Historical Paranormal YA Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray (The Diviners #1)

borrowed from the library

Synopsis from Goodreads
It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's the opportunity to party like never before.

For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be.

But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone.

Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.

 Amazon  US/UK(£8.44) | Amazon kindle US/UK(£4.49) | The Book Depository US/UK(£5.24) | Fishpond

9.5/10

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 Yet again I bow down before Libba Bray's enormous talent. I haven't read a single book of hers that would have left me disappointed, and I honestly  don't think it's ever going to happen...

The Diviners starts a tad slow but soon enough you immerse yourself in an absolutely enchanting, boisterous and vivid atmosphere of roaring 20s.



The book starts with a combination of main characters living their separate lives: Evie, cheeky and bold 17-year old arrives to new York to live with her uncle, who owns the museum of Creepy Crawlies (or Folk Art and Superstitions); Sam, a young thief tries to save enough money to find his mother; Memphis supports his younger brother by running numbers for his clients; Theta and Henry live the fabulous artsy life of Ziegfried theatre pretending to be a brother and sister; and quiet and studious Jericho works for Evie's uncle, Will.

These young people don't realise that a supernatural storm is brewing, and the unique abilities they have is the only thing that can help them survive and save people they love. In that regard The Diviners is only the first act of the play which lays ground for the events that will be unfolding in the next book.

Evie's uncle starts helping New York's police with the investigation of gruesome occult murders, and the more he digs into it the clearer it becomes that if the murderer is not stopped in time, he'll bring on the Apocalypse.

Essentially it's the murderer who connects the young supernaturally talented people and forces them to work together, and the plot itself is intricate, complex and fascinating.

However, it's the atmosphere, the carefully researched spirit of time, the slang of young carefree generation that ultimately wins the reader over. It's gorgeous and and it brings 1920s alive before our eyes. 

“What Evie needed was a little hair of the dog, but her parents had confiscated her hip flask. It was a swell flask, too—silver, with the initials of Charles Warren etched into it. Good old Charlie, the dear. She’d promised to be his girl. That lasted a week. Charlie was a darling, but also a thudding bore. His idea of petting was to place a hand stiffly on a girl’s chest like a starched doily on some maiden aunt’s side table while pecking, birdlike, at her mouth. Quelle tragédie.”

“Theta crashed next to them on the thick zebra-skin rug. “I’m embalmed.”

“Potted and splificated?”

“Ossified to the gills. Time for night-night.”

 “Hey,” the cabbie yelled. “How’s about a tip?”

“You bet-ski,” Evie said, heading toward the old Victorian mansion, her long silk scarf trailing behind her. “Don’t kiss strange men in Penn Station.”

I'd better stop now, peeps. There are just too many wonderful things about this book which I want you to discover for yourself. So, borrow it from your library, buy it, depending on what you can afford (I know hardback price was a bit steep for me, so I've waited for my library to get it), but don't miss out on this book, because it's well worth your attention.

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С огромным удовольствием прочитала эту книгу.

Ну вот ещё ни в одном из произведений Либбы Брэй я не разочаровалась, потому как она просто талантище огромного масштаба.

О какой эпохе, в каком бы жанре она не писала, в книгу погружаешься очень быстро и переживаешь её вместе с главными героями. Вот и в этой книге, атмосфера веселых двадцатых годов прошлого века, Нью-Йорка, полного гангстеров, американской мечты и миллионеров со старлетками просто непередаваемы.

А жаргон, дамы и господа, он ведь просто наивкуснейший! (см.цитаты выше) Я не представляю насколько Либбе пришлось погрузиться в историю США между Первой Мировой Войной и Великой Депрессией, но оно того стоило.

От атмосферы, постороения мира и променада главных персонажей просто текут слюни.

Иви О' Нилл - вечно пьяная 17-летняя задорная и амбициозная девочка из Огайо, приехавшая в Нью-Йорк к дяде после скандала в своем родном городе; Мемфис - юный чернокожий парень на побегушках у Гарлемских мафиози; Сэм - талантливый воришка, пытающийся накопить деньги, чтобы отыскать свою пропавшую в секретном гос. проекте мать; Тэта и Генри, представляющиеся как брат и сестра, пианист и гламурная танцовщица со своими тёмными тайнами; тихий, задумчивый гигант, Иерихон, работающий на дядю Иви - всех этих персонажей с их такими разными обстоятельствами связывает расследование серии мрачных гротескных ритуальных убийств, и только их необычные таланты и помощь друг другу смогут остановить приближающийся апокалипсис...

Однако, не дайте себя обмануть, так как происходящее в Дивинаторах всего лишь является первым актом пьесы и всё самое страшное и увлекательное ещё впереди.

Очень советую!