The Mortal Word

Following on the heels of The Lost Plot, Cogman’s exciting fifth Invisible Library adventure finds Librarian Irene Winters, who travels through time rescuing rare and dangerous books and hiding them in the interdimensional Library, called to a version of Paris where peace talks between dragons and Fae have been interrupted by the murder of one of the principals in the dragon delegation. Also summoned to investigate is Peregrine Vale, “the nemesis of criminals across Great Britain,” and rounding out the team are Mu Dan for the dragons and Lord Silver for the Fae. As keepers of the balance between the chaos generated by the Fae and the order promulgated by the dragons, the Librarians have been brought in as arbitrators, but the deceased mentioned “a mysterious book,” leading some to suspect the Librarians of the murder. There are also rumors that the powerful and malevolent Blood Countess is involved, and Irene sees connections with the death that she and the dragon prince Kai investigated in The Lost Plot. Cogman ably combines sleuthing with politics, magic, and a bit of romance for a satisfying tale. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Dec.)