Hot on the heels of the literary and celluloid success of Waiting to Exhale comes another female-bonding story, this time with the added twist of an intricately plotted murder mystery. In Friends for Life, five women from different parts of the world meet briefly in a British hospital room — and as the cliché goes, their lives will never be the same. Smith, a literary agent in London already at work on her second novel, certainly knows her stuff. The murder mystery builds slowly but surely throughout the novel, coming to a joltingly violent climax. There are just enough kitchen scenes throughout to cement the women's friendships without being overly maudlin, and just enough bedroom scenes to tempt a potential film producer. Friends is a smooth, pleasurable read, good to loll on the beach with this summer. B+
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