The Twin's Daughter

Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Pages: 304

Published: September 2010, Bloomsbury

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Cover Score: A

Overall Grade: A-

Lucy Sexton's world is turned upside-down when her mother's identical twin turns up at their doorstep. Separated at birth, Aunt Helen is the exact opposite of the elegant, upper-classsociety lady that Lucy's mother is. However, the family takes her in, and before long, Aunt Helen has been transformed into an exact replica of her mother. However, she doesn't seem to mind being mistaken for Lucy's mother...especially when it comes to Lucy's father. Even Lucy is having trouble telling them apart. But when a brutal murder takes place in Lucy's own home, who has been left alive, and who has been killed? And who is behind the murder?

My thoughts: I must admit, The Twin's Daughter is a solid, deep story that took me a long time to get through. The story starts off very slowly, winding its way up to a climax that occurs nearly more than halfway through the book, and speeding up to the exciting conclusion. However, I felt that the plot took a little too much time to get to the point. The story was very wordy and packed with detail, and I would've like to have seen a more-developed aspect of mystery. However, once the story began moving, I was instantly engrossed--the twists and turns kept me at the edge of my seat.

Ms. Baratz-Logsted clearly did her research on Victorian London, and it showed: the daily-life aspects, narration, and details of Lucy's home, dress, and surroundings painted a perfect picture of the time period for me. Ms. Baratz-Logsted has an abundance of writing skills!

I loved how well-developed the characters were: I really felt that I could get into Lucy's mind, and I adored Aunt Helen and Kit as supporting characters.

This story of betrayal, jealousy, secrets, and mystery is an engrossing gothic that has a killer mystery aspect that is both chilling and fascinating. A must-read for fans of historical fiction!

PS. Win a copy of The Twins' Daughter here!