The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Diviners by Libba Bray is this amazing mix of supernatural horror, historical fiction, and rich character development, all set against the backdrop of 1920s New York City. It’s got this perfect blend of creepy, atmospheric tension and a vibrant setting full of flappers, jazz, speakeasies, and dark, ancient evils lurking beneath it all. The book starts with a murder mystery but quickly spirals into something much bigger and darker, introducing you to a world of people with extraordinary powers, known as “Diviners.” It’s one of those books that pulls you into its world and keeps you there, giving you both chills and thrills along the way.
A Flapper with a Secret – Meet Evie O’Neill
The main character is Evie O’Neill, and she is the ultimate flapper—reckless, rebellious, and determined to live life to the fullest. Evie is living in Ohio, but after getting into trouble at a party (because she has a habit of saying a bit too much when she drinks), her parents ship her off to New York City to live with her uncle, Will, who runs a museum of the occult called “The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult”—though most people just call it “The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies.”
Evie is thrilled to be in New York, which is everything she’s dreamed of—glamorous, lively, and full of opportunities to reinvent herself. But Evie has a secret. She’s a Diviner. She can hold an object and see its history, revealing secrets about whoever owned it. She mostly treats her ability like a party trick, but it’s also something that scares her—both because of what she’s capable of and what it might mean for her future.
The Murder of the Pentacle Killer – A Dark Mystery Unfolds
Not long after Evie arrives in New York, a series of gruesome murders shakes the city. The bodies are found with strange symbols carved into them, and the crimes seem to have a supernatural element that baffles the police. Uncle Will, with his expertise in the occult, is called in to help investigate. Evie, eager to prove herself and play detective, gets herself involved in the case, especially when she realizes that her Diviner powers might be the key to solving it.
The murderer, who becomes known as the Pentacle Killer, seems to be performing some kind of ritual with each victim, drawing power from dark forces. And as Evie and her friends dive deeper into the mystery, they realize that the killer might be connected to something ancient and evil, something that has been lurking in the shadows for a long time, waiting to be awakened.
The Other Diviners – A Cast of Extraordinary Characters
One of the coolest parts of The Diviners is that it isn’t just Evie’s story. There’s an ensemble cast of characters, each with their own abilities and secrets, and the way their paths intertwine adds so much depth to the novel. Libba Bray does an incredible job of slowly revealing each character’s backstory and powers, making you care about all of them while building the tension and mystery around their shared destiny.
There’s Memphis, a Harlem poet and healer who has the power to heal with his hands but is haunted by a failed attempt to save someone he loved. He’s also dealing with the pressures of the Harlem Renaissance and trying to make a name for himself while keeping his powers a secret.
Then there’s Theta, a Ziegfeld girl with a dark past and a fiery secret of her own. Theta is tough and glamorous, but she’s also deeply vulnerable, and her ability to produce fire plays into both her strengths and her inner turmoil.
Sam Lloyd is a con artist with the ability to make himself invisible. He has his own reasons for getting involved with Evie and her uncle’s investigation, but you’re never quite sure whether to trust him.
And Mabel, Evie’s best friend, is the only character without supernatural powers, but she’s one of the few who sees the world for what it really is. She’s quiet, thoughtful, and incredibly loyal, even though she often feels overshadowed by Evie’s larger-than-life personality.
1920s New York – A City of Glamour and Darkness
One of the things that makes The Diviners so special is how vividly Libba Bray brings 1920s New York to life. It’s not just the parties and the speakeasies, though those are definitely a big part of the atmosphere. It’s the whole culture of the Roaring Twenties—the music, the slang, the fashion, and the sense of rebellion and excitement that defined the decade. You can almost hear the jazz and feel the pulse of the city as you’re reading.
But alongside the glitz and glamour, there’s also a dark undercurrent to the city. Beneath the surface, New York is full of secrets, and Bray captures that sense of looming danger beautifully. As Evie and her friends delve deeper into the mystery of the Pentacle Killer, they start uncovering a hidden history of the city—a history filled with forgotten rituals, haunted places, and ancient powers that are far more dangerous than they could have ever imagined.
What’s really brilliant is how the setting feels like a character in itself. The city is alive, full of magic and menace, and you get the sense that anything could happen in its shadows. The mix of historical detail and supernatural horror gives the book this eerie, otherworldly feel, like you’re walking through a New York that’s almost—but not quite—familiar.
The Occult and Supernatural – Unveiling Dark Forces
The occult plays a huge role in The Diviners, and it’s not just a backdrop for the story—it’s at the heart of everything. The museum that Evie’s uncle runs is full of strange artifacts and dark histories, and these elements start to come into play as the mystery deepens. The murders themselves are steeped in occult symbols and rituals, and as the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the killer is trying to harness some ancient, evil power.
What I love about the way Bray handles the supernatural is that it feels grounded in real history and folklore. The rituals, symbols, and legends all have this weight to them, as if they could be real, which makes the horror that much more effective. The evil that the characters are up against isn’t just a mindless monster—it’s something with deep roots in history, something that has been waiting for the right moment to strike.
And the supernatural isn’t just confined to the villain. The Diviners themselves are part of this world, whether they like it or not. Their powers are mysterious and, in many ways, dangerous, both to themselves and to those around them. As the characters grapple with their abilities, they start to realize that being a Diviner isn’t just a gift—it comes with responsibilities and risks that they’re only beginning to understand.
The Horror of the Unknown – A Chilling Atmosphere
While The Diviners is full of action and intrigue, it’s also deeply unsettling in a way that creeps up on you. The supernatural elements are genuinely frightening, but it’s the sense of the unknown that really gets under your skin. There’s always a feeling that something terrible is just out of sight, lurking in the corners of the story, waiting to pounce.
The murders themselves are gruesome and disturbing, but what makes them so terrifying is the sense that they’re part of something much bigger. The killer is playing by rules that the characters don’t fully understand, and as they get closer to the truth, they realize just how much danger they’re in. The stakes keep getting higher, and by the time you reach the climax, the tension is almost unbearable.
Bray is a master of building atmosphere, and she uses every trick in the book to keep you on edge. Whether it’s a cold draft in a dark alley, the flicker of a gaslight, or the distant sound of footsteps, there’s always something to remind you that danger is never far away. And as the characters uncover more about the Pentacle Killer and the forces at work, the sense of dread only grows.
Friendship, Love, and Power – What it Means to Be a Diviner
At its core, The Diviners isn’t just a horror story—it’s about friendship, love, and the power of found families. Evie’s relationships with the other characters are just as important as the supernatural plot, and watching her grow closer to them is one of the best parts of the book. Each character is dealing with their own struggles, whether it’s Memphis’s fear of his powers, Theta’s haunted past, or Sam’s search for answers about his family, and their friendships become a lifeline for each of them.
Evie’s journey is especially powerful because she starts off so self-absorbed and reckless, but as she gets deeper into the mystery, she begins to realize that her powers have real consequences. She’s no longer just a girl looking for a good time—she’s part of something much bigger, and she has to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect the people she cares about.
The novel also explores what it means to have power, and whether that power is a blessing or a curse. For the Diviners, their abilities set them apart from everyone else, but they also come with a heavy burden. As the characters learn more about their powers, they start to realize that they’re connected to something ancient and dangerous, and that being a Diviner might mean sacrificing more than they ever imagined.