The Mortal Word cover art

The Mortal Word

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Mortal Word

By: Genevieve Cogman
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

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

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Invisible Library cover art
The Librarian of Crooked Lane cover art
Glass and Steele Boxed Set: Books 1-3 cover art
The Accidental Alchemist cover art
Dangerous Magic cover art
The Night Raven cover art
A Tale of Stars and Shadow cover art
The Very First Damned Thing cover art
The Ward Witch cover art
The 13th Witch cover art
The Lord of Stariel cover art
The Swords of Haven cover art
The Stranger Times cover art
A Shadowseer Bundle cover art
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication cover art
Ten Little Wizards cover art

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!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely thrilling throughout. And the performer is excellent with a range of consistent and interesting voices.

Heck the blood countess is terrifying

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought this was the best so far in what is a great, go to, easy to listen to fantasy series. The characters have evolved well over the course of the series and this book broadened out the scope and range of characters yet again but in a coherent and enjoyable way.

Murder mystery immersed in fantasy politics

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews