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Jane Smiley, Duplicate Keys a novel

From:     book reviews
Category: Books
Date:     16 December 2007
Time:     04:48 AM

Review:

Smiley must be one of the most varied novelists: she does western, sex, 1980s, horses. This one is a 
thriller/detective about some friends with a 1970s hangover. As with much Smiley, except for her 
most recent Ten Days in the Hills, there is a lack of urgency about her very readable, very competent, 
unusually perceptive writing. There is no heart stopping excitement about the revelations, and she 
misses some part of the cliffhangerness of detective fiction.  The relationship between the best 
friends is unsettling and remains in your head, and Smiley is probably best at the surprising take on a 
standard relationship, her trademark perhaps. 


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