Even Though I Knew the End

By: C.L. Polk

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist—the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves.

To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.

©2022 C.L. Polk (P)2022 Recorded Books

Good short story

Very interesting and well written. Character development was awesome too and left me wanting to know more about this world. Give it a listen for sure!

Loved it

This book had a lot of my favorite tropes. A fun short read that was tightly written and well structured. I am going to recommend this to friends.

an absolutely captivating novella

I could go on and on about how I loved every aspect of the story. But instead let me just say it is a short, wonderfully placed, beautiful story in an intriguing world.

Fantastic Read!

If you like queer love stories about the supernatural, this is book is for you! Loved that it is historical fiction as well.

excellent novella

I love CL Polk's work, and this is really one of their best. I loved the historical setting, tight plot, and the characters.

Non Optional Header

I think I'm not a noire fan, so for personal enjoyment this is probably a 3, but it is a quality novella that's really well performed.

Short and Sweet(ish)

This one took me by surprise. The reading felt a little stilted at times as did the writing. Nonetheless I enjoyed it very much!

A hard-hitting mix of Fantasy and Noir

Helen Brandt is a Private Investigator living in 1940's Chicago. She's also a lesbian, and a warlock. She takes on magical work for her mysterious clients, gets paid well for her work, and doesn't ask questions. But when she's recruited to investigate a notorious serial killer whose murder scenes have a magical connection, she turns the job down. There's too much risk involved, and people she cares about could get hurt, including her estranged brother and her girlfriend. But she changes her mind when her client offers her something she can't refuse: Her soul.
Even Though I Knew The End is a delightful little jewel of a fantasy noir novella. Polk's recreation of 1941 Chicago, layered with a tantalizing hint of a rich magical world, is stunning and vibrant. The city breathes, and you can practically smell the stale cigarette smoke and stale coffee on the narrator's breath. The combination of enticing fantasy world and impending doom with palpable and exciting. Polk's well-researched noir prose is spot on, giving just enough to bring the story to life without turning purple.
The audiobook, read by January LaVoy, is outstanding. Her narration brings the characters to life, and her performance of Brandt brings out the perfect amount of hard-luck noir sympathy for a protagonist who has undoubtedly done awful things for awful people (Marlowe in particular) but we want to root for her anyway, even though, well, we know how things are fated to turn out. Her performance of the rest of the cast is also excellent, giving otherworldly touches to the characters where appropriate and garnering sympathy when necessary.

Thought-provoking, fun read

I loved the mix of noir detective story with supernatural. As always CL Polk gives us a lot to think about but the story is the focus. I loved the main character, Helen, and her relationships with her girlfriend and brother. Excellent audio narration by January LaVoy.

excellent

so beautiful and bittersweet, I loved the characters, the protagonist kept catching herself mid lore-dumping and stopping in a fun way. so many feels from the ending