Even Though I Knew the End is a gorgeous, intense, tight rope 3 1/2 hour listen. Set in a slightly alternate, puritanical 1930s or 40s Chicago, C.L. Polk weaves together magic, gritty noir, Heaven, Hell, love, and grief. It’s both spare and lush with just enough detail to give the world texture and context. Women are second class citizens and being queer is dangerous.
Helen Brandt sold her soul ten years ago and her payment is about to come due. She has worked as a magical private investigator (fedora and all). She wants to spend her last bit of time on Earth with Edith, her girlfriend, before she spends the rest of eternity in Hell. One of her best clients asks her to do one last little job for a nice sum of money. We know that the “one last job” won’t be easy and indeed, it involves her estranged brother, the magical order that kicked her out, a hunt for a serial killer, angels and demons.
I really don’t want to talk too much about the plot because it’s so short revealing a little bit is a lot. Polk has said that this isn’t a romance, and it is not. It is a love story though. Helen acts from love. She sold her soul for love of family. She does everything she can to protect Edith. It’s also a story of grief and loss. Love and grief hold hands throughout the story. Grief and fear of loss lead to monstrous acts, and love is an act of courage. At one point Helen and Edith visit a sanitarium for women. While there they see a mother caring for her daughter who has suffered a magical hurt and a woman that they used to see at their secret lesbian bar. The visit to the sanitarium illuminates how much danger they are in every day, just for being queer women.
I really loved this rich novella and, as always, January LaVoy is the perfect narrator.
CW: homophobia, misogyny, murder, blood, death, gun violence, stabbing, possession, death of parents in car accident in past, discussion of conversion therapy, discussion of electric shock therapy.
I received this as an advance listener copy from Recorded Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.