Louise McLaughlin’s “Discovery” is an imaginatively gripping urban fantasy novel that mixes workplace satire with fantasy in a way that feels fresh and oddly believable. At its core, it’s a story about hidden power—who really has it, who thinks they do, and how little most of us understand about the systems we live under. It starts as a comic look at life in the civil service but gradually reveals a darker reality beneath the endless meetings.
The novel’s unlikely heroine is Cassie Bell, a 23-year-old art history graduate who begins her first job in the civil service. Assigned to the mysteriously vague department of “Governance and Assurance,” Cassie is quickly drawn into the dense, jargon-heavy routines of public sector life: policy trackers, security clearances, and a workplace culture built more on appearances than outcomes. But when she starts noticing strange signs of something more sinister—restricted floors, cryptic notes, odd coworkers—Cassie realises her new job may not be what it seems.
McLaughlin plays the slow reveal to great effect. What begins as workplace comedy in the vein of Severance gradually unfolds into something stranger, maybe even more unsettling. Cassie’s world overlaps with another one—one inhabited by witches who extract secrets from ministers, ancient gods running pubs, and an intelligence war being fought far outside public view. The magic here is subtle and psychological: more mesmerism than wand-waving, more mind control than fireballs. And it’s this quiet, precise strangeness that gives the novel its staying power.
Cassie is a compelling lead—intelligent but inexperienced, observant but hesitant. She doesn’t march through the plot; she drifts into it, slowly gaining confidence as she begins to ask the questions no one else dares to. Her journey is believable and satisfying, and her blend of awkwardness and intuition makes her a strong, relatable anchor for the reader. She knows more than people expect her to, but not yet enough to see the full picture. That gap—between what she knows and what she’s starting to suspect—drives much of the novel’s tension.
The supporting cast is just as strong. Agatha, the elegant and sharp-tongued head witch, is a highlight—world-weary but still exacting in her mission to gather secrets from the state. Bella, a younger and more upbeat witch, adds humour and contrast without ever feeling forced. Even the gods, who could easily have turned into gimmicks and felt out of place, are written with care and restraint. Seth, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos turned pub owner, is especially memorable—equal parts mischief-maker and philosopher.
Plot-wise, Discovery takes its time without disrepecting the reader’s patience or feeling overlong. Rather than racing toward a dramatic climax, the novel moves in episodes, showing Cassie as she stumbles deeper into the reality behind her workplace. She learns the rules of the visible world, then slowly peels them back to reveal the older, invisible one underneath. Some readers might expect more action or magical spectacle, but the novel’s real subject is power: who has it, how they use it, and how well they hide it.
As for McLaughlin’s prose, it is consistently clean and self-assured, with a dry wit that suits the material perfectly. She excels at dialogue and is particularly good at capturing the tone of office banter, political spin, and bureaucratic nonsense. The novel’s humor never overwhelms its stakes, and the pacing—steady, purposeful—lets the fantasy elements emerge gradually and naturally. What makes “Discovery” stand out is its confidence in its world. It doesn’t over-explain, and it doesn’t exaggerate. The most imaginative parts of the novel feel like logical extensions of our own reality.
In the end, “Discovery” is a clever, engaging read that should appeal to fans of Good Omens and Neverwhere. The first book of the D-Notice series, it’s a gripping story about one young woman slowly realising that the world around her is stranger than she imagined. Overall, Louise McLaughlin is definitely a writer to watch.
You can get your copy of “Discovery” by Louise McLaughlin here!
