Book Blog #29, The Diviners

The Diviners                                    1920s supernatural fiction                                        by Libba Bray

Evie O' Neill is a Diviner. A special skill a choice few have, and the skill varies. She can learn about someones life just from holding an object of theirs, for example a hat pin or glove. But at  party, she goes too far, and she gets shipped off to New York City, filled with Ziegfield girls, flappers, pickpockets, and speakeasies, but she is simply ecstatic at the possibility. There is only one catch. She has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult and with diviners.
When uncle Will gets called to the crime scene of a gruesome murdered girl, who was branded with a cryptic symbol, Evie realizes that her gift could help catch the serial killer. What she doesn't realize is that it will get her into an ongoing chain of murders, and that she falls into a near deadly dance with a murderous spirit. And beneath the city, a dark evil spirit has awakened to exact his revenge.

This book was very good. All of the characters are very evolved, and I feel like each one has a very robust, unique personality. I like how smooth all of the transitions through all of the sections are, as each murder takes place in a different place. I also think that even though the main character moves all around New York, it is still easy to know where all of the main locations are. I also like how they develop the backstories of most of the characters into the main story, and it always makes sense. One of the things that I didn't like as much about this book was that I thought the villains were shallow, and I feel like they were just established as villains, instead of knowing why. The book was also very creepy, which fits the plot, and all of the murders are fully described.

WARNINGS! There is language, semi-described sex, rape, abortion, graphic violence, murder, serial killers, talk of strippers, very spooky characters and ghosts, and most everything that can make a book bad, although it is still worth reading.

TBR List:
Pride and Prejudice                                               by Jane Austen
2001: a space odessey                                           by Arthur C. Clarke
The Golden Compass                                             by Philip Pullman
Tumbleweeds                                                         by Leila Meacham
Soon I Will be Invincible                                      by Austin Grossman