Duplicate Keys

Jane Smiley's talent for creating emotionally-gripping tales of family relationships was celebrated when she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for A Thousand Acres. In Duplicate Keys, Smiley displays her flair for creating a haunting mystery. Everyone has keys to Susan's New York apartment: all her friends, and friends of friends. So one afternoon, when Alice unlocks Susan's door to water the plants, she isn't surprised to find two men sitting in the living room. However, that they are both dead is a shock. Now Alice must sort through a tangle of personal connections, schemes and motives to find the key to who killed them and why. As she talks with the police, the answer that starts to nag Alice is a chilling one. Ruth Ann Phimister's narration underscores the finely-phrased atmosphere and suspense.