The Legacy of Arniston House - Edinburgh Nights #4

 

The Legacy of Arniston House is the fourth fantasy mystery by T.L. Huchu.  Released 12th Nov 2024 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in Aug 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. 

Oddly paced and twitchily frenetic in places, the whole series is nevertheless very well written and engaging. It follows on from the first books in the series and, as such, would be a challenge to read as a standalone. Main character Ropa can communicate with (and indeed compel) spirits. At this point, she's acquired a new employer and is banishing/compelling ghosts professionally in his service. All is not well, however, and she's soon up to her neck in another murder mystery, as prime suspect in the murder of her beloved gran.

It's marketed as a YA fantasy, but it's perfectly good for an all ages (YA+, not for little kids) read. It has a huge cast, and readers who haven't kept track of the previous books should be prepared to flip back and forth some. The author/publisher have provided a handy dramatis personae list at the front of the book with characters/titles and relationships, and also principal settings, institutions, and other necessary info which will help. 

The world building is *stunning* and cohesive and wonderful. There is, however, quite a lot of reverse snobbery and making fun of traditional academia; Ropa is something of a Jack-the-Lad and seemingly has a malleable and very pragmatic moral code. It's LGBTQIA+ friendly, without being preachy, which is cool. The denouement and resolution are not finished in the book and end on a huge cliffhanger.

Four stars. Very well written and exciting, if distinctly odd. There are four books extant at the moment, with the fifth strongly implied, but no definite publishing info available atm. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, or as a long buddy read or book club series project. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.