The Cartographers

 The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

What a riveting story...if you're open to a bit of magical realism. At the first sign of it I was inclined to roll my eyes, but once I reminded myself that I read fiction because I want to experience different realities and stretch my imagination, I settled in to enjoy the story. And then I had a hard time putting it down. 

Nell Young, cartographer, was fired from her job at the New York Public Library by her own father after they disagreed on the value of some old maps. Seven years later, when her father is found dead in his office, Nell finds one of those maps hidden in his locked desk drawer and sets out to discover why it was significant to him. What she uncovers is beyond anything she could have imagined - a stunning family secret, a conspiracy of silence that threatens to become dangerous, and an empty town that exists in defiance of the laws of physics. 

I was drawn to this book by the promise of maps and libraries, but with its unusual plot and mounting tension it was even better than I expected. Good reading.