SFF

Comeuppance Served Cold

by Marion Deeds
Tor.com. Mar. 2022. 208p. ISBN 9781250811073. $16.99. FANTASY
COPY ISBN
Deeds’s (Copper Road) gas-lamp-style caper story is set in an alternate Seattle where magic users ply their trades, shapeshifters stalk the streets, and speakeasies cater to drinkers of both illegal booze and equally forbidden magical elixirs. The story opens at its end, with Dolly White leaving the scene of the final crime, glamoured to appear as the man whom she (among others) wanted to bring down from his unassailable position. As events unfold, the reader is taken backwards in time, in the tradition of the best caper stories, following Dolly’s trail as her motives and her methods become clearer. Along the way, magical Seattle on the cusp on the Great Depression comes to boisterous life, stalked by dangerous and greedy men who have planned for every eventuality—except Dolly.
VERDICT Readers who love heist and caper stories will be thrilled with Dolly and her quest to deliver much-deserved comeuppance to those who believed they are above the law. The gas-lamp setting gives just the right touch of magic and creeping dread to Deeds’s novel.
Reviewed by Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA , Feb 01, 2022
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

FICTION

Dreadful
by Rozakis, Caitlin
FICTION

Running Close to the Wind
by Rowland, Alexandra
FICTION

In the Shadow of the Fall
by Ogundiran, Tobi
FICTION

The Daughters’ War
by Buehlman, Christopher
FICTION

The Spice Gate
by Srivatsa, Prashanth
FICTION

The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur
by Grossman, Lev
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?