Review- The Diviners by Julian White

Title- The Diviners

Author- Julian White

Released- 1st August 2011

Genre- Horror

Blurb- Four people in a small town find themselves persecuted in different ways by the same terrifying supernatural force.

Karen was happily married – until her husband became a religious maniac and set himself on fire. Since then, she has worked on her own to raise their daughter and establish an elegant seaside bistro – all by the age of 27. Now her husband's back, madder than ever, and she sees her polite, chattering customers transformed into a raving monster bent on destroying everything she loves.

Sandra holds down a tough job as a district nurse, looking after the sick and elderly in her neighbourhood. She has money worries, guilt over the death of her abusive mother and disturbing memories about a mysterious event in her past. Her life slides into chaos when one of her patients turns up dead in the boot of her car and she can't get rid of the rapidly decaying body.

Felix is a dull provincial solicitor – so dull, in fact, that his wife goes elsewhere in search of sexual fulfilment. When a perverse young couple hold her captive in a luxurious house, he comes to the rescue, only to find that something utterly evil and as ancient as civilisation itself lurks beneath the sparkling surface of their swimming pool.

Mick is still licking his wounds six months after being dumped by his girlfriend. In hopes of forgetting her, he goes to bed with an enigmatic lady whose hair smells of blackcurrants. As a result, he undergoes a transformation into a creature out of an insane nursery story.

And that's only the beginning. When these four stories converge, the stage is set for an earth-shattering climax.

Welcome to the world of the Diviners' Guild.

Who are they? The answer takes in cannibalism, deadly maggots, reincarnated cats, body horror, psychological chills, blood magic, black farce, breakneck action, a thousand-year-old secret, a silver coin and a supernatural threat to Creation itself.

The Diviners is the no-holds-barred fictional début by writer and critic Julian White, full of surreal scares, adult imagery and laughter in the dark. Read it if you dare.

Review- Ok firstly I would like to admit that I did not finish it. I couldn't! The Diviners is full of random weirdness which has no appeal to me whatsoever. There's unrealistic yet believable and there's just plain unbelievably stupid. I mean seriously, a guy who starts literally eating some chick who he's making out with just because she is a gingerbread woman is just plain grosse, not intriguing. Not to mention way too farfetched! The four people in the story are connected by one thing. A letter that states they will be "assayed". That's it! Whether they connect further towards the end, I don't know because as I said, I didn't finish it and I don't particularly care to. It's definetely a book I couldn't and didn't lose myself in. A totally harsh review, I know, but it's honest and if you went and read it because I said it was great and you hated it then you wouldnt trust me ever again. Well that's it. Short and, well, not so sweet.

For more on Julian White and The Diviners check out Goodreads.