Set in Manhattan during 1926, Libba Bray’s The Diviners follows two seventeen year olds and the paranormal activity they encounter in New York. Our first protagonist, Evie O’Neill, moved to Manhattan early in the novel to live with her Uncle Will. Evie needed to escape her small town in Ohio, due to a secret she exposed at a party. Evie is gifted with the ability to read a person’s objects and see into their personal lives. While having too much fun, Evie forgets herself and tells the entire party about a scandalous affair one of the wealthiest boys in her town had. Her parents decided to send her to live with her uncle to save face. Evie’s uncle owns the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and Occult and quickly Evie, her uncle, and friends she meets in New York, find themselves entangled in the gruesome Pentacle Murders. Evie’s uncle is recruited by the police to help solve the murders due to the devilish and cryptic nature of the murders. Hoping to use his knowledge of the occult to find the assailant the characters dive head first into the mystery only to find out the nature of these murders might be beyond the world of the living. 

Our second protagonist, Memphis Campbell, lives an incredibly different life than Evie and her friends. Memphis is an African American, aspiring poet who lives in Harlem and works as a runner for Harlem’s largest gang. Memphis had an unusual life. Like Evie he has a special power, the ability to heal, although this power left him after his mother died. Now years later, his younger brother is starting to display powers as well and Memphis will do anything to protect him. When Memphis’s brother predicts one of the Harlem deaths that was committed by the Pentacle murderer, Memphis becomes even more concerned and protective. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The mix of paranormal and mystery made for a very enjoyable read. These fantasy aspects set in 1920s New York created a unique plot  that I felt I had never experienced before. Bray also does well to insert 1920s New York culture into the book. The Ziegfeld girls play an important role in the plot line and the characters use phrases from the 1920s such as “posi-tute-ly” and “the cat’s meow” which seem silly to the reader, but also helps build the world they were in. I also enjoyed how Bray addressed the issues of that time, such as racism, and shows the hardships of the African Americans living in Harlem. This book was obviously the first in a series as many parts were left open ended to hopefully be addressed later. Sometimes I did feel things were left too open ended and I do wish some parts had tied together a little bit more. For instance our two protagonists met only twice and very briefly in this book and without them interacting more, Memphis’ plot line felt underdeveloped and somewhat random. The book also was a bit slow at times but overall I enjoyed it. 

To conclude, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal adventures with a touch of historical fiction as well. Bray crafts well developed characters which creates a strong investment in the story and I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

Checkout The Diviners from the Newport Beach Public Library.