This is not so much a review as a farewell to an old friend. I’ve been loving T.L. Huchu’s Edinburgh Nights series since watching an interview between him and Ben Aaronovitch over lockdown. With the first book in the series The Library of the Dead I was instantly drawn in by that gritty near future version of Edinburgh, a city filled with ancestral spirits and a new hero trying to find her way in this familiar but unfamiliar landscape of a city I lived in for a few years. Ropa Moyo burst onto the page as an unapologetic survivor, someone doing what they had to in order to survive with her Zimbabwean roots tangled up in Scottish gloom and attitude, hustling ghost messages for cash while keeping her family together. Huchu wove in those quiet nods to the ideas of belonging and not belonging and family lore without ever preaching, making me desperate to know the story and how they got to where they ultimately got to.
From there, each installment built on that foundation like layers of Edinburgh’s old town. Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments ramped up the stakes in a sanatorium straight out of a fever dream, blending medical riddles with Ropa’s growing knack for bending the veil between worlds. Then came The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, which pulled us into one of my favourite places, Skye, and took us outside of our capital city as our heroes deal with and ancient clan secrets, and the mystery starts to take shape. And The Legacy of Arniston House finally revealed some more of Ropa’s past and the history that lead to where we are. By the time it ended, everything had changed and we were approaching the end of the story.
Now, with Secrets of the First School, Huchu brings it all crashing home in what’s billed as the series finale, and as expected it takes some of the story full-circle, with events in the first few. We’re back in Edinburgh’s underbelly, where the ghosts and the ancient powers seem to be closer than ever to the surface, Ropa’s got to dig deeper into her lineage and heritage than ever before. The book is written with the same wit and warmth I’ve come to expect, but in some ways with more urgency – so much story to tell, so little time. Ropa’s voice is as fierce and funny as day one, but you can’t help but feel how the experiences of the last few books have weathered her and brought her to this moment. The blend of Zimbabwean history, beliefs and Scottish lore feels more seamless and so much more important in this book.
I’ll miss Ropa’s voice and Huchu’s world building. We knew going in this was the last book, but it doesn’t make it feel any better. I would recommend this to everyone, but also that you start at the beginning Ropa’s ending is only as satisfying because we’re taken the journey with her. Is there anything I don’t like? Not much if I’m nitpicking it they maybe ended the antagonist a bit too quickly given the lead in, it actually made me think of some of Russell T Davies Dr Who endings.
Tendai Huchu, you’ve built a world I’ll certainly revisit. If this cycle is finished then maybe some day some more Ropa-adjacent mischief – a book of short stories with some of the characters we met along the way would be lovely. I do know whatever Tendai writes next I will read as I find him an engaging and enjoyable author, and having met him at this years Granite Noir, a thorough likeable chap!