A very exciting read that's hard to put down—but that, in my opinion, doesn't make a single lick of sense. No character motivation in the whole bunch is explicable and there are plot holes ranging from tiny to big enough to drive a truck through.

I ended up devouring "The. Cartographers" in one night. The writing itself is easygoing, and the premise was very engaging. I rarely use the phrase "couldn't put it down" but I honestly didn't want to stop until the mystery was solved. I also appreciate the bridge built between "old" mediums (maps) and "new" (data tracking/GPS) and the reverence shown for the old ways, the content generators, the mapmakers and archivists. The characters were warmly written. It seems obvious that we'll be seeing this come to a big or small screen at some point soon. I'll be recommending this to customers who want to get lost, themselves, in a book.

Murder and intrigue amongst the map archives in New York Public Library—one apparently worthless old road map in particular. Someone will go to any lengths to get their hands on it. The reader gradually finds out just how far they will go.

Quite good and original! I guessed one twist at the end ahead of time but not the other. People who love the idea of total privacy and who adore secrets should be all over this novel. Elements of technological surveillance, and even magic, slowly creep in. I was spellbound!

Nell Young was once a promising candidate in the academic world of maps and cartography, but now works a menial job after her father destroyed her career. After years of estrangement, Nell is notified that her father was found dead at his desk. When Nell stumbles on a map hidden in her father’s office, she is determined to follow where it leads. The map sends Nell on a journey where she discovers friendship, family history and a powerful secret that someone would kill for. Full of wonder at the art and mystery of maps, this read brings thrills and a smidge of the supernatural.

I learned something new about cartographers, the making of maps, about a library's collection of ancient, old, and very valuable maps. I was intrigued by the novel's six post graduate students, who followed their vision of how they could create a new way of seeing and mapping the world through their new methods and a new discovery.

Intense and suspenseful in parts, I was doubtful in the middle of the book but then was totally pulled in by the plot and where it took the reader.

Something nagged at me from the very beginning of this book. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something keeping me from getting fully invested in the book. I finally decided that there were just far too many unlikely things in it. I'm on board with fantasy, but *most* of the book is presented as realistic, and a lot of it did not add up. Everything from the small details like they rushed out of the house with a 3-year-old mid-breakfast and then didn't feed her till dinner and that worked out OK - to the very, very big like every single character's motivation.

I was dumbfounded (and not in a good way) when I got to the end. I did not buy into the twist. It didn't make any sense. <spoiler> If all you need is a map with something extra on it - a staircase, a secret room - surely you can DRAW YOUR OWN MAP if you are a CARTOGRAPHER, and add in any extra features you want, since it would be the only copy of that map. So why is Humphrey still in a crappy building for an extra old staircase, when he could draw in literally any escape feature he wanted in ANY building? Just as an example. There were MANY places where this glaring omission could have solved a lot of problems. And then Nell kind of does this at the end to save Agloe - so.... why didn't any of these genius PhDs figure that out 30 years ago? </spoiler> I also did not understand the choices of Nell's parents (again, I had at least 5 other options that would have been a lot better than they came up with). Wally's whole deal was sort of unbelievable. Really, everyone's was. 90% of people in this book got a PhD and then wasted their education, and also their lives in general.

I finished this book because I thought it could have some promise, but in the end, it was a disappointing and nonsensical read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nell Young had an internship as a researcher and conservator of maps at the New York Public Library working with her dad, his good friend Dr. Swann and her lover, Felix Kimble. Then Nell finds a box with three maps marked "Junk" and takes it to her dad. He picks a fight with her and says they are fake and demands she and her lover lose their job. She is then unable to find any professional position but finds a job at Classic Maps and Atlases as a design technician working for a kind man, Humphrey Turan. She has not talked to her dad or her lover in the seven years since her firing and gets an unexpected call from Dr. Swann to come down to the library. When she gets there, she discovers her 65-year-old dad is dead and also discovers an old journal of her long dead mother. Once home she finds the old map she got fired for, hidden inside the journal. Thus begins an intriguing, murderous, adventure filled with twists and turns, so I cannot say more. If you are a reader who can also get lost in the beauty of a map, like doing puzzles, like the idea of Brigadoon and enjoyed "The Eight" by Katherine Neville, this book is for you. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nell was fired by her famous cartographer father from New York Public Library over an old gas station map and they haven't talked since. Now her father is found dead in his office and Nell finds that map, discovering that the map is actually quite valuable and may be the only one left. Mix in her mother's suspicious death with the cartographer friends of her parents and this is one fast paced unique thriller with magical realism as the icing on the cake. Fascinating questions of what maps represent - real worlds, fictional worlds, worlds we can see, worlds we cannot see. This one will be popular with book groups!

A really unique thriller perfect for library and map lovers! I loved how original this book is, it really stands out and I can't compare it to anything I've read before. It was really refreshing to read a mystery that isn't all about murder. While I really enjoyed this book it did get off to a slow start.

[3.5 stars]

The premise of this is excellent. Unfortunately, the villain's character motivations were truly non-existent, which led me to enjoy the second half less than I should. Think I'll try out her other book, though!

I really loved this book - a unique premise and a whole batch of unique and interesting characters. While it did require a suspension of disbelief, the book made you want it to be true and it felt true. The relationships were complex and, along with the emerging secrets, drove the plot in a way I loved.

The Cartographers
A novel by Peng Shepherd

Do you believe in magic? Disgraced cartographer Nell Young didn’t until one day there was no other possible explanation for what was occurring. Seven years ago, Young was fired from her dream job in the Cartography Department of the New York Public Library after a heated argument about a map… an old gasoline station map of New York. Worse, the man who fired her was her father. Now, seven years later, her estranged father is found dead at his desk, presumably of natural causes. Searching through his desk, Nell discovers the map they had argued about tucked away in a hidden compartment, and begins to believe her father’s death is somehow connected to the map. But how? Who? And, most importantly, why?

Nell, determined to solve the mystery of her father’s death (and, as it turns out, her long-dead mother), encounters an obsessive and eccentric leader of a giant high-tech company and a small group of fellow cartographers resolutely preserving a long-held secret they will protect whatever the cost.

I read The Cartographers with some hesitancy. I was not a fan of Shepherd’s popular The Book of M. Despite it’s surprising premise, I found the book’s pacing tedious. Not so with The Cartographers. Peng’s premise is captivating and original. I will never look at an ordinary road map the same again!.

Peng Shepherd’s The Cartographers is a delightful and engaging novel that hooks the reader in the first few pages, and then is unrelenting in its suspense. The book is tightly plotted, and the action moves quickly to a unexpected and very satisfying conclusion. The Cartographers is an unexpected leisure, fresh and original. A winner!

I am grateful to NetGalley and the book’s publisher Harper Collins for sharing an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A woman who was disgraced in her chosen field at the New York Public Library - by none other than her father - finds herself embroiled in a mystery within the very walls of the institution that shunned her on the word of her father. This novel is filled with wonderful maps and is a cracking mystery besides. For fans of mystery and lovers of maps.

#TheCartographers by Peng Shepherd is about Nell who had her promising career in cartography completely derailed by the discovery of a seemingly harmless gas station map. But all is not as it seems and the map maybe hiding secrets of it’s own.
I was hugely intrigued by the concept of mysterious, magical maps and secret societies of academics hunting them. I was immediately drawn into the story, reading about 20% of the book in one go. But unfortunately the novelty of the concept alone couldn’t sustain the plot for long.
I felt that the execution of the premise was lacking in many ways, especially when it came to the flashbacks scenes. The way they were inculcated into the present timeline seemed very inorganic and the interruptions that disrupted the flashbacks just before the big reveal felt very obvious. The rationale for the characters acting the way they did was also not very convincing.
All this is not to say that the book was bad, I did breeze through the book surprisingly fast and didn’t find myself bored at any point. I just feel that if it was just a tad bit better executed, this could easily have been a 5 star read.
If you are into mysterious maps, buried family secrets, dark academia, murder mysteries, then this upcoming title releasing on 15/03/22 might be worth a shot!
Rating: somewhere between 3 and 3.5 ⭐️

Nell Young has been estranged from her father ever since he has her fired from their workplace at the NYPL Division of Maps. When he dies under mysterious circumstances, Nell and her ex-boyfriend get drawn into a mystery including maps, old friends of her parents, and a healthy dose of magical realism. I found this story to be a fascinating look into the world of maps, both ancient and contemporary, and I appreciated the unexpected twists in the plot. Highly recommend!

I devoured this book in one night! There’s adventure, mystery, danger, and daring imagination here all spun into one of the best stories I’ve read in ages.

The vibe reminded me a bit of Mr. Penumbras 24 Hour Bookstore, but the story is wholly original. As a librarian, the setting in NYPL added an extra appeal.

While this is a fantastic adventure, there is also an underlying cautionary tale about mapping and the increasingly intrusive role of AI in mapping our locations and movements. The megalomaniac mapmaker in this story is probably out there in real life and that is a bit scary. This would be a fascinating topic for book discussion group debate regarding the value of all the information gathering that occurs without our knowledge today through things like Alexa and Siri, our cell phone location services, our smart cars, our computers, our smart TVs, etc.

I’ll be recommending this a lot in the coming months.

This book reminded me of a handful of different books and movies that I have loved, but to name them would spoil to much and it’s a delight to just go along for the ride. However, I can say that I enjoy stories like this one where something that seems straightforward and basic to me, like maps, is presented with such adoration that I can feel the same sense of appreciation that the characters have. And there is a mystery running through this novel and I’m always game for a mystery.
I struggled a bit with some of the pieces of the end- finding some character choices to be hard to understand. And I couldn’t help but want some more rules and explanations for how some of the events were possible. But overall, I was satisfied with an enjoyable story peppered with dazzling moments, that I devoured as quickly as my life would allow.

I never thought I needed to know more about maps but here we are. This story was so original and I felt that the character of Nell was particularly well written. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this.

I was really excited about this one but unfortunately, it didn't hold up to my expectations. There were so many holes in the plot I think I'm in the minority for this one. I just couldn't get my head around their map town.

This was a very interesting book! I felt that the lead up was a little slow at first, but once the story really got going, it was engaging. I liked Nell, and Felix, and Swann, and all the characters, This book had a very unique premise and I liked seeing where it went! Thanks Net Galley for the advance copy!