Book Review: Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley.

I just finished Jane Smiley's Duplicate Keys, a mysterious story of murder, betrayal, and life in 1980 New York City. The story follows a group of friends, a few of them in a band, from the Midwest who come to NYC seeking their piece of the rock n' roll pie. The group has moderate success and receives lukewarm reviews, but the members trudge on obsessing over their next great song, lyric, review, connection. Two of the band members are found in their apartment dead by Alice, a friend outside the band. The story follows Alice, a 30-year old librarian, as she deals with the fact that she alone stumbled into the crime scene, with the loss of close friends, and tries relentlessly to solve the murders all while clinging to the remaining members of the group of friends. A group of friends populated by at times questionable characters that Alice begins to suspect; she begins to feel unsafe in her own apartment.

This book was captivating and I couldn't put it down. I walked down the street reading it and bumping into people. I recommend it to anyone, especially New Yorkers because it's interesting to imagine the city at that time (especially with no cell phones or internet!).