Starred Review Ghost attacks are on the rise in this third volume of the Diviners quartet, which picks up soon after Bray's gang of preternaturally gifted teens puts an end to the sleeping sickness infecting New York City in Lair of Dreams (2015). The King of Crows, who haunted the pages of the previous novels, comes into sharper focus here, as the Diviners learn of his ugly origins and violent purpose­ l tied to the city's ghosts and the secret government program Project Buffalo. Now the group has coalesced into a unified team through its investigations and its work with Evie's uncle Will to increase its powers, both individually and as a group, turning these bright young things into the original ghost busters. The narrative is a many-­tentacled thing, reaching into the minds of the seven Diviners as well as myriad other characters, not the least of whom are Jake Marlowe, Mabel Rose, and blind Bill Johnson. The array of voices comes predominantly from immigrants, minorities, and the "forgotten" dead, and within the supernatural swirls of action is a none-too-subtle indictment of the eugenics movement and white supremacy that crackles with relevance today. It is a gripping, unsettling read that peels back the shiny surface of the American dream. Like the ghosts facing the Diviners, Bray's novel has teeth.

While researching their origins, Evie and her fellow Diviners (The Diviners; Lair of Dreams) turn up connections between their families and entrepreneur/eugenics proponent Jake Marlowe. Before confronting Marlowe, however, they must stop an army of ravenous ghosts. The supernatural scares are spine-chillingly effective, but it's the depiction of real-life horrors (WWI, the rise of hate groups, systemic mistreatment of the mentally ill) that will haunt readers.

This third installment in Bray's speculative historical-fiction series continues to spin the stories of its large ensemble of supernaturally gifted characters in 1920s New York City.The patients and staff at the fictional Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane (Bray discusses mental illness in an author's note) are terrorized by murderous ghosts as the novel opens, quickly setting the tone of atmospheric horror that has characterized this epic. This draws in the Diviners, who must confront a menacing otherworldly figure called the King of Crows. The tale is told in two parts, and details of imagined government conspiracies are laced with heartbreakingly realistic injustices such as racism, anti-Semitism, and maltreatment of the mentally ill. The diverse protagonists are intricately developed; poet Memphis and his young brother Isaiah are black; Ling is Chinese and Irish-American, uses leg braces and crutches, and is both demisexual and lesbian; Sam is Jewish; Theta and Evie are white, as is Henry, who is gay. While readers might be surprised that what seems like the lead-up to a showdown between dimensions doesn't materialize, there is no shortage of action to keep them going: ravenous ghosts, Shadow Men, secret bands of anarchists, and first sexual experiences, among them.A solid middle entry that will satisfy readers hooked on this series—and leave them eager for the next. (Historical/paranormal thriller. 14-adult)