Booklog 12/2019 - Genevieve Cogman: The Lost Plot – Invisible Library #4

[jacey]

This is the fourth instalment in the Invisible Library series, centred on junior librarian, Irene, and her student, Kai, who happens to be a dragon in human form. The Library steers a delicate line of neutrality between the dragons and the fae, careful to take neither one side nor the other in their rivalries and confrontations (not quite all out war) but it seems that there's a problem. If, as suspected, a librarian is helping a dragon to fulfil a quest for a certain book, the fae are not going to like it, and that could endanger every librarian in the multiverse. Irene and Kae are sent to track the miscreant, or, at least, find out what's going on and stop it. Their destination is a version of 1920s America with its gangsters, speakeasys, and cops. It takes Irene and Kai a while to find their feet, find their librarian (Evariste) and try and lose the cops who believe Irene to be a high level gangster from England. There are twists and turns, successes and setbacks and a double climax as Irene and Kai try to prevent two dragons from destroying that world. The characters are well drawn, the action twisty and intriguing and Irene has to do some quick thinking to preserve the Library's neutrality without getting herself, Evariste and Kai killed in the final showdown. Tightly written and exciting. Highly recommended.