The Cartographers

As a child, I used to sit in the shoe closet, waiting for it to open up to Narnia. This book brought me back to this feeling of magical longing; only the irresistible hook is secrets hidden in ordinary maps.

It is expertly plotted, magical, and mysterious, and the characters are dynamic and diverse. My tastes usually tend toward dark thrillers, but this one snuck its way into my heart. Important: when you finish, read all the way through the acknowledgments.

I love the idea of hidden places on maps–it was really a trick to prevent theft! This book takes that academic reality and weaves it into a decades-long mystery with a satisfying–and, for me, wistful–conclusion. This book caught my eye because real paper maps are fascinating on their own, bringing far-away places to life and creating new worlds when authors like Tolkien–and Shepherd–allow their imagination free rein, taking readers to a place that exists only in dreams…or not.

The added family tensions echoed a recurring theme in my books: why are those relationships so fraught? And can they really work… show more.