Going into The Twin's Daughter I wasn't sure what to expect. When I first heard about it from the blog-o-sphere it was labeled as a 'gothic young adult historical' and this certainly fits that mold. From the family secrets, odd behaviors, late night visitations, a touch of romance and death, all we needed was a windswept castle out in the hinderlands of England!

I suppose the well appointed house in London's fashionable wealthy area will make do, especially considering all that transpired there.

The course of the novel is about five or six years, we start when Lucy is thirteen years old and meeting her Aunt Helen, her mother's twin sister, for the first and we end with Lucy roughly nineteen and contemplating the nature of love, family and betrayal. Lucy's recounting of the events leading up to the first of several deaths is vivid and full of emotion. Her confusion over what had happened, the shocking way her mother began acting and the rapidly deteriorating state of her father's health--she tells us about this while growing up and realizing her feelings for her friend next door Kit.

There are two sides to this book; on the one hand there is the twisted love square of Aliese, Helen, Richard and Frederick and on the other is the blossoming innocent love of Kit and Lucy. Whereas the adults love lives are better suited for a Jerry Springer episode, Kit and Lucy build a relationship based on mutual trust, affection and need. So you have the dark side of love and the light side of love, coinciding side by side.

I was more interested in the dark side of the book; Helen's jealousy, Aliese's steadily building coldness and Richard's presence in general. Like Lucy, in hindsight a lot of what Aliese (her mother) said or actions she thought was her mother but could have been Helen (or vice versa) began to click into place. It paints a truly horrifying picture of dysfunction of the highest level. Who knows how greed and resentment will twist a person? How one person's act to find the sister she's always wanted to meet might destroy a family completely?

Lauren has written a historical novel before, The Education of Bet, that I enjoyed but had a few qualms with (mainly that the ending felt rushed), I have no such issues with The Twin's Daughter. Lauren moved the plot along at a healthy clip, but it never felt rushed or abrupt. The transitions in time (often entire months just being jumped over) made sense; if Lucy's life was pretty much the same day in and day out after Emma's birth, we don't need 6 months to relive it. Her relationship with Kit felt natural, though I laughed out loud when Kit demonstrated his feelings for her. Lucy was utterly oblivious and made a lot of assumptions based on circumstantial things--something bites her in the butt more than once.

There was a definite menace to the novel, a shadow that permeated the entire book as one bad turn happened after another to Lucy with no real indication of why. Its a chance comment on an important day from her mother that Lucy is finally able to put it together. A tale of betrayal, love and contempt is what transpired and makes me heartily glad that Lucy chooses a different path. ( )

Part I. In which an aunt is introduced. It was quite a shock for Lucy to see her mother on the doorstep, dressed so poorly. It was quite another shock to learn that this was not her mother at all but a sister, a twin, which no one had ever known existed. What could they do but invite her in, accept her as one of the family, and once living among them educate her in the ways of the upper-class.

Part II. In which a new friend is made. Lucy is not accustomed to other young people in her life, being an only child and almost always surrounded by adults. But meeting her new neighbours and their son Christopher, or Kit as he is known, has given her the opportunity for friendship. Something that she is very much thankful for after the tragic incident on New Year's Day, the murder of a twin.

Part III. In which love is declared. It is only after Kit has left to take up his commission and serve in Africa, do Lucy and Kit declare their love for each other, both knowing that there is every possibility that Kit may not return alive. It is also a time of great changes in Lucy's home life, ever since the murder her father has been changed, over eating, drinking more, taken up smoking, it is little wonder at the consequences of these actions.

Part IV. In which the truth is finally revealed. Lucy, convinced that she knows the identity of the surviving twin, has come to terms with the events of that horrific New Year's Day, where she stumbled upon the bloody scene of the twins, one dead, one alive. However after a slip of the tongue, Lucy must admit she is no longer sure and so takes drastic action to uncover once and for all the events of that tragic News Year's Day and learn which twin survived.

The Twin's Daughter has her world shaken upside down when she can no longer recognise her own mother from her identical aunt. Lucy's sheltered childhood, with only her mother for a friend, and wealthy upbringing has done little to educate her in the ways of the world, her knowledge of such things coming only from books. A story of jealousy that slowly builds into a murderous mystery, culminating in a dark, twisted ending in which happiness is found. ( )

The Twin's Daughter was as suspenseful and captivating a read as anything I've read in the last few years. Author Lauren Baratz-Logsted keeps the reader breathlessly turning pages to find out what really happened between Helen and her sister - every guess I made was wrong! By the time you start to see the big picture, you're completely hooked!

The pacing of The Twin's Daughter is perfection and the characters (though not terribly likable) were realistically portrayed. Dark and Gothic in feeling, this is an interesting and captivating read that will keep you guessing right up to its extraordinary ending. The Twin's Daughter is a top-notch YA mystery that is full of suspense and intrigue. ( )

Who is the victim?

When her mother's identical twin shows up out of nowhere, Lucy Sexton's world is turned upside down. Her aunt takes the place of a sibling she never had as she begins to teach her the ins and outs of society. But just as life begins to feel normal again, tragedy strikes leaving Lucy feeling alone. But who is the victim?

The premise of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's The Twin's Daughter had me very intrigued from the first time I read about it. It's a story that you hear on the news: "Twins reunited after 35 years; story at 11." With all of the technology we have, it's become very easy to find out information on people all around the world. But this story is set in the 1800s. With no internet or telephones, how did Helen ever find Aliese? This is what quickly drew me into the story, the mystery of it all.

Although I haven't been fourteen in roughly ten years, Lucy's character was very relatable. I loved how Baratz-Logsted showed Lucy's character maturing and becoming a woman. Even her relationships with other characters slowly became deeper and more mature as the novel progressed.

If there was any part I did not like, it was that it took me a while to figure out when and where the story was taking place. Many other books I read (at least, those that are set somewhere other than Anytown USA in the present) tell you in the beginning the year and location. London is mentioned in the novel a few times, however I couldn't figure out the time period at all. It may have been something I missed, but I eventually figured it out by looking up when the mention Gilbert and Sullivan opera was active.

This book definitely had me guessing all the way until the end. And it wasn't just guessing about the main mystery. There were many different things for the reader to try and figure out. How did the tunnel come to be? Would Kit return? Who was the red-headed man? Even if a reader did not get lost in Lucy's life, all of the mystery and intrigue that Baratz-Logsted wound through the story would keep them reading until the end.

I give The Twin's Daughter five stars because as soon as I finished it, I was ready to read it all over again. I would recommend this to those that love a good mystery, 19th century London, or historic crime novels. Actually, I'd recommend it to any readers, as it seems there is something in it for everyone. ( )

I'm giving this 4 stars based soley on the fact that I enjoyed it enough to lose precious sleep and stay up late to finish it. As my hubby will tell you, you don't mess with my sleep so that's saying something. Now, I'm not saying this is a great piece of literary fiction - only that I enjoyed it.

I stayed up late because I really wanted to know what the hell was going on in that house! Through most of the way I thought I knew what was going on and was going to give a lower star rating because it was predictable. Then things started to turn around and I didn't know where it was going.

Not a whodunnit but an enjoyable mystery and historical fiction. ( )