The Diveners by Libba Bray

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The Diviners
by Libba Bray

One of the books I read this week was Libba Bray’s The Diviners.  The novel is urban fantasy, borrowing elements of horror, murder mystery, fantasy, teen romance, and historical fiction.  The book is set in New York City during the roaring twenties, and features a cast of characters whose lives intersect as a result of a series of occult murders.  The book rotates between Evie, a young flapper from Ohio who can read objects for their history; her uncle Will, who runs a museum on the paranormal and is a musty academic learned in the history of the supernatural; Memphis, a teenage numbers runner who used to be a faith healer until he lost his powers trying to heal his own mother; Sam, a thief and con man who has the ability to fade from notice when he wants people to not see him; Theta, a Ziegfield dancer with a secret past; Henry, Theta’s roommate, best friend, and piano player; and Jericho, Will’s beefy assistant and ward.  Evie has been sent to stay with her uncle, and on her first week in New York City she and Will are brought into the crime scene of a brutal murder.  Evie accidentally reads a shoe from the victim, and has visions of the poor girl’s last few impressions.  The whole city is enthralled with the mounting bodies, each one mutilated and left with occult notes left from the Pentacle Killer.  Eventually, Evie’s visions from the various murder scenes and Will’s research puts them on an unbelievable trail for a murderer who was hanged 50 years prior.  Somehow, Naughty John, aka John Hobbes, has managed to come back from the dead to fulfill the eschatological prophecies that mark The Brethren’s rituals to summon forth the Beast; their chosen one will herald the end of the world and bring in a new age.

While not a quick read (the book is nearly 600 pages long), it’s a very captivating story, as the book alternates perspectives from many different characters, including certain chapters from the point of view of the murder victims, which makes for a chilling and creepy tone. I think Bray does a remarkable job fleshing out interesting backstories for all her main characters, and their interconnected supernatural abilities and weird prophetic dreams make for an engrossing fictional world.  The novel wraps up the investigation into John’s brutal murders, but ends with enough promise for further adventures for the Diviners.  While the novel is at times pretty dark and the page count somewhat daunting, I’m sure this novel would appeal to teens, especially as most of the story is told from Evie’s perspective.