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Where There's Smoke

by Sandra Brown (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 3,093 ratings · 121 reviews

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown stuns readers with the breathtaking tale of a powerful oil company and the incredible lengths they'll go to keep their secrets hidden . . . No one knows why Dr. Lara Mallory came back home to Eden Pass, Texas to open up her medical practice after all these years. But everyone remembers her role in the well-publicized scanda...more

Paperback, 512 pages

Published May 1st 1994 by Grand Central Publishing (Formerly Warner Books) (first published 1993)

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Best Romantic Suspense

252nd out of 851 books — 1,047 voters

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

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Aug 09, 2011 Kara Jorges rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dr. Lara Mallory is a fallen woman since a tabloid incident involving her and Senator Clark Tackett. She had been married at the time, and found anything but a forgiving attitude following the scandal. Finally, after Clark Tackett dies and leaves her a medical practice in his home town of Eden Pass, Texas, she decides to start over there. Besides, she believes the Tackett family owes her, and she’s in town to collect a favor from Clark’s younger brother, notorious playboy Key. Things are even to...more Dr. Lara Mallory is a fallen woman since a tabloid incident involving her and Senator Clark Tackett. She had been married at the time, and found anything but a forgiving attitude following the scandal. Finally, after Clark Tackett dies and leaves her a medical practice in his home town of Eden Pass, Texas, she decides to start over there. Besides, she believes the Tackett family owes her, and she’s in town to collect a favor from Clark’s younger brother, notorious playboy Key. Things are even tougher in Eden Pass, however, because Clark’s powerful mother, Jody Tackett, has it out for her. Key seems to share his mother’s low opinion, as does his mouse of a sister, Janellen, and the rest of the town. Key despises himself for falling for his dead brother’s bimbo, but he can’t seem to resist her. At the same time, 33-year-old Janellen is finally breaking out of her shell. When an ex-con named Bowie Cato comes in to Tackett Oil looking for a job, there’s something compelling about him, and pretty soon Janellen starts restyling her hair and wearing make-up while she and Bowie sneak around to build their romance.

Sandra Brown can write one heck of a gripping thriller, but sometimes her books seem to have somewhat of a hard edge to them, and this is one of those books. It’s as if the author was undergoing difficult personal turmoil at the time, and it came out in her writing. The judgmental attitude that pervades this novel seems appropriate for a small town like Eden Pass, but doesn’t fit quite so well with the rest of the country, considering that infidelity did not sink the political aspirations of Bill Clinton, and notoriety has become a form of fame. She tosses words like whore, tramp, and trash around quite liberally, which made it difficult to warm to several of the characters. Perhaps it was done on purpose to underscore the hypocrisy inherent in these characters, but it was still somewhat distasteful.

The story was a good one, with a few twists and turns along the way, but I also was not horribly fond of the ending. She created and fleshed out a couple of characters simply to kill them off at the end, and another rather innocuous character meets a bad end that didn’t seem fitting to his actions throughout the book. Aside from those complaints, however, this is a pretty good novel with a compelling storyline. I just think I would have liked it better if everyone within its pages wasn’t quite so mean.
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Jun 21, 2012 HÜLYA YILMAZ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Özgürlüge Koşanlar - Sandra Brown
Goodreads Puanı 5/3,77 Ben 5 üzerinden 5 veriyorum bu romana..Şimdiki günümüz de okuduğumz romanların çoğundan çok daha iyi idi hikaye..

Bence 1994 yılinda Altin Kitaplardan çıkmış bu romani bulabilen sakın kaçırmasın.
Yazarın kalem gücüne hayran kaldim.Kurgulamadaki üstünlügüne. Yok yok bu romanda ask,tutku,macera,intikam ne ararsan var.
Uzun zaman önce bulmuş ama okumamıstim. Bu kadar geçe bıraktigıma çok pişman oldum.
Hikayenin karakterleri ise bol hepsinin bir hi...more Özgürlüge Koşanlar - Sandra Brown
Goodreads Puanı 5/3,77 Ben 5 üzerinden 5 veriyorum bu romana..Şimdiki günümüz de okuduğumz romanların çoğundan çok daha iyi idi hikaye..

Bence 1994 yılinda Altin Kitaplardan çıkmış bu romani bulabilen sakın kaçırmasın.
Yazarın kalem gücüne hayran kaldim.Kurgulamadaki üstünlügüne. Yok yok bu romanda ask,tutku,macera,intikam ne ararsan var.
Uzun zaman önce bulmuş ama okumamıstim. Bu kadar geçe bıraktigıma çok pişman oldum.
Hikayenin karakterleri ise bol hepsinin bir hikayesi var..Karakterleri yazar bence çok güzel tahlil etmiş.Hale baş kadın karakterin gücüne sabrına hayran oldum..İster istemez benim başıma bu olay gelseydi ne yapardım diye düşünüyorsunuz..
Lara Mallory romanin kadin kahramani o kadar güçlü bir karakter ki hayran oldum. Key Teckett romanin erkek karakteri serseri tipli günah kadar yakışıklı bir serseri. Ama bu duyarsızlığınız ve serseriliğinin altında yatanlar da trajik bir aile dramı aslında..
Lara Ve Key hikayemizin baş kahramın ikili birbirlerini yıllar öncesinden tanıyor zaten. Lara'nin yillar önce Key'in agabeyi olan Clark Teckett ile uygunsuz bir şekilde hem de başkasi ile evli iken basılmasi üzerine herşeyini kaybetmis bir kadın olması...Bu baskının altında yatan çok acı bir sır..Bunu yazmıyorum kitabın tadını bozarım...
Bu skandal yüzünden cok sevdigi doktorluk meslegini yapamamasi.
Key ise ağabeyini kaybettikten sonra yaşadigi yere 5 yıldır gelmiyordu. Ailenin yaramaz,haşarı serserı çocuguydu. Annesi ile hiç sıcak bır ilişkisi olmamısti.Bunda belki de onun dogdugu gün babasinin baska bir kadınla oldugu gercegini hatırlatmasi yüzündendi. Birde Teckett ailesinin gösterişsiz cirkin kizi Janellen vardi 33 yaşinda evde kalmış kiz kurusu yazar onun adeta güller acmasini cok güzel kurgulamısti.Aşka ve hayata Janellen cezaevinde çıkmış bir mahkum ile yelken açması çok manidardı..
Okurken elimden bırakamadım..Aile ilişkileri,entrikalari,cinayetleri ve tutkulu aşklari Sandra Brown ismine yakişir bir şekilde hikayeleştirmişti tavsiye ederim.
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Nov 07, 2011 Liz Collins added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Lara Mallory opens up her medical practice in the town where Tackett oil owns just about everything. The matriarch, Jodi Tackett, of Tackett oil wants her gone because she blames Lara for her son losing his political career because of their love affair. She meets Key Tarkett, the younger brother and they fall in love and have a steamy affair. He takes her to the foreign country where her daughter and husband where killed. She wants to recover the body of her little girl and get some closure. Wha...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Jane Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

3.5 stars rounded down for Amazon. I was hoping for a romance novel, but this was more of a mystery. I was annoyed with parts of the story.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
I was mad at Lara toward the end. Key deserved to be told all truths, but Lara chose to keep secrets from him. She didn't tell him that Clark was gay because she didn't want him to be hurt. Her logic was wrong because Key thought she didn't want him when she really did. Another problem: on the night of explosion, Jody left home to stop Janell...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Cindee Bowen rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, a fun trashy summer read. My 93 year old grandma passed it on to me!

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Jan 22, 2011 Carrie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, read-2011, suspense, manipulative-friends-family

3.5* Where There's Smoke is a romantic suspense in that it places the relationship of the two main characters in the forefront of the readers mind, if not the forefront of the action. The reader is constantly aware that Key and Lara will end up together, as in any romance book. But after establishing that fact, Brown seems fairly unconcerned with the romance and more with the layered suspense and mystery plot lines. The more satisfying relationship development takes place between two secondary c...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Alright, so I bought this book because I had remembered liking another book by Sandra Brown (the title escapes me now.) I don't recall even reading the cover to see what the main gist of the book would be. I briefly read a sentence or two of the back cover before actually reading it, but assumed it would have all the romance that I desired. I was let down. This is not a erotic romance sort of book. It has some graphic language yes, but any scenes that could even be considered "sexy" were pretty...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Jackie Tebbe rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was one of the slower sandra brown reads for me in a while. Usually within the first few chapters im sucked in and flipping pages as fast as i can read. This book started gettting exciting and speeding up somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 the way in. However, having said that i have spent some late nights up reading on and on and enjoyed the story/ plot thicken when it picked up. Im about 20 pages from the end. So its starting to wrap up and i want to give it a review again at the end. Im...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an intriguing read and difficult to put down. I have read several of Sandra's romantic/suspense novels and this is one of her best. The story line is complex and the characters well developed. I really liked Lara, the heroine. She is a strong, intelligent, kind hearted woman. There are several evil characters in this book to contrast with Lara's goodness. It is amazing all the challenges she faces and still remains sane! There were several occasions that she could have been vindictive, b...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Venus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

tidak menyangkah...
Sandra Brown memang keren, tidak menyangka akhirnya akan seperti itu. bahwa seseorang bisa di hujat habis-habisan mengalami banyak penderitaan yang terkesan merupakan buntut dari kesalahaannya. tapi ternyata pada akhirnya dia tidak melakukan apapun sama sekali, huft....
hebat sekali intriknya, rumit, dan menengangkan, bikin emosi up and down persis saat sedang senam, hhahaa... tapi akhirnya selalu manis. aku selalu percaya pada Sandra Brown untuk tidak merasa desperate setelah...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Steffi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, contemporary-romance, suspense

I was one of the lucky winners of the goodreads first reads program. I've enjoyed a lot of books by Sandra Brown so far, but this one is currently my favorite.

Feuer in Eden (Where There's Smoke) is a really complex story about Dr. Lara Mallory and Key Tackett, the son of a texan oil-dynasty.
Lara Mallory is said to have been involved with Key's brother,Clay , a senator, while being married. When the affair became public, Lara and her ambassador husband are forced to accept a position in a war co...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Anita Fleming rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: brown-sandra-rs

I had read this book a long time ago and didn't recognize it until I was into it again. Lara shows up in Eden Pass, Texas. She was given a medical practice by Clark Tackett, a former Senator, now deceased. Lara and Clark had a scandal erupt around them 5 years ago. Lara and her husband were exiled to a Central American hellhole where Lara's baby daughter and husband were killed. She comes to Eden Pass to try and make her medical practice work, but Jody, Clark's mother, wants her gone. She owns a...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Dee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Where There's Smoke by Sandra Brown is a book about a Dr. that goes back to a small town in Texas to start an new practice where she is definatlely not wanted !She has to see about making a life for herself. She was invalved with a man whoes relatives more or less controll the town. They are trying to stop her and make her leave any way they can.There is a reason why she went there and I'm waiting to see what it is. The story has a lot of twists and turns and will keep you guessing whats going t...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Louise rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Hmmm...I didn't seem to enjoy this particular Brown novel as much as I have some her other's. Ca la vie!

"No one knows why Lara Mallory opens up her medical practice in the rowdy Texas town where Tackett Oil owns everything. But everyone remembers her role in the well-publicized scandal that caused the downfall of White House hopeful Senator Clark Tackett. Now the iron-fisted matriarch of Tackett Oil intends to use her money and power to drive Lara out of town...especially when Lara meets Key, th...more

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May 09, 2013 ஐ Canan ஐ `·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wid

Offf Offf Offff!
Nasıl bir kitaptı bu...
Bir bakmışsınız Teksas'ta bir bakmışsınız medeniyetten uzakta bir ülkedesiniz.
Özellikle son 30-35 sayfası yok muydu? Olaylar adeta uçarcasına sürükleyici bir hızla oldu bitti.

Kitabın konusuna değineyim az biraz...
Kadın karakterimiz Lara Malory.Doktordur kendileri.
Erkek karakterimiz Key Tackett.Serbest pilot.

Olaylar Eden Geçidinde yaşanmakta.Lara Bu kasabaya doktor olarak çalışmaya gelmiş ve bir muayane açmıştır.
Key ise kız kardeşi Janellen'in çağrısı üzerin...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Gerd rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First off: I got this book as a goodreads giveaway.

I always wanted to read something by Sandra Brown and I’m grateful for the signed copy of her book. But, sadly, after reading close to a hundred pages of the novel I have to say that it isn’t mine.

There’s certain romance tropes that I can’t stand much, and one of them is to start out with a as irredeemable appearing male main character as possible, and Key, the books male hero, is a role model in that department. Lead character Key hates Lara, o...more First off: I got this book as a goodreads giveaway.

I always wanted to read something by Sandra Brown and I’m grateful for the signed copy of her book. But, sadly, after reading close to a hundred pages of the novel I have to say that it isn’t mine.

There’s certain romance tropes that I can’t stand much, and one of them is to start out with a as irredeemable appearing male main character as possible, and Key, the books male hero, is a role model in that department. Lead character Key hates Lara, our female lead, for, in his mind, ruining his brothers political career by having an affair with him. The hinted on secret behind these events would still have been enough to keep me interested in reading on and swallow the questionable initial behaviour of our “hero”, if this had just been ill directed hatred against Lara, but Sandra takes this a step further and paints him as a troubled to the max, cynical, women despising alpha-male all the females swoon over…

And this brings me to the next romance trope I have little patience for: instant lust.
Naturally our female lead, Lara, a doctor out of all possibilities, instantly feels a strong sexual attraction to Key when, unrecognised by her at that time, he literally falls into her home at night, heavily wounded and sweat covered… but hey, what’s says sexy more than dripping blood and sweat on the rug, right? The book goes even as far as trying to sell us a short exchange between them which is nothing short of sexual harassment as flirting.
If that’s her idea of a flirt, our Doctor should urgently pick up her pride from the floor and visit a Doctor, honestly.
I understand that instant lust (same as love on first sight) spares the author to have to spend a lot of time on getting to know each other and relationship building, but in a novel of 500+ pages, who needs short-cuts?

Still yet, in spite of my reluctance to put up with such tropes, I would have been tempted to read on, if only to learn more about the faith of secondary character Bowie, who would have a made a much better lead in my opinion. But Sandra spicks her story over these close to hundred pages with more vulgarities than Stephen King uses up in a whole book. I don’t usually comment (much) on language, but when all characters start to sound like they are suffering from a form of Tourette’s syndrome my reading pleasure goes out of the window.

Now, obviously some people like this sort of writing more than I do and to them, I’m sure, it’s a good enough story to keep them entertained; for me unfortunately it isn’t.(less)

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Jul 20, 2008 Gramedia Pustaka Utama rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sandra-brown

Buku ini termasuk genre suspense SB. Melihat bukunya yang sangat tebal sepertinya agak malas untuk membacanya, namun begitu kita mulai membaca, ceritanya sangat seru sehingga dijamin kita tidak bisa berhenti membaca sampai di akhir cerita, untuk mengetahui akhir cerita ini.

Perseturuan antara keluarga Tackett dengan seorang dokter wanita bernama Lara Mallory. Lara yang sudah menikah, dituduh berselingkuh dengan Senator Clark Tackett, sehingga menimbulkan sebuah skandal yang akhirnya menjatuhkan k...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 19, 2012 Helen rated it 2 of 5 stars

My husband and I listened to this one on a car trip to visit relatives. I didn't like it much because the characters hated each other and kept insulting and criticizing each other. It was just so negative! But it was a realistic fiction mystery about a lady doctor who supposedly had an affair with a congressman who kills himself after he purchased and then left her a family practice in his hometown after that local doctor had retired.

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Apr 13, 2012 Cyndi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel, like the other ones I have read by Ms. Brown, was pretty good. She knows how to weave a tale.

This was a romance with thriller elements. The female characters are represented as strong willed women, who know how to get what they want, just not always in an above board fashion.

There were many incidences of "karmic retribution", and twisty redemptions. I have to admit here that I had already figured out one of the big reveals beforehand, but was more than satisfied with a number of surp...more

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Jan 31, 2010 Yang Shu-yuan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Welch einen Grund hat die junge Ärztin Lara Mallory, sich ausgerechnet in Eden Pass, einem verkommenen Nest in der heißesten Hölle von Texas, niederzulassen? Seit Jahrzehnten hat dort der Tackett-Clan vom Öl über die Supermarktkette bis zum Sheriff alles in der Hand. Lara, inzwischen Witwe eines Washingtoner Diplomaten, war die zentrale Figur in einem Sexskandal um einen jungen, hoffnungsvollen Senator, an dessen Sturz und späterem Tod sie angeblich nicht ganz unschuldig war: Clark Tackett. Scho...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Sandy Neal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: goodreads-giveaways

Sandra Brown combines a story with a twist, drinking, brawling, small town manipulation and straight-forward sex scenes in a story set in small town Texas. What more could you want?

This author has a straight-forward manner about her storytelling which fits it perfectly for the oilfield environment she creates. She captures the native Texan attitude and small town politics perfectly!

Enjoy!

Received 6/24/11 from the Goodreads' Giveaway program.

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Jan 26, 2013 Lisa Walton rated it 4 of 5 stars

This Sandra Brown novel was a bit slow for me. I didn't warm to the main characters as much as others of her characters and the plot was a bit far fetched. The publishers blurb wasn't really accurate either now that I have gone back and read it but too late now. Still enjoyed it enough to read it in two days so that can't be all bad.

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Sep 17, 2011 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, mystery

I must agree with my friends. Best Sandra Brown book I've read. She is an amazing author with unexpected twists and turns and I was most definitely NOT disappointed in this book. Shocking revelations in the last 40 pages or so. Wow. Might be one that I actually read again, in digital format of course, will be passing this on to my sister insisting she read it first!!

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Jun 30, 2012 Kristy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-end-of-the-world-challenge

Dr. Laura Mallory is a fallen woman ever since the media found out about her affair with a Senator. It's a total surprise when she opens her practice in the tiny town that Senator Tackett was from. This book kept me interested, even when I figured things out early on. Sandra Brown sure knows how to write some steamy sex scenes:)

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Sep 20, 2012 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely love this book! I am a huge sandra brown fan. I.love her romance novels they always leave me happy. This one was suspense/romance. There were a bunch of twists I wouldnt have EVER expected. I def. Think this is one of my faves of her. Then again I havent really found a book of hers I didnt like.

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Aug 25, 2012 Erica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sandra-brown, four-and-five-star-reads

Great read. I think that I enjoy Sandra Brown books because almost all of them are set in Texas and Louisiana so I can really picture the settings. This one moves very fast and has a good plot. Key and Lara are good characters that develop throughout. Definitely not a disappointment.

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Nov 14, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story had some twists and turns and a big surprise that I actually didn't see coming. I enjoyed Lara and her strong desire to put the past behind her but the town and Jody wouldn't let that happen. Key- hot and sassy who flies planes. I enjoyed their banter back and forth.

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Sep 24, 2012 Kristiani Rivera rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the two main characters of the book even though the female character was extremely frustrating toward the end. The very end was of course predictable just from reading the book's summary but easy, enjoyable read. Good for a random day off when you don't want to do anything but read.

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Mar 05, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Parts of this book felt familiar like I'd read it before (or listened to it on CD which is possible) but others surprised me. The ending, while shocking, was also not shocking, so who knows. Regardless, a standard from this author and a good read.

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About Sandra Brown

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty-one New York Times bestsellers, including LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), HELLO, DARKNESS (2003), THE CRUSH (2002), a...more

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