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The Mortal Word

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The Mortal Word

By: Genevieve Cogman
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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In 1890s Paris, a librarian and a detective must track down a killer – before the city goes up in flames. The Mortal Word is the enthralling fifth instalment in the Invisible Library series from Genevieve Cogman.

A corrupt countess. A spy in danger. And an assassin.

Peace talks are always tricky – especially when a key diplomat gets stabbed. This murder rudely interrupts a top-secret summit between the warring dragons and Fae, so Librarian-spy Irene is summoned to investigate. With her detective friend Vale, she must track down the killer – as peace hangs by a thread.

Accusations fly thick and fast. Irene soon finds herself in the seedy depths of the Parisian underworld on the trail of a notoriously warlike Fae, the Blood Countess. However, the evidence against the Countess is only circumstantial. Could the assassin – or assassins – be closer than anyone suspects?

Continue the witty and wonderful series with The Secret Chapter.

Praise for the series:

'I absolutely loved this' – N. K. Jemisin, author of The Fifth Season

'Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one's fool' – The Guardian

'Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!' – Charles Stross, author of the Merchant Princes series

 Action & Adventure Detective Fantasy Fiction Historical Humorous Science Fiction Women's Fiction Mystery Magic Sherlock Holmes Witty
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Critic reviews

Cogman fills a captivating story with animated characters and propels the narrative at a cracking pace, planting perfectly timed plot twists and reversals of fortune along the way
I absolutely loved this . . . flavoured with truly unique mythology and a dash of the eldritch. Such clever, creepy, elaborate worldbuilding and snarky, sexy-smart characters! (N. K. Jemisin on The Invisible Library (Book One))
Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one’s fool, she has a wonderfully droll sense of humour – much like the novel itself (Guardian on The Masked City (Book Two))
Brilliant and so much fun. Skullduggery, Librarians, and Dragons - Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series! (Charles Stross on The Burning Page (Book Three))
Reminiscent of the works of Diana Wynne Jones . . . a true treat to read (Publishers Weekly on The Invisible Library (Book One))
All stars
Most relevant
Most interesting, imaginative, amusing fantasy series I’ve come across in a while! Exactly what I was hoping for, and every book in the series so far has delivered! Excellent narration and overall a great experience!

Great series!

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Well done Genevieve. Another great piece of fiction well narrated by Kristin. I am really invested in the characters you have developed over the series. Looking forward to the next book

This would make a great film

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Loved the story. Bonkers as normal, but addictive. Kristen is an amazing narrator. For petes sake give her an award ( or a job on tv). Can’t wait to listen to the next story

Kristen Atherton is phenomenal

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Murder mystery vibes.
I enjoyed this one a lot!
It was a tangled web of intrigue, action, murder and politics.

Great

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Naturally this is entirely subjective - I enjoy this series a great deal, though I’d never argue for it to be placed among the greats. This is my favourite so far, it’s more complex and Irene is finally beginning to believe in herself.

In this book the stakes are higher, and Irene needs to be cleverer, more subtle and more politically savvy - peace talks are happening but someone (or more than one) powerful definitely wants to make sure they go down in flames, and possibly trigger a war. Irene needs to marshal all sides to investigate, hold on to her surety that truth is the only way a lasting peace can be attained and ensure a successful end to the negotiations.

Improving all the time!

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