The Untold Story

Cogman’s thrilling eighth Invisible Library fantasy (after The Dark Archive) finds librarian Irene Winters and her motley crew investigating a conspiracy rooted in the origins of the Library itself. Cogman skillfully gets new readers up to speed on the rich worldbuilding—in which an interdimensional library preserves the balance between worlds through the stories it houses—as Irene is assigned a top-secret mission to hunt down Alberich, a nefarious traitor to the library who she’s recently learned might be her father. Irene and friends—a human detective, a dragon prince, and a fae apprentice—delve into myths and folklore with scholarly diligence to fill in the gaps about Alberich’s past amid mounting rumors of worlds disappearing, and increased political unrest between dragon and fae. When Irene discovers an obscure story of the Library’s founding that hints at a secret at the heart of the Library—and may explain Alberich’s betrayal—Irene faces a terrible choice between protecting her friends and fulfilling her mission. Bibliophiles new to the series will be charmed by the premise and find this an easy starting point, while returning readers will be thrilled with the nail-biting conclusion. It’s a joy to see this series going strong. Agent: Lucienne Diver, the Knight Agency. (Jan.)