In the latest novel in Genevieve Cogman’s historical fantasy series, the fate of worlds lies in the balance. When a dragon is murdered at a peace conference, time-travelling Librarian spy Irene must solve the case to keep the balance between order, chaos…and the Library.When Irene returns to London after a relatively straightforward book theft in Germany, Bradamant informs her that there is a … that there is a top secret dragon-Fae peace conference in progress that the Library is mediating, and that the second-in-command dragon has been stabbed to death. Tasked with solving the case, Vale and Irene immediately go to 1890s Paris to start their investigation.
Once they arrive, they find evidence suggesting that the murder victim might have uncovered proof of treachery by one or more Librarians. But to ensure the peace of the conference, some Librarians are being held as hostages in the dragon and Fae courts. To save the captives, including her parents, Irene must get to the bottom of this murder–but was it a dragon, a Fae, or even a Librarian who committed the crime?
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The Invisible Library series truly matures in this fifth book. The story-line that began in the previous book about the peace conference between the fae and the dragons continues, with extremely high stakes. A murder has taken place, which threatens the negotiations, and Irene, with her friend Detective Vale, is called in to investigate. The plot is complicated, with multiple suspects who all seem plausible from the beginning. Even the Library is implicated, which causes Irene a great deal of worry. She has to use all her skills and ingenuity to bring clarity to the situation. Luckily, she has by now enough experience of both dragons and the fae to pull it off. The book ends with a new chapter beginning in Irene’s life that promises to be interesting. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series to find out how that turns out.
Called in to solve the murder of a high level dragon at the secret Dragon- Fae Peace conference, Irene, and her friend Inspector Vale are in a race against time. Not only does Irene have a personal stake, as her parents are being held hostage by one of the groups, but she and Vale must solve this murder before one or both sides decide that peace isn’t worth the effort to overcome their prejudices against each other.
I enjoy this series of historical fantastical mysteries. Irene is an intrepid heroine who may internally second guess her decisions but outwardly looks like she knows exactly what she’s doing when racing to solve a case. For me, the interesting character in this novel was Vale. Taken out of his own time and thrown into an alternate universe, we initially see a more hesitant Vale. He is insecure in his knowledge of how this place functions and is afraid that he’ll make the wrong judgement call. It’s only when he goes with his gut instincts that he overcomes those more human emotions. I liked the human side of Vale that we don’t usually get to see.
Irene’s investigations always prove spyworthy and in The Mortal Word, she overcomes all obstacles in somewhat superhero fashion. I almost expected her to have gained a super power or two, but she remains just as “normal” at the end of the book as she did at the beginning. I can’t decide if I’m a little disappointed by that fact. Kai didn’t play a huge roll in this story, although their relationship does advance forward and I’m eager to read the next installment in this series to see how their romance plays out. I enjoyed the Mortal Word a lot, but except for a couple of key plot points it plays out as a kind of filler novel. The Lost Plot was soooo good, that in my eyes it would be hard to have as good a follow up. However, The Mortal Word did set the stage for some interesting scenarios in future novels. So I do have hope that we haven’t seen the best out of this series yet.