A review by aemorrison2001
Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley

2.0

I'm a fan of Jane Smiley but Duplicate Keys didn't grip me the way Moo or A Thousand Acres did. An interesting but predictable mystery, apart from one gripping suspense sequence towards the end, Duplicate Keys was slow moving and frequently dull. I entertained myself through the slow bits by trying to decide if Smiley was actually basing her characters entirely around diagnostic criteria for specific mental health problems in the DSMIV. No single character rang 100% true and the main character's behavior was so inconsistent it became frustrating and distracting.