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Duplicate Keys
Duplicate Keys | Jane Smiley
2 posts | 4 read | 3 to read
Alice Ellis is a Midwestern refugee living in Manhattan. Still recovering from a painful divorce, she depends on the companionship and camaraderie of tightly knit circle of friends. At the center of this circle is a rock band struggling to navigate New Yorks erratic music scene, and an apartment/practice space with approximately fifty key-holders. One sunny day, Alice enters the apartment and finds two of the band members shot dead. As the double-murder sends waves of shock through their lives, this group of friends begins to unravel, and dangerous secrets are revealed one by one. When Alice begins to notice things amiss in her own apartment, the tension breaks out as it occurs to her that she is not the only person with a key, and she may not get a chance to change the locks. Jane Smiley applies her distinctive rendering of time, place, and the enigmatic intricacies of personal relationships to the twists and turns of suspense. The result is a brilliant literary thriller that will keep readers guessing up to its final, shocking conclusion. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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rachelk
Duplicate Keys | Jane Smiley
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‘Duplicate Keys‘ is a who done it character study of friends, with a bit of thriller at the end. While I enjoyed the story, motivations didn‘t seem very realistic, nor did the (mostly unexplored) music scene. I did appreciate descriptions of early 80‘s life in NYC, including dinner prices and salaries ($30 take out dinner for five is expensive, a 17,000 salary is enough to live alone in a nice apartment). This was probably a 3-3.5 star for me.

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Tonton
Duplicate Keys | Jane Smiley
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Smiley captures the zeitgeist of 1980 NYC Upper West Side so perfectly (I was there), that mood when you‘re in your twenties and anything is possible.Six tightly bound friends migrate from the Midwest to NYC in search of success. The guys have an album deal. Now they are almost 30 and stardom is elusive. Two are murdered,and the circle of friendship, secrets, betrayals, and intimacy is under the microscope. The working musician life is so true as

Tonton ...to life; I used to manage bands and the thrills and angst and ambition is all there. Wow. 6y
Tonton And the little details are great; so true about NYC real estate attitudes, for one, lol 6y
Cathythoughts I havnt heard of this one , sounds good 👍🏻♥️ 6y
JennyM Sounds flipping great! #stacked 😊 (edited) 6y
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