The Secret Chapter

November 25, 2019
Cogman’s Invisible Library fantasy series roars full steam ahead with this fun, fast-paced sixth installment. Following the events of The Mortal World, a fragile truce persists between the spies of the mystical Library that collects fiction from alternate worlds, the dragons, and the Fae. Librarian Irene Winters and her friend and romantic partner, Prince Kai, son of the dragon king, must negotiate with thieves for a unique edition of an ancient book with the power to save a beloved world. In exchange for the priceless volume, Irene and Kai agree to accompany the gang of Fae and dragon criminals on an art heist in an authoritarian world guarded against magic and magical creatures. But things go awry for the unlikely allies when the artwork proves to be far more heavily guarded, and the mission more dangerous, than it first appeared. Cogman charts the heist with the fluid mix of humor and adventure series readers will expect, while adding new dimensions to fan favorite characters and introducing dangerous enemies. Cogman’s fans will want to snatch up this latest adventure.

December 15, 2019
In a world of dragons, Fae, and time-traveling Librarians, an unlikely team, thrown together by circumstance, must steal a massive painting from a European museum. Librarian Irene Winters and the dragon prince called Kai have only just had a chance to celebrate the good fortune of a recent treaty between the dragons and the Fae when a new, critical job presents itself in this new installment of Cogman's (The Mortal Word, 2018, etc.) Invisible Library series. Chaos threatens the world in which Irene grew up, and it can only be stopped by the recovery of a text containing a one-of-a-kind story. To get it, Irene and Kai will have to bargain with Mr. Nemo, a secretive Fae who lives in a world outside the treaty and who has a penchant for feeding his enemies to sharks. Like all Fae, Mr. Nemo expects something in return--Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa, to be precise--and he wants Irene and Kai to work with five other specialists to secure it. Traveling from Mr. Nemo's tropical 1980s hideaway to a version of contemporary Europe, the crack teammates find themselves endangered by the presence of an anti-supernatural police force, and the angst present in Irene and Kai's relationship intensifies as each comes to discover how little they know about the other's motivations and allegiances. Cogman (The Mortal Word, 2018, etc.) slathers on the intrigue, layering and twisting together the plots of dragons, Fae, and Librarians alike to arrive at a conclusion that some may deem too cleanly rendered. Although one or two Fae members of Mr. Nemo's seven-person heist team prove forgettable, the near-relentless mischief and mayhem make for an indulgent read. A series installment that works well as a stand-alone, with final twists that will leave readers wanting more.

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December 15, 2019
The Dragon-Fae peace treaty, at the center of Cogman's last Invisible Library fantasy (The Mortal Word, 2018), has been signed. Irene Winters, librarian, spy, and book retrieval expert, is the Library's new Tripartite Commission delegate and her lover, Prince Kai, is the Dragon representative. While they await the decision regarding a Fae emissary, Irene receives a new assignment?to acquire, by any treaty-compliant means possible, a one-of-a-kind ancient Egyptian text. In order to complete her mission, she and Kai are compelled to participate in a heist. In a plot that is reminiscent of the caper movie Ocean's Eleven, the intrepid librarian puts together Irene's Seven, consisting of four Fae, two dragons, and herself. She must carefully herd a driver, a thief, a gambler, a bouncer, and a techie into cooperating with Kai and herself in executing the theft of a priceless painting. Mistrust runs rampant among her unscrupulous cohorts and matters spin quickly out of control as it becomes clear the situation is not what they were told it was. Series fans will be delighted to see Irene and Kai back in action.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)