The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)

by Genevieve Cogman

One spy. One dangerous book. One deadly mission. The first in a delightful fantasy mystery series, The Invisible Library is the astounding debut from Genevieve Cogman.

Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case – permanently . . .


Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. Along with her new assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But lo and behold, when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.

In this world teeming with supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic, Irene soon finds herself up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. And Kai is also hiding secrets of his own. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.

'It's a breath of fresh air' – Guardian

Continue the journey with the second adventurous title in the The Invisible Library series, The Masked City. Genevieve is also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Scarlet - which reimagines the tale of The Scarlet Pimpernel, but with vampires, mages and magic . . .

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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Well, that was fun.  The closest I can come is a combination of Thursday Next and Atticus O'Sullivan, or maybe Kate Daniels, with a touch of Harry Potter.  I was unsure about the story until the scene with the carriage and the Thames; after that I was invested.  Intrigued, and after finishing I'm definitely interested in more.   This is the author's first novel and I can see an attempt at humour that I don't think she quite mastered, and perhaps the story might have been a bit tighter overall, but ultimately it was a strong first go.  I look forward to reading the next one.

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  • Started reading
  • 11 January, 2017: Finished reading
  • 11 January, 2017: Reviewed