Even Though I Knew the End
C. L. Polk
Tordotcom
Fiction, Fantasy/Mystery
Themes: Alternate Earths, Angels and Demons, Cross-Genre, Diversity, Girl Power, Magic Workers, Occult, Religious Themes, Urban Tales
****+
Description
Ten years ago, in 1931, Helen Brandt was a promising young mystic training alongside her brother Ted, following the family tradition in Chicago's guild of high magicians... until she threw it all away by making a deal with the Devil. Kicked out of the Order and branded a warlock, she turned to private investigating, studying her own brand of unorthodox magic and spells... which is how she wound up in the alley one night, casting an augury at a crime scene of the notorious so-called "White City Vampire". Dealing with serial killers, especially ones with overtones of black magic, is above her pay grade, but Helen figures she can manage this one last spell without getting sucked into a full investigation, one that's sure to clash with the Order. It's not like she has that kind of time, anyway: as with all who barter in souls, she only had ten years to enjoy the fruits before she is claimed by Hell for all eternity, and she only has a few days left. She's only bothering with this one last job because it'll allow her to leave that much more of a parting gift to her girlfriend Edith, who knows nothing of damnation or bargains at crossroads. But despite her best intentions and very limited lifespan, Helen finds herself pulled into the most dangerous case she's ever worked, with stakes higher than she could ever have imagined.
Review
This award-winning novella brilliantly melds elements of occult magic with noir detective tropes in an alternate-history Chicago still recovering from the Great Depression, with a side-angle of a technically illegal sapphic romance. While many might pine and moan and lament at the end, Helen intends to go out as she's lived, staring adversity straight in the eye, not wallowing in self-pity. Her only regrets are that she remains estranged from her brother Ted, now a respected Initiate in the Chicago high magicians, and that she'll be leaving behind her lover Edith, an ethereal vision of a woman who nonetheless is more than just an idealized caricature, and who becomes much more a part of the White City Vampire investigation than Helen ever intended. The two make a solid partnership, just as Helen makes a solid noir-era gumshoe, full of determination and wit (with, of course, a twist of magic). As Helen finds herself drug deeper into the mystery, she finds another partner of sorts who introduces her to aspects of magical Chicago that even she hardly suspected existed, the sort of places mortals should fear to tread if they know what's good for them... but once you've bargained your soul away and are already bound for Hell, that's not much reason to stop, especially not when the investigation takes an unexpectedly personal turn. The world around Helen comes to life in the many details, from the classic camera she uses to the underground club for lesbians to the "hospital" where the mentally ill - and those whom 1940's society has deemed "broken" and in need of abusive therapy to cure their "unnatural" habits, such as women who like other women - are sent and only rarely return, and the characters feel like natural inhabitants of their world and times. The investigation winds up to a dramatic climax, and a conclusion that leaves the door cracked open for potential sequels (which I'd probably read if it kept the same character chemistry as this installment). It all makes for an enjoyable, emotional tale.