Read This Book…

Helen is a magician who was ostracized for making a deal with a devil in order to save someone she loves. She has ten years of her life left before her debt gets called in, which is unfortunate given that Helen loves Edith and wants to build a future with her. When someone very powerful makes an offer to give Helen her life back in exchange for solving a string of serial murders, Helen can’t say no, even if it means jeopardizing everything she’s built.

I loved the voice of this brassy and determined heroine who has bent the rules and isn’t exactly sorry about it, but is still keen on a chance to win back her soul. The Chicago setting is very evocative, and it left me wanting a lot more—from side streets to diners to hotel suites, the scenes are all very vivid and shine with fascinating historical detail. Helen and Edith are careful not to let on about the true nature of their relationship, given the time period, and Edith has a close connection with the Catholic Church, which offers an interesting twist. I also really enjoyed how Polk plays with the idea of predetermination and explores how you spend your days if you know how and when they’ll end, and the lengths people will go to live on their own terms. Despite the fact that Helen has made some extreme choices that not everyone agrees with, she’s very moral and she follows her own code of honor, seeing her cases through to the bitter end. I enjoyed the turns this one took, and the time period and plot reminded me a lot of Passing Strange by Ellen Klages. Definitely pick it up if you was a sapphic, genre bending novella!