★★★★☆
The Diviners is the latest release from young adult author Libba Bray, known for her supernatural historical thrillers (The Rebel Angels trilogy and The Diviners) and her what I can best describe as hyper-reality contemporary fiction (Going Bovine and Beauty Queens, which I have previously reviewed on this blog). The Diviners is a serial murder mystery set in New York City in the 20's with a supernatural twist. I think my favorite part was her portrayal of New York in the 20's, a world of speakeasies and social movements, equal parts dangerous and exciting, modern and traditional - a whirlwind of constant motion and change, the old grappling with the new. But! It was first and foremost a murder mystery, so that's what I drew on for my poem.
"Naughty John, Naughty John
does his work with his apron on..."
The tune slithers its chilly finger
down your spine and you shiver
and your blood runs cold
and you want to scream
but you don't
because you know, with a sick,
foreboding certainty that there's no use,
because you're frozen in place
and your pulse races like a trapped,
panicked bird and you know
when you hear Naughty John's tune
he's got you.
