in a more gilded world, but his fame offers little protection. Mrs Abercorn enters as a figure of curiosity and control, and her presence tightens the plot. Even smaller roles feel grounded, showing a city where performance is survival.

Themes

This novel asks who owns a story and what happens when art exposes truth. Music becomes a way to preserve memory, but also a way to twist it. Power, gender, and class shape every choice. We see how women and outsiders must negotiate danger to keep their voices heard in a society that consumes talent without care.

What Worked

• Strong atmosphere: Georgian Edinburgh feels alive and tense.
• Music as engine: songs drive the mystery rather than sitting in the background.
• Rising stakes: friendship, desire, and survival build pressure steadily.

Minor Quibbles

• Some historical detail lingers longer than needed for readers focused on speed.
• A late reveal moves faster than the careful build that comes before it.

Final Thoughts

We found Murder Ballad to be vivid, unsettling, and deeply engaging, a historical mystery where music becomes both witness and weapon.

Rating: ★★★★½☆ (4.5/5)