Blog Tour: Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments By T. L. Huchu

We were gifted an copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own

For many a new year signals a fresh start and a clean sheet, however for me it also means compiling a list of my most anticipated book releases and the book I’m talking about today was firmly at the top 2022’s list (I’ve been anticipating it since I finished the last page of The Library of the Dead! ) I was lucky enough to be gifted an ARC copy of Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments, the second book in T. L. Huchu’s Edinburgh Nights series, and I’ll be completely honest my TBR was literally thrown out of the window when it dropped though the door in order to start it immediately. Many thanks to Tor and Black Crow for inviting me to read and take part in the tour for this new release.

About The Book

Some secrets are meant to stay buried.

When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies – but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed.

Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at Our Lady of Mysterious Maladies, a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. The first patient was a teenage boy, Max Wu, and his healers are baffled. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns – and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.

Her sleuthing will lead her to a lost fortune, an avenging spirit and a secret buried deep in Scotland’s past. But how are they connected? Lives are at stake and Ropa is running out of time.

Review

Second books in a series have a really difficult job, they have to move a story along, whilst maintaining the readers intrigue and ensuring it’s as good as the first book. And I can safely say that Huchu has smashed it out of the park with Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments. I adored the first in the Edinburgh Nights series and couldn’t wait to dive straight back into the magical, dystopian, futuristic world of outspoken and sassy Ropa. This new instalment picks up where we left off as Ropa is delving further into the underground secret societies of Edinburgh, but as usual things aren’t always straight forward!

Realising her fantastic ‘opportunity’ inside one of the well renowned societies is actually unpaid, Ropa knows she is going to have to take on some paid work on the side if she hopes to continue taking care of her grandmother and younger sister. Luckily for her Priya, her friend and adventuring sidekick, needs help at the magical hospital to find out what a student from the boys magical school has been dabbling in. The usual healing treatments aren’t working and the boy is becoming sicker by the day so Ropa know she only has a small window of time to crack the case, but when another boy arrives in the same state she quickly realises something sinister is at play.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments takes us deeper into the history of the magical world that exists in this post-catastrophe Edinburgh, giving a much deeper understanding of it’s hierarchy, creation and inner workings. The complex magic system is intriguing to read about, drawing you into the grasp of the world fully. Each and every character within this series are superbly developed and Huchu has such a detailed, yet easy to read style of writing that creates such a vivid world I can easily imagine. Ropa is an amazing protagonist, such a bold, fearless character on the outside, yet soft at heart especially when it comes to her family. I am fully invested in her story and cannot wait to see what happens next.

This series to date has been absolutely brilliant with such a unique world, complex magical system and colourful characters. The books are real page turners that I have eagerly consumed within a couple of days, each time leaving me gagging for more! I highly recommend trying this critically acclaimed series out for yourself as my words just don’t do it justice.

About The Author

T.L. Huchu’s work has appeared in Lightspeed, Interzone, AfroSF, The Apex Book of World SF 5, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery weekly, The Year’s Best Crime and Mystery Stories and elsewhere. He is the winner of a Nommo Award for African SFF, and has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize and the Grand prix do @’Imaginaire. He was one of the 2020 judges for the Scottish Book Trust’s New Writer’s Awards.