Books I've Read: Before the Devil Breaks You

This is the third book in the Diviners series and I enjoyed it much more than the second book in the series, but not as much as the first.  I had expected this to be the final book in the series, so I was surprised when I got to the last 50 or so pages and realised there wasn't enough book left to tie everything up.

Now I have to wait a couple more years to find out how it all turns out...  I hate that!

In fact, this is why I don't usually read series until the whole series has already been published.

I had to fight my way into the beginning of this one because it had been so long since I'd finished the second book, and there are a lot of characters in these books, all with their own unique gifts and powers.  But once I settled in and remembered who was who and who could do what, I fell back into the world Libba Bray has created and let these characters carry me along for the ride.

I adore the setting of this series, especially the 1920s slang that gives the whole thing an authentic flavour. New York in the  jazz era is such an exciting time with the bootleg booze, the trendy Harlem nightclubs, gangsters and dandies.  These books make the most of the period and include mixed-race relationships, homosexuality and strong, powerful women all within the constraints of that period's society.

I don't want to give too much away, but the book follows on from the second one, and the mysteries are beginning to unravel.  The dangerous King of Crows is identified and how he came to be there is revealed.  The secrets behind Project Buffalo begin to come to light and it isn't pretty for those involved.

I enjoyed it once I got into it, but I did feel that some parts were a little too long.  I will also be interested to see how Mabel's adventures play into the larger story because while I really enjoyed her journey through this book, her story seemed very separate to the stories of the other diviners.

But I'm sure it will all come together in the next book...

I reccommend this one, but you will need to read the other two books before diving into this.

In case you're interested, here's the blurb:

New York City.
1927.
Lights are bright.
Jazz is king.
Parties are wild.
And the dead are coming...

After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that early claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough of lies. They're more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward's Island, far from the city's bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten--ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.

With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over, and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them fact-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they've ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation--a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves.