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The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu   {Reviewed by STELLA} It’s Edinburgh and the ghosts are restless. Ropa has left school to make a meagre living as a ghostalker. She needs to support her Gran and little sister. The ghosts who aren’t quite done with the mortal earth seek out a ghostalker — a passer of messages — to communicate with the living, usually their family members. There are wrongs to right, wills to be instructed, or all sorts of petty family negotiations to be navigated. Ropa is out on her patch, minding her own business, when Nicola, a distraught mother, recently deceased, asks her to find her missing boy. Detective work isn’t Ropa’s usual game and money isn’t forthcoming, but one thing leads to another and she’s in the thick of things. Juggling the bills, keeping the tiny caravan (home) in order, getting Izwa to school and keeping her hustle going keeps her busy, and life is just about to get more complicated. A chance encounter with Jomo, a mate from school, finds her sneaking into an exclusive library under the streets of this dystopian Edinburgh. And getting caught was not the plan, especially when it might lead to her own ghosting. Surprisingly, rather than be punished for her crime, she is given membership to the Library. There’s something magical about Ropa — she is a ghostalker, but you get the distinct impression that there’s more she’s inherited from her mysterious and magical Gran. With her new friend Priya and Jomo in tow, the teens start to unpick the mystery of the disappearing children. And strange and creepy it is. Some of the snatched children find their way home but the change in them is startling — hollowed out and listless, they are old before their time. Add to these scares, The Midnight Milkman (not one you want delivering to your house), a haunted house that holds you by an umbilicus sucked down into a cellar, the eerie in-between ‘everyThere’ underworld, and the excellent, yet disconcerting, Library of the Dead (which in book one we are briefly introduced to). This Edinburgh is a land of post-civil-war destruction, restricted resources and gated wealth. Its inhabitants are lively and diverse. Ropa with her green dreadlocks and black lipstick doesn’t take any stick, Jomo is good-natured and loyal, while Priya, a wheelchair-bound adrenaline junkie, knows her way around on the street and in the lab. The stage is set for the 'Edinburgh Nights' series. Dip your toes in but watch out for the milk — more to come. Plenty of thrills and spooks, with witty dialogue and an underlying commentary on privilege. Fantasy for those who like Ben Aaronovitch’s 'River of London' series and Jonathan Stroud’s 'Lockwood & Co'. Great for adults and teens.