His previous books (The Hairdresser of Harare and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician) have been translated into multiple languages and his short fiction has won awards. Huchu grew in up Zimbabwe but has lived in Edinburgh for most of his adult life.
From Publishers Weekly:
T.L. Huchu’s powerhouse new novel, The Library of the Dead, plunges readers into the dark, supernatural recesses of contemporary Edinburgh while expertly blending SFF, noir, and elements of Zimbabwean and Scottish culture. High school dropout Ropafadzo “Ropa” Moyo works as a ghostalker, ferrying messages between the worlds of the dead and the living. When penniless ghost Nicola pleads for help, Ropa heads out on a dangerous hunt to discover who—or what—is sucking the souls out of the bodies of the city’s children. With plenty of twists, turns, and genuinely eerie moments, this occult thriller is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.At Publishers Weekly Huchu tagged ten favorite thrilling African noir novels, including:
Lightseekers by Femi KayodeRead about another entry on the list.
The 2019 winner of the Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award tells the story of Dr. Philip K. Talwo, a psychologist who is roped into investigating the lynching of three university students by a mob in a remote border town. There he has to contend with corrupt cops, university cults, cunning politicians, and dodgy locals. The result is a multilayered novel in which the investigation opens up a fascinating sociopolitical examination of contemporary Nigeria.
--Marshal Zeringue