The diviners by Julian White
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.
My thoughts
I've been wanting to get to this one since Julian sent it to us but have had other review books I needed to get through first so I'm glad I'm finally reading it. I'm pretty strong stomached which, from the description, it sounds like I need to be for this one! Here goes...
What are you reading?
Looking forward to hearing more.
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