in the fall of 1929, a young woman—current alias dolly white—arrives in seattle and is hired as a companion for a wealthy man’s rebellious daughter. as the city grows more and more divided, dolly uses her new position carry out the job she was sent to seattle to complete.

comeuppance served cold drew me in from the first page to the last as dolly pulls off a heist in a fantastical version of seattle complete with shapeshifters and blood magic. i loved the nonlinear storytelling, the colorful cast of characters, and the way deeds wove the magical elements of her story into the very real struggles of that era: prohibition, the wall street crash of 1929, and period-typical racism, misogyny, and homophobia.

This book has allll the vibes.

I honestly love everything about it! A nonlinear storyline, multiple pov, magic, shapeshifters, prohibition, mystery and intrigue set in Seattle 1929 noir style. The absolute confidence that though women had a place in a visible social setting, what went on behind the scenes proved they were, at times, pulling the strings.

Dolly White, a smart women who needs a job and takes care of herself. Violet, taking chances and running a speakeasy while trying to protect her shapeshifter brother and avoid trouble from white men. Can they work together to stay off the radar of all those around them?

The way this ended has me VERY hopeful there will be more to come!

Warnings: Patriarchal, racist, and ableist violence, both verbal and physical.
Also attempted sexual assault.

Thank you SO much to Tor Books, NetGalley and Marion Deeds for the gifted copy!

I really enjoyed this noir-style story. The plot was well done and made sense. I really liked how the different reveals were handled. I do wish there was just a bit more personality in the main character. Overall I would recommend this story to people who like soft fantasy stories and noir.

Told non-linearly with multiple POVs, Comeuppance Served Cold is a fascinating historical fantasy novella set in 1929 Seattle. In this version of Seattle, magic is becoming increasingly regulated against the backdrop of Prohibition.

The cast of characters is slowly revealed as the novella begins with the heavy implication that they all are hiding bits and pieces. This is one of the novel/novellas that works better when you don’t know too much about the plot, as the plot and characters become clearer as the story goes on. I also wouldn’t mind more books or novellas about this cast of characters – there’s a lot of mystery surrounding some past exploits and some room for some future adventures.

I really enjoyed this quirky mystery. Comeuppance Served Cold kept taking me by surprise whether it was a new piece of the past, a new character development, or a new insight about the setting.
Many thanks to Tor Dot Com for a NetGalley eARC and Turn the Page Tours for inclusion on the Comeuppance Served Cold Book Tour.

Full Tour Stop will be on my blog and Instagram on 3/24

Comeuppance Served Cold is the first work I've read by Marion Deeds. Set in a magical version of 1929, after the stock market crash and during prohibition, this novella reimagines racism (against shapeshifters), drugs (shimmer-sham) and grifters. Prepared to be dazzled by this unusual story!

In Seattle in 1929, there's a great deal of violence, wealth and magic. Ambrose Earnshaw, a respected magus and City Commissioner, is determined to criminalize shapeshifters. His daughter Fiona is under the influence of drink and the drug shimmer-sham, so he hires a young woman, Dolly White, to be a lady's companion to help straighten out Fiona. Then there's Violet Solomon, who runs a speakeasy. She has wanted to make someone pay for the death of her beloved Pedro, and she finally has the chance. She is also trying to protect her shapeshifter brother Philippe and his blind magical-tattooist lover Gabe. And to make it even more interesting, a notorious thief arrives in Seattle to handle a complicated job that will leave destruction and chaos for all involved. Just what is going on?

Actually, I spent a lot of this novella wondering what was going on myself! Maybe it was traces of Covid fog remaining in my brain. However, I'd like to blame the nonlinear timeline! We started off with Dolly being hired to babysit Fiona, and we're introduced to the Earnshaw family. After that, we go back in time leading up to the current time to see what Dolly is actually been doing as a grifter, setting up the job, and being introduced to other characters such as Violet. We learn Violet's history. Then we're back to current time and the big set-up for some in the Earnshaw family and other criminals, and the big heist. Yes, I was totally confused throughout a lot of the story, but that didn't stop me from loving it! Dolly was a fascinating character and I loved seeing the bits and pieces of who she actually is coming together. I also liked Fiona, who started out in a pitiable state but managed to become a strong woman. Violet, Philippe and Gabe were also great characters. The storyline concerning the shapeshifters was fascinating. However, what I loved best was the magical reimagining of Seattle and how that affected the motivations of Dolly and others. Dolly, by the way, who is actually named Comeuppance Rather. I'm really hoping to read more adventures of this talented grifter!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Im so sad I didn't love this one. I really expected to, because after all, it was a heist novel. I love heists. I love watching everything tie together, and I love the cast of characters they bring

But this one just didn't manage to pull it off. The characters formed into a blob, and the plot tried to do wayyyy too much. The timelines were a mess. Instead of it being fun to watch together, I spent the entire time confused. The timeline wasn't linear, and although that can be fun in some cases, it didn't work too well in this one.

I can see why some people will love this (short, fun read), but it just wasn't my thing. I went into it expecting one thing, and it didn't deliver well enough for my tastes.

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Notorious thief pulling a heist? Check!

Prohibition era fantasy world? Check!

Magical drinks and speakeasy’s? Check!

Nuanced characters and complex but compelling writing style? Double Check!

There is so much to love about this novella. When I saw the title I was immediately intrigued and that intrigued carried from the first page and had me reading this in one sitting.

We start at the end of the story, like so many other stories about thieves pulling complex jobs that require weeks of preparation. This is the story of a theft, but not just any regular theft, to pull off this job, our notorious thief has had to spend weeks gathering intel and then getting in with the right people at the right time. The stakes are high, she botched her last job and she needs the money from this one so that she can disappear for awhile and let the heat die down. But Seattle is in the throws of a shakeup, the authorities are cracking down on anyone who uses magic outside their purview, particularly shifters. And a turf war over the magical drug shimmer is heating up, not to mention the stock market has just crashed. Just to complicate matters, the mark is right at the center of it all.

If you feel like I haven’t really told you anything about the plot, I haven’t. That’s because seeing how the thief has put the con together and how all of the pieces fit as everything unfolds is the reason this book is amazing. Non-linear stories can sometimes be confusing and frustrating, but Marion Deed’s does it brilliantly in this book. As the story unfolds and you are given more of the pieces of the puzzle things that you thought were true begin to unravel, you think you know what has happened but you really have no idea.

The cast of characters were so well developed even in such a short space. We have of course our thief, as well as the family she is targeting, but we also have the owner of a speakeasy and her brother and the enigmatic magical tattoo artist who loves him. And as with any heist story we have the thief’s network of contacts that provide important pieces to the puzzle to make the whole job possible. Once again considering that this is a novella, we get intriguing information about the backstory of the main character which make me want to read ten more stories about her to be able to piece it all together slowly.

The final piece of the puzzle that really takes this novella over the top for me was the way that Deeds’ explored themes of privilege and power that while wrapped in the cloak of a fantasy version of Seattle in 1929, resonate with what is still going on today in the world.

People who love heist stories, ne’er-do-wells, and enjoy shorter fiction that leaves you wanting more will get the most out of this lovely novella.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR A FREE EARC IN EXCHANGE FOR MY HONEST REVIEW

I don't believe in first sight, but I read the author's note and I knew this book was going to be something special. For one, the warnings so clearly written before the book began shows a care for both the audience and story itself - I cannot praise this enough. The character's are so vibrantly alive, I feel as if they were lost in my memory and I found them again through this novel. Deeds writing style is nothing short of captivating. I want to read everything she has to write and more.

What a fun, magical mystery! Despite its length, the character development was really well-done. It jumped around in time but wasn’t not hard to follow at all. I actually kind of enjoyed the non-linear format and I usually tend to prefer chronological narratives. I hope there are sequels! I would love to read more about our mysterious heroine and her adventures.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm not even sure how to describe this fun little book. Historical fantasy set in 1920s Seattle. The storytelling is non-linear, so if you enjoy a story that unfolds in bits and pieces told back and forth in time until it all comes together at the end, this may be the book for you! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, especially some of the side characters, and would definitely read more set in this world.

Thank you to Tordotcom, the author, and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will release March 22, 2022.

I love a good mystery/heist, and the fact that this was billed as a sort of more hardboiled, magical Miss Fisher’s Mysteries had me instantly sold—and this book absolutely lives up to that pitch. There’s the glamour of the era, and then there’s the glamour which enables our protagonist, going by the name Dolly White, to slip into the role of companion to a young society lady and by doing so seamlessly integrate herself into the house containing the target of her heist. But eventually it comes to light that there is much more at play in the neighborhood, and Dolly must find a way to turn the situations unraveling around her to her advantage.

Possibly my favorite part of this book is how slowly everything comes together despite the brevity of the narrative. And yet the pacing was perfect, the reveals gradual enough to keep me on tenterhooks while I waited to see what the next move would be. The characters are deftly drawn but complex, and the world buiIding is done in my favorite way: just enough explanation to understand what’s going, or meant to be understood from context, and nothing more. Every choice counts here, and that goes for both Dolly’s actions and the prose itself. There were several moments where I hissed “YESSSS!” out loud (but I don’t want to give those away), and I love how confident and capable a protagonist Dolly is.

There is clearly much more to this world than what is laid out on the page here, and I am extremely hopeful that this will develop into a series so that the next installment can further explore Dolly’s future grifts as well as probe into her past and we can watch her marks get the comeuppance they so richly deserve.

What at first seems like a straight forward story of a down-on-her-luck young woman being hired as a companion to a society girl soon reveals itself as much more! Magic in 1929 urban Seattle, a nonlinear story line that slowly reveals what is REALLY going on, a sympathetic main character (even once you realize it's a con!). I admit to picking the book largely based on the cover, and the fact that I was unfamiliar with the author. (I try very hard to NOT use NetGalley to keep up with favorite authors that I know the library will definitely purchase.) Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom!

I know we don’t judge books by their cover but I really liked the cover of this, it was so beautiful and evoked the gloss of the period.

At first, I admit the second narrative of the speakeasy and shape-shifters didn’t hold my attention as much as the main Dolly/Fiona narrative. That wasn’t because it was poorly written or anything, I just found myself more absorbed with the other story. Having said that, the further you read, the more entwined the two stories become and you begin to enjoy them as one entity.

It is a short book at just over 200 pages so it is an enjoyable, relaxing read that you could easily get through in one evening.

I could easily see this as a late-night TV series. The glamour and the magic of the 1920s US lends itself to the silver screen.

This was a super fun, quick read! Set right after the stock market crash in a magical Seattle, this heist novella created an immersive magic system without spending too much energy on exposition. Dolly, the main character, is more than she originally seems to be, and of course everything takes a little while to unfold. Normally I'm not a huge novella fan, but with the structure of this one, the length was perfect. I absolutely despised the villains, and there weren't many shades of gray - more development of Dolly may have helped.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the rare occasion of me being like "it's too short", but some of the world-building was done via info dump (and it's pretty complicated world-building) and I wish some of the many many many fantastical elements had more of a change to breathe/be introduced more organically. Also, like, it's pretty easy to figure out how our heist is going to play out. Otherwise, it's fun! I liked the setting (1929 Seattle), the characters had distinct voices and were interesting (though I wish we got to spend more time with some of them) and it's something of a heist, which, who doesn't love a heist! Recommended to those who like a "fantastical mystery" sort of deal (so like, if you like Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, etc., you'll probably like this). 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the eARC which I received in exchange for an unbiased review.

The year is 1929 and Dolly White is grifting in Seattle. Dolly claims she is applying for a job to stay out of trouble until she can marry, but Dolly is actually doing some quite powerful magic in order to save shifters in her city from a powerful scion. I don't want to give away much more than that about her motivations, but let me just say that I loved this story. The pacing and the tone of this story was wonderful. Given that this is a novella, I always worry that the author will try and rush everything in the last bit of the story to tie up loose ends and what not, but the pacing of reveals and information was so good. I highly recommend this if you love historical fiction with a magical twist!

CW: According to the author’s note - patriarchal, racist, and ableist violence, both verbal and physical.
Also attempted sexual assault.

I only got to know about this book a few weeks ago while browsing netgalley and I was immediately taken in NG it’s bright cover and that super fun title. And I was quite excited when I got the arc. This totally lived up to that quirky title.

The writing is engaging right from the get go and I didn’t feel like putting it down once I started. It also helped that it was short because I was happy to finish such an entertaining story quickly. The setting of 1920s Seattle felt realistic with its Prohibition, stock market crash, the underlying racism, the speakeasies and more. The author does a great job giving us just enough world building and magic system details to propel the story, and never let us feel like she is infodumping. We also have a bit of timeline jumps and I’m not always a fan of this kind of storytelling style, but I think it worked well for this story which involves a heist and multiple players.

While it is a heist story, the planning and execution of it all mostly takes place in the backdrop in a way we know it’s happening, but we don’t go into the nitty gritty of it. Which was definitely fun once we realize how it all plays out towards the end. But it’s the characters who make this story so engaging. Dolly is a mysterious character, a great con artist, excellent at talking herself out of situations and getting her way, but also principled and empathetic in her own ways. I just loved how she finagled the whole thing right beneath everyone’s noses.

She is ably supported by many other wonderful characters. Violet is a Black woman and owner of a speakeasy - not an easy position to be in during those times, but she is strong and protective of her family. Her brother Philippe is a shapeshifter, who can be impulsive at times but ultimately has his heart in the right place. Gabe is his partner who also happens to be a magical tattoo artist. Fiona is another interesting girl who is privileged and rich, doesn’t see the faults in her family, doesn’t have the freedom that she wants, but can be kind in her own way. We also have some loathsome antagonists but they were written quite well and I wouldn’t wanna give them away.

In the end, how the stories of all these characters converge gives us a thoroughly entertaining story. It’s a heist, but it’s also personal in some ways for the players, so it makes for a more intriguing plot. This was total fun from beginning to end and I remained hooked. I wouldn’t mind if we get more stories featuring Dolly and her shenanigans.

I went into this book with very few expectations, mostly I was drawn to the Miss Fisher comparison (which will always tempt me in) and the cover. I would say that this book 100% gave me everything I needed from it which was a fun heist story with a strong 'eat the rich' flavour to it. Would I watch the film of this book? Absolutely. Would I read more books about this particular protagonist - of course I would.
Deeds, in my opinion, manages to walk the line of depicting a period of time that is particularly patriarchal and racist while also bringing in some of the wonder of magic and managing to create a world that recognises the awfulness of those things without feeling 'bludgeoningly' bleak. Reviewers of colour may, of course, feel differently to me and in that case, I would say please go with their viewpoint over mine. For me it felt respectful and like the book acknowledged those elements of history without appropriating trauma in a way that other similar books have done.
Overall, however, the focus is on the heist and I truly had a wonderful time piecing together what was going on and how everything was going to pan out. There are so many truly great moments of tension within the story and I would recommend jumping into this knowing as little as possible so you can have fun parsing out the mystery for yourself.
This was a great novella and I'm secretly hoping this isn't the last we've seen of this setting...
My rating: 4/5 stars
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

An intriguing out-of-sequence story of a heist and the justice it served. Kind of reminds me of The Librarians meets Leverage. The only thing I would change would be to add something visual to help remind where each chapter is on the overall timeline.

"Marion Deeds's Comeuppance Served Cold is a hard-boiled historical fantasy of criminality and magic, couched in the glamour of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Seattle, 1929 - a bitterly divided city overflowing with wealth, violence, and magic.

A respected magus and city leader intent on criminalizing Seattle’s most vulnerable magickers hires a young woman as a lady’s companion to curb his rebellious daughter’s outrageous behavior.

The widowed owner of a speakeasy encounters an opportunity to make her husband’s murderer pay while she tries to keep her shapeshifter brother safe.

A notorious thief slips into the city to complete a delicate and dangerous job that will leave chaos in its wake.

One thing is for certain - comeuppance, eventually, waits for everyone."

Miss Fisher and magic!?! Where has this been all my life!