Murder Ballad

This glorious romp through the filth, greed and duplicity of 18th century Edinburgh is a feminist delight. Written with passion and musicality it is both hugely enjoyable and stuffed to the gunnels with the appetites of life. Highly recommended.Mary Paulson-Ellis

Lucy Ribchester has the power to take her readers to the heart of 18th-century Auld Reekie where she regales them with tales of opera singers and murderers, of cobbled streets and Old Town tenements, of audacious women and what can befall them. The writing is sublime, I loved every word.Elissa Soave

A gripping and grisly tale of opera, art and ownership set in 18th century Edinburgh.Lynsey May

A wildly original and alarmingly readable historical novel whose dark, blood-soaked narrative takes us by surprise at every turn. Lucy Ribchester brings to life the musical culture, both high and low, of eighteenth-century Edinburgh through the lives of a handful of women. Brilliantly written, the story is punctuated with violent deaths and abrupt, neatly-plotted reversals. Its protagonist, Isobel Duguid, is frankly unforgettable.Andrew Taylor