The Dead Key

3 1/2 Stars

The plot is complicated and full of twists and turns. The solution is a bit fatalistic and cynical. The solution isn't satisfying, but the end of the book is satisfying. There is enough left there that I want to visit with the main characters again. The complicated plot and memorable main characters were a strong point for me. The number of minor characters who seemed to be cloned from each other was a weak point for me. The strengths much out weighed the weaknesses though.

This is a story that takes a number of twists and turns. If you're a fan of mysteries you will figure some of them out, but others will come out of nowhere.

What I found was I liked Beatrice and Max much more than I liked Iris. Actually I am not sure you are supposed to entirely be rooting for Iris in this. She's bored at her job because they aren't using her talents effectively and then she gets this assignment to map out an abandoned bank building. However, she loves to drink and isn't the most punctual so you do see she is a flawed character, maybe too flawed. I wonder if Pulley was trying to avoid creating a Mary Sue character and she just went a bit too far in the other direction. Still, she manages to stay realistically smart, and there isn't an over the top deus ex machina character to come save her at the end. Iris does what she could but maybe if she hadn't been as utterly bored as she was at first, she wouldn't have gotten in as deep as she does later on.

Despite this, the plot is fun to read and there is a lot that happens. It does get tied up pretty well at the end, though you will not get a fully fleshed out ending. The fate of some characters have been left up to our imaginations. Part of me wonders if one of the major characters ended up connecting with a minor character that turns out to have more of a role than you think.

Overall it was a good read and I probably will read this again.