Even Though I Knew the End

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Essentially, the plot to this book is that there is a serial killer who needs stopping, and Helen has a shot at changing her (doomed) future if she catches the killer, plus she really wants to catch the killer anyway, and there are a ton of other things going on that will all make perfect sense if you have ever read a Raymond Chandler novel and are accustomed to mysteries where the mystery is only one part of the larger story. (Confession: I am a big Chandler fan even when the plots don’t make perfect sense.) (FYI – Polk does not suffer from Chandler’s occasional lapses in plot coherence.) (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google ‘‘The Big Sleep’’ and ‘‘who killed the chauffeur.’’)

But even as the moment I had dreamed of turned into a nightmare, the gears in my skull kept turning. Teddy wasn’t in this alley by chance. They’d been watching the scene all along. Not cops. Not robbers. High magicians, and that was worse. I appreciate stories that erase homophobia and treat the queer experience as something commonplace and widely accepted. However, there is still room for books like Even Though I Knew the End, which remind us of a lifetime before ours, where living a queer life was not easy or even safe. The mention of these struggles puts into perspective how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go.But C.L. Polk subverts the typical tropes by writing a main character who’s not only a woman, but a sapphic woman at that. In everything else, Helen stands by the conventions of the genre—she’s a down-and-out detective who doesn’t get along with law enforcement, she’s as brusque as she is charismatic, and while she might have a rough exterior, she also has a heart of gold.

Lastly, if you’re an audiobook person, I highly recommend it. Narrator January LaVoy was a delight. She hit every voice, every accent, every kernel of subtext perfectly. Usually I listen to audiobooks while doing other activities, but she made it hard to concentrate on anything else.First and foremost, we must talk about the setting. Taking place in 1940s Chicago, the environment becomes a character all its own. There is no shortage of books, movies, and television shows set during this period of time, especially in this part of the country, but Even Though I Knew the End managed to keep it fresh. Despite the patriarchal structure, women do dance and love and live; they hold good jobs and work magic, both figurative and literal. There are hints at what the world could be, were they all free to grow and shine beyond their world’s limitations, if they could claim their power—even though they know the end. and, oh god, what a tragically doomed romance they share. the book is short, but helen's adoration for edith shines brightly, is never questioned. i love reading about a couple who is effortlessly comfortable with one another, yet loves each other with such consistent passion. their whole love story is painfully bittersweet. The beginning, however, is a bit of a mystery. Readers meet Helen Brandt in an alley, taking magical photos (despite an uncooperative moon) of a murder scene. Ritual markings fill the walls. Helen wants nothing to do with this case and the other murders related to it. She’d much rather spend time with her sweetheart, Edith because she knows her own time is running out. It turns out that it’s been ten years since she made a bargain with a devil, and her soul’s up for collection very, very soon. But when her client makes her an offer she can’t refuse, dangling her soul like bait on a hook, Helen starts digging into the murders and finds out that she’s in far deeper than she realized. Damn it. I’d been pinched, and it was my own fault. I had cast no wards at all. I wasn’t great with the invisibility glamour. I hadn’t even set up a trip line. I had been sloppy, and I deserved to get caught.

I loved that there was a little bit of everything in here: a noir sort of urban fantasy, a sweet because not overdrawn romance, many magical elements and some nice commentary on what has been done to homosexual people, such as conversion therapy (which, in some places, still is done, unfortunately). C.L. Polk is a fantasy writer from Calgary. Their other books include Witchmark , Stormsong and The Midnight Bargain . Witchmark, their debut novel, won the 2019 World Fantasy Award for best novel. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award, Locus Award, Aurora Award and a Lambda Literary Award. The Midnight Bargain will be defended by Olympian and broadcaster Rosey Edeh on Canada Reads 2021. Even Though I Knew The End is really quite an astonishingly beautiful novella. The pain is real, but so is the love, the ending is perfect, bittersweet in all the right ways, but I also found it genuinely quite tough going in places. I say this not in criticism (I am renownedly a softie) but just in gentle warning because, while I was vaguely aware the setting was not queer-friendly, I wasn’t quite prepared for how dark this would get. Plus, the worldbuilding was rather wonderful so I can see me reading more stories taking place in this world's Chicago if the author chooses to write more. A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago's divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic or all of the above.Even Though I Knew the End follows the story of Helen Brandt in 1940's Chicago. Helen is a magical private eye hired by her (damn sexy) client, Marlowe, to find a serial killer known as the White City Vampire. Despite her initial hesitance, Helen takes the job for the enticing compensation she was promised by Marlowe. This job, doomed from the start, brings Helen more trouble than initially anticipated, and along the way, she uncovers many life-changing truths. With the deadline ending in 3 days, Helen hastily attempts to catch this cold-blooded murderer, all so she can keep those she loves safe. Does she find this White City Vampire? Is the reward enough for what she goes through? Will she be able to keep her family safe? At the end of the day, I'm a simple reader. Give me a story that feels like Passing Strange had a baby with Supernatural, make it just the right amount of noir and write it well - and I am one happy little clam.