Books Like Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Books are great for providing an escape from reality, and many readers enjoy the thought of a secret world lurking behind the scenes of our mundane reality. Thankfully, plenty of books deliver on this formula, featuring all kinds of secret societies, shady organizations, and classified agencies that silently work from the shadows. For example, in Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, a bookstore employee named Clay Jannon becomes suspicious of the unique clientele, frequenting the unusual shop where he finds employment. His curiosity leads him to discover a web of intrigue involving a secret society with some interesting pursuits involving literature. For more stories that feature all kinds of hidden societies, agencies, and organizations, check out the following books like Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.  The RookBy Daniel O’MalleyThe secret society at the heart of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley is an agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. Myfanwy Thomas is a high-level operative within this society, but unfortunately, she has no memory of this. All she knows is that she woke up in a London park surrounded by dead bodies and that the secret organization has a mole inside it that wants her dead.The Atrocity ArchivesBy Charles StrossThe Atrocity Archives is the first novel in Charles Stross's Laundry Files series. The protagonist, Bob Howard, works for a supersecret government agency, but unlike his colleagues, he’s not out saving the world. Instead, he’s a low-level techie who spends most of his days under a desk restoring lost data. Unfortunately for Bob, he gets noticed, and his dull and safe world becomes one filled with spycraft, parallel universes, monstrous elder gods, and perhaps even the end of the world. The Man with the Golden TorcBy Simon R. GreenThe Man with the Golden Torc is the first book in the Secret Histories series by Simon R. Green. Eddie Drood is a Drood field agent operating under the name of Shaman Bond and is licensed to take on all the supernatural things that go bump in the night. His family has been the secret guardians of humanity for centuries, and Eddie is fond of his job of killing monsters and protecting the world. Unfortunately, Eddie’s family has declared him rogue for no reason, leaving him to turn to the people he used to consider his enemies as the only means to prove his innocence. The Invisible LibraryBy Genevieve CogmanThe Invisible Library is the first book in Genevieve Cogman's series of the same name. It follows the adventures of Irene, a professional spy for a shadowy organization called the Library. They specialize in collecting important works of fiction from all the different realities. For her latest mission, Irene and her assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London to retrieve a particularly dangerous book. Unfortunately, when they arrive, they discover that the tombe has already been stolen, and London’s underground factions are willing to fight to the death to recover it before they do.       The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.OBy Neal Stephenson and Nicole GallandThe Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland sees an expert in linguistics and languages named Melisande Stokes receiving the offer of a lifetime. In return for a rather large sum of money, all she must do is sign a nondisclosure agreement and translate some very old documents. However, these documents prove that magic actually existed, only to be weakened by the arrival of the scientific revolution. This leads to the first real mission for the shadowy Department of Diachronic Operations as they set out to develop a device to bring magic back. The plan is also to send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep magic alive and meddle with a bit of history in the process. Secret SocietyBy Stuart R. WestLeon Garber, the protagonist of Secret Society by Stuart R. West, is a serial killer, but he has his reasons for targeting abusive people. Fortunately for Leon, he receives the backing of a security society called Like-Minded Individuals, Inc., a global company that can provide clients with new identities, security, and even lists of potential “projects.”  This arrangement works well for Leon until the day LMI decides to replace him with someone younger. However, even the police, sanctioned hit men, and a vicious psychopath on his tail won’t stop Leon from finishing his current project.  An Unkindness of MagiciansBy Kat HowardAn Unkindness of Magicians is part of Kat Howard's The Unseen World series of novels. The setting is New York City, but a secretive society called the House of Shadows is in command of the magic that controls everything. Sydney is a new, rare magician with incredible power, which is handy as the power of magic is fading. Although Sydney might be the only one capable of stopping the darkness weakening the magic, she wants to destroy the system instead of helping it.  Knights of the Borrowed DarkBy Dave RuddenKnights of the Borrowed Dark is the story of an orphan named Denizen Hardwick. Despite being an orphan, Denizen has been living a pretty everyday life until one night when a man arrives at Crosscaper Orphanage with the promise of introducing him to his long-lost aunt. However, during the ride into the city, they are attacked, and Denizen discovers that monsters can grow out of the shadows, and a secretive ancient order of knights is tasked with keeping them at bay. He also learns that he has a unique connection to these knights, and he will fulfill his destiny by joining the order. Unfortunately, Denizen feels like everything they are telling him feels like half-truths, and he might be turning his back on everything his family did to keep him alive if he joins the order.