The
Dead Key
by D. M. Pulley
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: Mar. 1, 2015
ASIN: B00LWE0QZM
Amazon Synopsis:
2014 Winner — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Grand Prize and
Mystery & Thriller Fiction Winner
It’s 1998, and for years the old First Bank of Cleveland has sat
abandoned, perfectly preserved, its secrets only speculated on by the outside
world.
Twenty years before, amid strange staff disappearances and
allegations of fraud, panicked investors sold Cleveland’s largest bank in the
middle of the night, locking out customers and employees, and thwarting a
looming federal investigation. In the confusion that followed, the keys to the
vault’s safe-deposit boxes were lost.
In the years since, Cleveland’s wealthy businessmen kept the truth
buried in the abandoned high-rise. The ransacked offices and forgotten
safe-deposit boxes remain locked in time, until young engineer Iris Latch
stumbles upon them during a renovation survey. What begins as a welcome break
from her cubicle becomes an obsession as Iris unravels the bank’s sordid past.
With each haunting revelation, Iris follows the looming shadow of the past
deeper into the vault—and soon realizes that the key to the mystery comes at an
astonishing price.
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My Thoughts:
The
Dead Key
was a riveting tale about a bank gone bankrupt 20 years past and the mystery
surrounding it which unfolds when a junior engineer surveys the building to
draw up new architectural plans for it so the owners can decide what to do with
the building.
The
storyline moves back and forth between the late 1970's when the bank closed
down, and the late 1990''s, the present day. The main character in the 1970's
is Beatrice and Maxine, who work as secretaries at the bank and end up involved
in trying to solve a deadly conspiracy related to the safe deposit boxes.
In
the 1990's the main character is Iris, who works as the engineer doing the
survey of the building. I really liked how the author brought cohesiveness
across the two time periods by having a couple of characters appear in both
time periods, obviously aging appropriately. It lent an air of authenticity to
the story and helped to blend everything together seamlessly.
I
thought that Beatrice’s and Iris’ characters were developed well as we got to
know them not only in relation to the mysteries they were trying to solve, but
in their personal lives as well. It was easy to connect emotionally with some
of the characters in the situations that they were in.
My
only con about the book was that I didn't care for the profanity or the
promiscuity of some of the characters.
The
pace starts out sedately as the story is built up and then builds in both
tension and speed until the climax. The Dead Key was an outstanding book
and a most satisfying read.
I
gave the Dead Key 5 stars out of 5. It is well worth taking the time to
read. I highly recommend it.
Thank
you to the publishers for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. A
positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.
About the Author:
D. M. Pulley's first novel, The
Dead Key, was inspired by her work as a structural engineer inCleveland,
Ohio. During a survey of an abandoned building, she discovered a basement vaultfull
of unclaimed safe deposit boxes. The mystery behind the vault haunted her for
years, until she put down her calculator and started writing. The Dead Key was
the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award grand prize winner. Pulley continues
to work as a private consultant and forensic engineer, investigating building
failures and designing renovations. She lives in northeast Ohio with her
husband and two children, and she is currently at work on her second novel.
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