The Diviners (original 2012; edition 2012)

5Q, 4P.
It's 1920's in NYC, with flappers, prohibition, jazz, etc. Seventeen year-old Eve has just moved to the city from Ohio because of an unusual incident at a party. As she starts to embrace her new life (and some newly acquired magical abilities) , she is drawn toward investigating some intriguing murders that seem to have a satanic connection. I loved the unforgettable setting and lively characters and can't wait to continue this series! ( )

4.5/5

Veramente un bel romanzo; l'ambientazione nell'America degli anni '20 è decisamente ben resa, le descrizioni sono vivide e ben dettagliate.
Buona anche la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, tutti con vari segreti più o meno manifesti nel romanzo; la protagonista, Evie, è un'eroina spesso capricciosa ma allo stesso tempo spigliata e ironica che non ha bisogno di alcun principe che la porti in salvo.
La trama è basata sul tema dell'occulto e del paranormale e i capitoli dedicati a queste tematiche sono angoscianti al punto giusto.
Complessivamente un buon romanzo, peccato solo che molti personaggi siano utili ai fini della serie e non del singolo romanzo, in quest'ottica "The diviners" (titolo decisamente poco azzeccato) funge più da introduzione a maggiori mali che verranno.

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I enjoied this novel, the setting in the New York of the '20 is really good, the descriptions are vivid and rich in details.
The characterisation is also well done; each character has his load of secret (more or less disclosed within the novel); the main character, Evie, a fickle seventeen year old girl, is easy going and ironic, an heroine who does not need any prince to save her.
The plot is based on the themes of the occult and paranormal and the chapters dedicated to these themes give quite the creeps.
Overall it is a good novel, the only issue is that some characters are only useful in view of the series and not of this single novel, so "The diviners" (a poorly chosen title) is more an introduction to greater evil yet to come. ( )

This review may contain a few spoilers. I usually don't include spoilers, but I found it impossible not to do so in this case.

I admit this book is different from my usual reads, but the trailer sounded intriguing. I actually found it hard to put down. It does contain a few things I normally avoid- brutal murder, animal sacrifice- but, aside from those unpleasantries, it was a pretty good book. I got a little bogged down in some spots- had to skip a few paragraphs and get on with it. The slang can get annoying- the words pos-i-tute-ly and jake get used on every single (I kid you not) page. Set against the backdrop of 1920's NYC- speakeasies, flapper girls- the story follows several characters with unusual psychic gifts. Evie can hold any object and know the innermost secrets of the owner. Memphis has the power to heal, and his brother Isaiah has the gift of prophecy. Sam has the ability to be invisible, and is searching for his mother who was taken by the government as part of Project Buffalo- a mysterious, top-secret government paranormal project. Theta's gift I never completely understood except that she killed her ex-husband with it. Why are these characters being brought together and why are they dreaming the same dreams? Who is the mysterious man with the tall hat? And what exactly is Project Buffalo? I hope these questions will be answered in the next book....
And then, of course, there is the murder mystery itself. An evil spirit is released from a Ouija board and begins wreaking havoc on the city. Who is the spirit and what are the strange symbols left behind on his victims? Why are some of their body parts missing? Can Evie, Sam, her Uncle Will, and his assistant, Jericho, stop the killer before it is too late?
I had to struggle between 3 and 4 stars on this one. On the one hand, I couldn't put it down. On the other, the slang and the bogged-down-in-detail parts got annoying. Evie, the main character, is a selfish spoiled brat who isn't all that likable. Will I read the next one? Sure- I will give it a try. Will I finish it? I'm not sure...

Read this book if:
*you love murder mysteries
*you love reading about the supernatural
*you love stories set in the Roaring 20's.
*you want to get wrapped up in a new series ( )

Close to being rounded up to 5 stars. ( )

Clever, astonishing melding of jazz-age flappers, the Harlem Renaissance, and end-times prophecy, "The Diviners" sparkles time and again with fascinating characters in a historical setting of 1920s New York City.

Evie and her pals are classically disaffected youth, old before their times, bored with the old, reveling in the new, fearless and jaded by the relentless trauma of post WWI America, reinventing language and society to suit. Circumstances lead them to discover one another amidst a series of grisly murders. They have supernatural powers; Evie's comes to the fore as she tries to solve the murders. Other characters display interesting powers of their own, perhaps more yet to be revealed.

It's a clever story, and well-told. By the end, I wanted more. The end of this volume clearly leads to a series as characters are left with many unresolved plot arcs, and a greater evil looms. This was marketed as a YA novel due to the youth of the main character, but disregard the labelling, this is a novel that many will enjoy. I understand the author is under contract for a screenplay. ( )