The Diviners

The Diviners
by Libba Bray

What happens when you play with an Ouija board? You awaken a spirit!  And this time it is “Naughty John” who comes out of the board and creates mischief in NYC during the 1920s.  This is how the story of the The Diviners by Libba Bray begins.  Evie O’Neill, a seventeen-year-old growing up in a rural city in Ohio, is dispatched to her uncle’s home in NYC after she creates havoc among her friends and her mother grows weary of her antics.  Evie is overjoyed and begins her ventures by exploring the “underbelly” of the city (drinking and cavorting with the burlesque shows) until her uncle Will, an educated professor and curator for the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, threatens to send her back home.  Will is called upon by the NYPD to assist with a series of mysterious murders which appear to be connected to the occult.  Evie shares her special powers (the ability to see the memories of others’ lives when she touches an object of a deceased person) with her uncle and she joins in the search for the serial killer.  Evie’s desire for the headlines causes problems for Will and her ability to help effectively.  In the end, Evie is able to assist her uncle with foiling the destruction of the world by the evil spirit “Naughty John”…but, bad news for readers: this is a serial book.  Ugh!  Yes, more books after this one and the story doesn’t end.  While I really enjoyed the book, I’m not a fan of the never-ending storylines.  What happens to Evie’s supernatural abilities?  Will she fall in love with the half-man, half-robot of Jericho, a young man whom Will has adopted?  What about Sam Lloyd, the man who robbed Evie when she first arrived to NYC but later teamed up with the group to defeat the evil serial killer?  And Evie’s friend Mabel?  I hope all of these get answered in future books…but, if not, just read the first book.  Evie is a great character and worth the read.  One of the best lovable heroines in a long time!