The Lost Plot

November 15, 2017

Librarian Irene Winters is tasked with tracking down a colleague who is believed to be involved in a political dispute between two dragons. As it is strictly forbidden for agents of the Library to interfere with the affairs of either of the two great powers--dragons and fae--it is important that Irene finds out what happened. She and apprentice Kai, who also happens to be a high-ranking dragon lord, follow the errant Librarian's trail to an alternate Earth in the Jazz Age. They wind up in New York, navigating the dangerous waters of not only dragons but mobsters and thuggish police officers. The premise of Cogman's series, with agents able to hop from alternate worlds and times in search of their desired rare books, offers endless variety. Each adventure allows the intrepid Irene the scope to visit new worlds; each a slightly twisted mirror of history populated with varying amounts of magic. While this entry sets aside the archvillain Albrecht, supposedly killed in The Burning Page, there is still plenty of danger and excitement. VERDICT A light, fun series for fans of Gail Carriger and Jodi Taylor.--MM

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 4, 2017
Time-traveling librarian Irene and her apprentice, the dragon prince Kai, become embroiled in the machinations of draconic nobility in this enjoyable fourth Invisible Library fantasy adventure (after The Burning Page). Minister Zhao of the court of the dragon queen of the Southern Lands has been assassinated. In order to fill his post, the queen sets a series of challenges for the two candidates, Qing Song and Jin Zhi. Irene confers with Kai after Jin Zhi approaches her for help and decides that she must proceed with the utmost caution. When it becomes apparent that another agent of the interdimensional library is already involved, Library Security has no choice but to assign Irene to investigate in order to maintain the library’s strict neutrality. Irene travels to a version of 1920s New York where mobsters and police have their own dangerous agendas, as do the two powerful dragons in human form competing for the ministerial post. Irene has the difficult task of deducing what is truly happening while evading capture by the various factions. Cogman nicely balances the political intrigue and action with the complex relationship between Irene and Kai. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency.

December 15, 2017
Dragons and gangsters and dire wolvesoh my! Librarian-in-residence Irene Winters finds she has gained an unfortunate reputation since the events in The Burning Page (2017), and as a result, she draws unsavory individuals to ask for her assistance whether she wants to help or not. When dragon Jin Zhi attempts to coerce her into retrieving a bookimplying it is only fair, as the dragon Qing Song has a librarian working for himIrene knows trouble is brewing. Librarians do not work for dragons (or the fae) because they are strictly neutral. Acting otherwise could lead to all-out war between order and chaos. The library's Internal Affairs department assigns Irene and her apprentice, Kai, to an alternate version of Prohibition-era New York to wrench the wayward librarian from Qing Song and his trained wolves. If Kai, a dragon prince, is discovered collaborating with a librarian, matters could escalate, and he would put their partnership in jeopardy. Fans of Cogman's Invisible Library series will be eager to see what happens next with Irene and Kai.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)