The Cartographers cover
Mystery · Fantasy

The Cartographers

2021400 pagesMysteryFantasy
Mood
Suspenseful, Eerie
Protagonist
Female cartographer, third-person
Parental Rating
PG-13
Pace
Brisk

Themes & atmosphere

The reading map

Books in conversation with The Cartographers

A few of the closest reads from our full list.

Common questions

What you might want to know about The Cartographers

The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.

Disgraced cartographer Nell Young is called back to the New York Public Library after her famous father is found dead at his desk. In his locked drawer is a battered cheap road map that he once told her was worthless.

The Cartographers was written by Peng Shepherd and published in 2022. Shepherd is also the author of The Book of M and All This and More.

Loosely. The Cartographers is fictional but built around the real phenomenon of paper towns, fictitious places that map-makers add to detect copying. The General Drafting Company's Agloe, New York is a real example.

The Cartographers is 400 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.

At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Cartographers takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.

The Cartographers is a standalone novel by Peng Shepherd, not part of a series.

The Cartographers is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.