Overview

Set in a near-future, rough-edged Edinburgh, The Library Of The Dead follows teenage hustler Ropa Moyo—part courier, part medium—as she carries messages from the dead for a fee. When missing children and a sinister magical current ripple through the city, Ropa is drawn toward a secretive library and a mystery that tests her wits, courage, and code.

Voice & Atmosphere

The novel’s biggest delight is its voice: quick, funny, streetwise, and tinged with melancholy. Huchu’s Edinburgh is all damp tenements, neon glow, and folklore in the back lanes—modern and mythic at once. The pacing is snappy without losing texture; you can feel the cold bite of night buses and the hush of stacks after hours.

Characters

Ropa is a superb lead—resourceful, stubborn, and gloriously un-saintly—whose loyalty to gran and friends keeps the story’s heart beating. Side characters (a nervy best mate, a bookish apprentice, gatekeepers with secrets) bring humour and intrigue, and the antagonists are unsettling without cartoonishness.

Themes

Class, community, and the ethics of power sit under the spells. The book asks what we owe the dead—and each other—when institutions hoard knowledge. It’s also about found family, graft, and the stories cities tell to survive hard times.

What Worked

• Distinctive narrator: a fresh, funny voice that carries the book.
• Edinburgh with bite: setting and folklore fused into the plot, not just décor.
• Series promise: a contained mystery that opens doors for richer lore ahead.

Minor Quibbles

• The slangy narration may take a chapter or two to tune into if you prefer neutral prose.
• A couple of late reveals click into place quickly—satisfying, if a shade tidy.

Final Thoughts

Fast, funny, and atmospheric, The Library Of The Dead launches an urban-fantasy series with real character—equal parts ghost story, mystery, and love letter to a haunted city.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)