Review: The Twin's Daughter

Twin's Daughter

Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Summary:



Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day… a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?

Filled with shocking twists and turns, THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end.

*

I so totally did not want to read this at first ><

Simply spying for a read to idle my time away, I saw this lying there in all of its pink glory. Though it sounded like a thrilling package, I had been aiming for a light summer romance... But, with nothing on my hands, I read it anyway.

And thank god. Thank god I read it! When I first touched the coarse thin paper, I stupidly thought that I was in for just another YA Gothic novel with zero romance. Man, was I wrong!

Needless to say, I actually signed up for so much more. Few pages into this fascinating Victorian world and I couldn't put the book down. A budding romance, a nagging suspicion, careful clues dropped your way-- The Twin's Daughter slowly built up its momentum with a promising cast and then... BAM!

That intense, bone-chilling, domino-effect surprise. It plants a seed of doubt in you as you struggle to find the truth as the story fluctuates like the tide. 

But, before I actually try to skilfully unveil that without spoilers, the stage needs to be set up. 

When Aunt Helen first arrives on their doorstep, the Sexton family is warm and welcoming. Everyone rushes to give her the best that they can to make up for the years lost. As Lucy takes a great liking to Aunt Helen, the frame is picture perfect. Lucy's mother showers her with lavish gifts and beautiful gowns, she introduces Aunt Helen into her circle of friends, she does everything she could to make Helen a part of her life-- and she succeeds. Seeing Aunt Helen as radiant as her sister in the waltzing pairs, seeing Aunt Helen befriending other ladies with charm, seeing Aunt Helen laugh gaily with Lucy and her father, any reader will feel a motherly sense of relief. After all, Aunt Helen deserves a life of smiles and splendour after the hardships in her youth.  

Yet, that was when the cold feeling started creeping up on me. As I looked at the world through the eyes of carefree but careful Lucy, Aunt Helen gradually turns into a perplexing danger, when even Lucy finds it difficult to differentiate between Aunt Helen and her own mother. How far does sisterly love and kindness reach before the fear of having someone taking over your life sets in?

But, there is an oasis in the stretch of never-ending spikes of fear. Even as I tried to juggle all the shocking clues and disturbing acts, there was a sweet romance budding behind the dark curtain of foreboding secret agendas. Just like a fragile but strong flower growing amidst grinning skulls, the love between Lucy and Kit gave me faith in the face of impending doom. From poking fun at each other to eventually shyly accepting their love, their romance blooms slowly with no haste in the fast-paced storyline, like the only constant in their ever-changing world. 

I adore Lauren Baratz-Logsted for slipping in so many layers of the story. This wasn't a one-dimensional story, but one girl's life story-- one that I could see, hear and fear with my heart.     

Now, with all the events leading up to the moment, the story finally reaches its first climax and begins to take on an even darker undertone. A murder happens in the Sexton household, and Aunt Helen perishes. However, as Lucy matures into a young lady, she can't help but doubt the change in her beloved mother. Is she who she says she is? Who really died in that bloodbath years ago? 

As Lucy faced alarming truths and deals with ill-fated events, I was leaning on the edge of my seat while making smart-aleck conclusions about the resolution. Yet, with the timely plot twists and not so timely surprises, I began to doubt my conclusions over and over again.

In the end, stunned speechless by the whole whirlwind of events that charts the love and loss of a girl from child to lady, I can only tell you this: The Twin's Daughter deserves a zealous round of applause-- for having Arthur Conan Doyle's sense of mystery, Jane Austen's grasp of wit and Edgar Allan Poe's mastery of thrill!   

Source: My beloved old library

xoxo,

Sel