Book Review: The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

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. (From Goodreads)

The Twin's Daughter was a suspenseful read, with the perfect amount romance and history thrown in. When I first leanred about the book, I knew I would enjoy it. Who doesn't want to read about twin's separated at birth, especially when class, money, and murder are involved.

I loved reading the book from Lucy's perspective. She's young, privileged, and sheltered. So, it's fascinating to see what she picks up on, and what she overlooks because of her age. For example, she's unable to understand some of the more scandalous occurrences in the house. I also found the class/etiquette differences between Aliese and Helen to be interesting. Aliese doesn't want Helen to be seen by her upper class neighbors until she's been educated. Helen, on the other hand, is comfortable sharing with Lucy the facts of reproduction and puberty. While Lucy's mother didn't give her any indication about what would happen, Helen explained it to her without shame. Of course, I need to mention Kit. He's the son of Lucy's neighbors, and he's got a bit of an adventurous streak. Watching Lucy grow to love him was a nice touch to the story. The mystery also threw me for a loop, too. Honestly, I felt sure that I knew who the murderer was, and boy was I wrong! I doubt anyone will be able to guess which character is the culprite, and their intentions behind the crime.

While I enjoyed all of the time learning about the characters, the action doesn't start until about halfway through the book. I know that some leaders may grow impatient, so I wanted to mention it. It never dragged for me, but my reading pace definitely picked up once I hit the middle of the story.

Overall, Baratz-Logsted did an excellent job in creating her mystery. The romance, suspense, and description of the gap between the wealthy and the poor meshed together extremely well. I can't wait for more from her, and there are a couple of her previous works (The Education of Bet, and Crazy Beautiful) are going on my "to read" list.

The Twin's Daughter
By Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Published by Bloomsbury USA
Rating: B

Thanks to Kate at Bloomsbury for the chance to read this one!

Check back tomorrow for an interview with the author.