The Twin's Daughter

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Diana Jeater

Lucy is stunned when her mother's identical twin sister shows up at the front door. Separated at birth, the twins have led dramatically different lives and Lucy's mother, Aliese, will do anything to make it up to Helen. But Lucy soon suspects that Helen enjoys being mistaken for her mother a bit too much. Then, on New Year's Day, Lucy finds her mother and aunt tied to chairs in the parlor. One has been brutally murdered--but which twin has died?

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Gothic, Romance, Fiction

390 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Lauren grew up in Monroe, CT, where her father owned a drugstore at which her mother was the pharmacist. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where she majored in psychology. She also has what she calls her “half-Masters” in English from Western Connecticut State University (five courses down, another five to go…someday!).

Throughout college, she worked semester breaks as a doughnut salesperson, a job that she swears gave her white lung disease from all the powdered sugar she breathed.

Upon graduation, she began work at the venerable independent spacebookseller, now sadly defunct as such, Klein’s of Westport. There, she bought and sold for the better part of 11 years.

In November 1994, Lauren left the bookstore to finally take a chance on herself as a writer. Success did not happen over night. Between 1994 and May 2002 – when Red Dress Ink called with an offer to buy THE THIN PINK LINE – Lauren worked as a book reviewer, a freelance editor and writer, and a window washer, making her arguably the only woman in the world who has ever both hosted a book signing party and washed the windows of the late best-selling novelist Robert Ludlum.

Since Red Dress Ink’s call in 2002, Lauren has been kept very busy with writing more novels and checking her Amazon ranking on a daily basis. She still lives in Danbury, with her husband and daughter, where she has lived since 1991.

In addition to writing, Lauren’s daughter keeps her busy, accounting for the rest of her time.

Lauren’s favorite color is green.

Lauren’s favorite non-cat animals are penguins.

Lauren wants you to know that, however you are pronouncing her last name, you are probably pronouncing it wrong.

Reviews

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

First thing I want to say, I think The Twin’s Daughter has an awesome cover. It shows two twins with a dagger between them? Only I didn’t notice the dagger at first. In fact, I was about halfway through when it popped up, and I thought it was so cool. The cover fits the book perfectly.

And the book is great! It’s sort of an old school, gothic mystery. Written in first person, the style reminded me of Victoria Holt, yet the pace was faster.

The story is told by Lucy who is an only child from a wealthy Victorian family. Lucy is only thirteen in the beginning, but she gets older. Lauren Baratz-Logsted does a great job of showing her mature too.

One night Lucy’s mysterious aunt shows up, starving and in threadbare clothes, and the family decides to take her in. That’s when things start to go bad.

The mystery for Lucy is that after awhile, Aunt Helen (who is her mother’s twin) becomes so much like her mother, Lucy has problems telling them apart. Shouldn’t a daughter be able to recognize her own mother, Lucy asks herself? This is the main theme. I wasn’t always sure either, but I had my ideas.

Things I really liked about this book were the old gothic feel, and the sense of dread that was threaded throughout the story. I just knew something bad was going to happen.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted also creates a great sense of place. She describes the big house and the nearby park so well that they became real to me. I could imagine this place, and I knew exactly how it was laid out in my mind. And she doesn’t describe these places to death either in long detail. I didn’t even think about it. The place just existed. That doesn’t happen very often.

Did I figure out the mystery? Well kind of. I kept running scenarios in my mind, but I was never completely sure until the end.

I thought the romance story was lovely, and I’m happy Baratz-Logsted added it. The story itself is pretty dark, and the romance was a nice way to lighten things up, and it helped explain why Lucy didn’t fall into despair.

All in all, this was a great read. It’s definitely not your typical YA book. I think if you love old gothic mysteries, you’ll love this book.

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Twin's Daughter is marketed as a mystery, but the only real mystery is why it was published in the first place.

Things are slow to start as we are introduced to Lucy, her upper-class lifestyle, and her parents. All of this is rattled to the core when - SURPRISE - a long-lost aunt appears! And, she's Lucy's mother's twin! SHENANIGANS!!

Baratz-Logsted lumps on one Victorian shocker after another as Helen (the Long Lost Aunt Twin) learns how to talk, dress, walk, and act like a proper lady. It's all very Pygmalion while also being totally pointless. The edification of Helen comes off as filler, an extended exposition that finally - finally! - ends in murder. Yes, friends, one of the twins is murdered. But - dun dun dun! - which twin is it?! Lucy thinks she knows. Then she's not sure she knows. Then she's positive she knows. Then she questions herself again. Certainly Lucy is exhausted from all this guessing, which is apropos because the reader will be, too.

You would think, halfway through a novel, a homicide would propel the book. After all, we've waited this long for something to happen. Surely a mystery is afoot!

But no.

Post-murder, Lucy falls deeper in love with the boy next door, Kit. A new family moves in, and that family has a pretty daughter. Lucy worries that Kit likes the new girl. Does he? He doesn't. He tells her so in person. Then Kit joins the military and is sent off to Africa. He and Lucy write letters to each other. Kit also writes letters to the new girl. Lucy worries that Kit likes the new girl. Does he? He doesn't. He tells her so in a letter. Lucy's father starts drinking heavily. Then he dies. Then Lucy's other Aunt dies. Then the surviving twin gets married and has a baby. Then Lucy gets married. To Kit. Who has returned from the war. On their wedding night, Lucy decides - with thirty pages left in the book - to solve the mystery of Which Twin Is Dead.

Do we care anymore?

I didn't.

And trust me - you won't, either.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This doesn't come out for a couple months but oh, I'd better review it before I forget! The Twin's Daughter is pure gothic goodness. I kept turning the pages to see how all the mysteries would pan out, and was surprised a few times. Even if you're good at guessing mysteries (I'm not) I expect you will enjoy seeing it all unfold.

Befitting the Victorian setting, this book is written in a somewhat formal, mannered way which might turn off some people, but I felt it really worked for setting up the creepy mood, and it didn't stop me from falling for the love interest either...okay, so I'm a sucker for guys who get injured.

If you have any interest in gothic stories or the Victorian era, this is one of the best YA in that vein I've read.

[pdbkwm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in August of last year (2010) when I heard about The Twin’s Daughter, I instantly loved the premise, the cover, and the promise of twists and turns. However, it wasn’t until 2011 when I had the chance to finally read this novel.

Let me just start by saying that this exceed my expectations. The book starts with Lucy, the narrator of this novel, opening the door and finding her mom’s twin sister on the doorstep, the sister she never knew her mom had. Aunt Helen is quickly accepted inside the family, but there is something off about her. Unlike her sister, Aliese - who was raised in a wealthy household, Helen grew up in a rough orphanage and was constantly told that she was the unwanted child.

Even though we don’t see much of Helen’s past, you do feel some sadness over what happened to her. But I couldn’t help wonder if she also had some resentment towards her sister. Enough resentment to go single white female on her.

A lot more happens in the book, but I don’t want to ruin the fun of anyone planning to read this. Just know that there are some twists and turns mixed with a dash of betrayal, and a sprinkle of romance for garnish.

As I was reading this I had different feelings. There was excitement as the climax approached and I was trying to guess what happened. I also felt sad after hearing about the twins and their lives. I did have moments of happiness, as I read about Lucy and Kit. Their romance is both cute and endearing, a stark contrast to the rest of the book.

The Twin’s Daughter has to be one of my favourite reads of this year (2011). When I was reading this I, and I imagine many others, probably thought this would be predictable, but boy was I wrong. There were times when Lucy would be oblivious to things that were happening around her house and this usually frustrates me, especially, when it is something that is incredibly obvious, but in this case it didn’t. Whether it was due her innocence, grief, or whatever, it made sense for Lucy to not really understand what was happening. I found myself making excuses for her, especially by the end when we were both wrong on so many levels.

I can’t say enough about this book. If you haven’t read this yet, do so immediately!

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

Whoa, there was a lot of affairs and general weirdness going on this book. Her Aunt Helen and her father. Her Mom and Richard. I would have liked Aunt Helen except for the fact that she was sneaky and having it on with Lucy's father. That is never okay. Ever. And poor poor Lucy. She is always *hearing* (that is so nasty) her parents cheating on one another. Her lame Aunt Helen then is murdered by Lucy's mom and her partner. Her Dad dies of a heart attack. Her Mom and Mommy Dearest's new husband have a kid and eventually get what they deserve and are hung. And Lucy raises her half-sister, Emma, as her and Kit's daughter along side their own daughter, Helen. So freaking glad that that was not my family. I guessed Aunt Helen's affair with Lucy's father. I did not see the whole my Mom is an evil psychopath coming. It didn't make sense that her Mom was like that. There was almost no way for you to guess that. It was just "Well, my mom is clinically insane, knew all along about her identical twin sister, wants to kill EVERYONE, killed Aunt Helen, hated and cheated on my father, and is crazy beyond words. Also, PURE EVIL." Not much reasoning behind her Mom's insanity. Other than she was, understandably, angry about her husband and sister. But even that doesn't explain it because Mom, aka Mrs. Sexton, was way nuts by that time and already cheating on her husband!! What the heck? Rubbish. The writing style was okay. I also expected more and something different than what we got judging from the book flap and the back of the book. I didn't like this book. Not recommended.

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Twin's Daughter is a decent page-turner. Although the murder mystery takes a long time to arrive and I have difficult understanding why would a upper class couple take in the wife's orphaned twin sister so very quickly and give said sister a costly makeover *and* introduce her to the high society. Come on, who in their right mind would be so trusting?

However, I do like the details about the Victorian era and how the relationships among characters are formed and then revealed. The murder mystery and the plot twist in the end is good, too. I also like how the twin sister isn't entirely demonized in the story.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was expecting a wonderful Gothic mystery. Instead, I got a badly paced book with bi-polar characters and too much sexual innuendo. The author also dwells in more detail than anyone wants about a girl becoming a woman, something completely at odds (and unnecessary) with the rest of the story.
Avoid!

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars Recommended, although with some strong reservations. The story gets pretty convoluted as it progresses, and the book would have been much stronger if many elements and just about all the characters were further developed. I'm also a bit turned off by the numerous occasions when a young teenager was witness to some pretty squicky adult situations, although they were admittedly non-graphic in nature.

An entertaining gothic tale in the tradition of Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt (for mature YA readers only), but I dearly wish the story had been more cleanly plotted and was more emotionally satisfying.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had EVERYTHING!! Mystery, murder, romance, Historical fiction, YA, and contemporary. This complicated plot with twists around every turn will have you on edge the entire time. The author Wows her readers with exceptional attention to detail. Her characters will make way into your heart only to be wrenched out then placed back again!! Recommend for 14+ years old for reading level and content (fighting). 4.5 stars. I read this book on kindle. NOT FREE.

[Liza Verdon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never finished this book. NEVER read it. It is not virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story had a lot of potential for being one of the best stories of mistaken identity and revenge I have ever read. The Author keeps things moving very well from the very beginning, dropping hints to a future twist that the Reader will not forget. Lucy is a witty, but proper, narrator who won't allow her Readers to miss out on the action. But here is where the good factors end.


Enter Kit (Christopher) Tyler, the main young man. I was dubious about the romance in this story from the beginning - I always am, just to be on the safe side. But I liked Kit; he was a very nice, honest boy. So I didn't understand why Lucy was such a jerk to him. It's like the Author wanted to have the whole modern trend of "heroine thinks she hates hero, treats him like garbage, then falls in love with him," but was conscious halfway through that such behavior did not suit Lucy's personality at all (it was really out of place), so rather than just rewriting it, she decided that Lucy gets over her sauciness very quickly and becomes fast friends with Kit. All this does is make Lucy seem bipolar.


Things progress downhill rapidly from there. The Author continues to maintain the suspense, and I spent the whole time thinking, Any minute now, things are going to be unveiled. Well, things are unveiled all right - far more things than need be, and not the sort of things that I was expecting. Let us start with female puberty, shall we? I am not a great advocate for putting such private, though natural, details in a story. No female wants to read a detailed account of a character going through female changes, and no male should know about it - and they certainly shouldn't learn about it from a book. Sometimes such things must be touched upon, but the Author of The Twin's Daughter did more than just touch upon it, all the while attempting to write it in delicate words, but there comes a point where one goes into so much detail that no amount of polite phraseology is going to rescue it.


Next up is the sexual content. For the most part, this remains in the "reference only" category, where things are alluded to when talking about certain people, and that is about it, with the exception of kissing scenes that start to progress into a little too much intimate touching and "mysterious" noises emitting from bedrooms. But in Chapter 42, page 366-369 we have an actual bedroom scene that is not horribly explicit, but comes so close to being thus that it's a wonder the Author didn't go into full-fledged descriptions. The only positive thing I can say about this absolutely unnecessary - and very private - scene is that at least the characters were married. But that gave me very little comfort, because books just should not include such intimate scenes even between married couples. Some things need to be left behind doors and not shared with the public, even in fiction. Leave it to the Reader to conclude that marriage usually leads to the sort of wonderful love that produces children, and don't literally spell it out.


Finally, the twist is revealed - and it is not at all what I was expecting. And I don't mean that in a good way. It reminded me of a perfect plot for a soap opera, actually, and in the end the characters are either completely immoral or go through a complete change of personality as to leave the Reader feeling like the only thing they can side with is that poor houseplant in the corner which has had to witness everything right along with you.


The Twin's Daughter could have been so good, but in the end, it is just one big letdown with way too many intimate moments that no one should have to read.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was nothing about this book that I did not like. It was an amazingly fast and easy read with endearing characters and a writing style that sucks you in from the first chapter. This book is told from Lucy's point of view and when the novel begins, she is thirteen with no real cares in the world. Her life gets flipped upside down when there is a knock on the door and she opens it to discover her mother's twin sister standing on the threshold. Entering with her new found aunt are mystery and intrigue, two partners in crime who lead you a merry dance all the way to the end.
It is nice to see how Lucy grows as a character throughout this book. She grows into womanhood while getting to know her new family member, meeting the adorable boy next door and then living with the brutal murder of her aunt or mother. I say "aunt or mother" because Lucy can never really tell herself. The reader can clearly feel Lucy's confusion, adopting it as their own. I like that Lucy can think of others before herself. She does not immediately condemn a person and even in the midst of jealousy or judgement, she manages to see things from another person's point of view. Her relationship with Kit, the boy next door, develops well and I found myself eagerly awaiting news of him along with Lucy. Their romance was very satisfying. Of course, you have to read all the way to the end to figure out what really happened, but once you do and you read her afterword, the closing line just leaves a great taste behind: There is not a story, in the entire history of the world, that cannot be improved upon by the inclusion of a character named Kit. After reading this book, I would be inclined to agree.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me say at first that I thought this was an extremely predictable book when I first picked it up. (My opinion did change, so read on...) All I could think of was the episode of Monk where the poor twin tries to murder the rich twin, and I found that episode extremely creepy.

And I have to say, after the initial "oh my god, my mom has a twin sister" bit, it was a little slow. That's the only reason I gave this a three star instead of four star.

Once I got into it a little, it started to get confusing (in a good way). Is the alive twin Lucy's aunt or her mom? I have to admit, I totally thought it was Helen, not Aliese. And I was totally wrong. Which does make me wonder what the point of her having a twin sister was, since neither of them pretended to be the other :P

So, I still did have a few issues with this book.

~ Why did Lucy's dad sleep with Helen? I didn't understand the motivation of that particular move. He had a wife who looked just like her, so it couldn't possibly be that he found her more attractive in just looks. I wouldn't have minded, as long as they gave me a good explanation, but they didn't.

~ Why did Aliese's character change so much after Helen's death? I understood that she was subtly trying to behave a little like Helen to drive her husband crazy, but she totally went off the deep end.

Other than that, though, I did enjoy this book, even if it was a little slow.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Twin's Daughter was a great book, but it is also written in the perspective of a girl from the 1800's so the context is very different than that of a book now. I personally really like it though. There was so many different unexpected twists, predictable was the last word I would use to describe it. The book is about a young girl name Lucy who lives with her mother, Aliese and father, Fredrick when one day a poverty-stricken woman appears at the doorstep who happens to be her mother's long lost identical twin sister, separated at birth. They except the outsider into their family and treat her as one of her own. Lucy meets a boy and falls in love but throughout the novel begins to unveil many shocking secrets about her family. Until, one day she arrives home to find an unexplainable mess, or at least unexplainable to her. Lucy is changed forever and so is her family and yet there are still more secrets to uncover. The book is extremely captivating. It is a page turner, as soon as you start, you won't want to stop. So do yourself a favor and read "The Twin's Daughter".

[Kristen Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We know the people in our worlds, not by what they look like, but what they say, or would not say."

How does life progress when you cannot trust your eyes, losing faith in what you've always taken for granted - that you would know your parents, that you would know who you were looking at, that the one's who loved you first could never be mistaken as anyone else?

I had to wait to write this review. I had so many feelings regarding this book and I knew that in order for anything I wrote to do it justice, I needed to not rush in.

This book is told from the POV of Lucy over the span of 4-5 years. It starts with a bang, with Lucy answering the door and meeting her mother's never before known twin sister. The first half of the book details the background of the family and how the characters and their relationships develop.

And then, right before the halftime intermission, DUN DUN DUN!!! Murder, mayhem, and the ultimate question of the second half - which twin is still alive?????

This book gives you a fair dash of everything. Twists and turns, Victorian Gothic themes, twins separated at birth, mistaken (or not?) identities, and a love blossoming and enduring during it all.

7/10. It definitely reads a little young (to be fair, the protagonist is 13 at the beginning), and can be a bit slow at times. However, the overall main plot is exhilarating and literally still has you guessing with about 20 pages to go. Will one day revisit this one, if for nothing more than to try and pick up clues I clearly overlooked. Also, I found a Spotify playlist titled "Every family has secrets" and it worked perfectly with the vibes of this book!

[Ruby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com.

The Twin's Daughter is that rare find in the Teen section these days: a Historical novel that is not paranormal. Some of my favorite Teen books are Historicals. So when I saw the Twin's Daughter, I prepared myself for a Bewitching Season-style fantasy. Don't get me wrong. I loved The Bewitching Season (not so much its sequel), but I was dead happy to finally come across a Teen novel that wasn't either a Fantasy or about a doomed character (i.e., Jane Grey). But before I get started with the review, here's the blurb from the dustjacket:


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 don't know if I've ever expiated on my love of Gothic novels. I, well, love them. Especially historical ones. It all started when I read Mary Stewart's Madame, Will You Talk? I was hooked. Unfortunately, Gothic authors aren't all as awesome as Mary Stewart. Then again, she's a hard act to follow. So I was excited to see a Gothic--especially in the Teen section--that was as new as The Twin's Daughter.

The only problem with Gothic novels is that there is, inevitably, a twist to the plot. You know it and the author knows it. He or she works hard not to give it away but--consciously or not--you've got your eye out the whole time you're reading a book. You just know the author's going to pull the rug out from under you. Now that I've said that, here's your spoiler warning: I'm going to write about the ending of The Twin's Daughter. I've thought about it and decided that it would be impossible for me to write a review without mentioning it. I'll try to be as unspecific as possible--but be warned that I might give something away. If you are afraid (and you might well be), stop reading...nowThe Twin's Daughter is, first of all, a good Historical. I liked the detail that Baratz-Logsted included, though I have to admit I wasn't certain what the time period was until I looked up Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience on Wikipedia. (The year is 1881, for those interested). The narrator, Lucy, fits well into this time period. She is both old-fashioned and yet has modern ideas about the role of women. I can see her, ten years after the end of the novel, fighting for women's suffrage. But I'm getting ahead of myself.When we first meet Lucy, she's 13. The novel opens on the pivotal event in the novel--the arrival of her's mother's twin, Lucy's Aunt Helen.

Aunt Helen, though she looks a great deal like Lucy's mother (Aliese), has been raised separately and very differently from her sister. She has come to their house from a workhouse. She's undernourished, uneducated, unrefined and, frankly, unladylike. Lucy, her mother and her father take Aunt Helen into their home and a transformation is wreaked. It doesn't take long for all the superficial differences between Lucy's mother and her Aunt Helen to be completely erased.

Helen and Aliese's interchangeability is the crux of this novel. Eventually, even Lucy is unable to tell the two apart. This is the meat of the novel, and the root of the mystery. Who is Mother? Who is Aunt Helen? The answer to this question is ultimately a great deal more tragic than anyone could ever imagine.

The lesser aspect of this novel is Lucy's coming of age, and the romance she has with a neighbor boy. Time passes swiftly in this novel. It's necessary for Lucy to age for the sake of her romance--but often years were passed with few words. I didn't like this. I think it took away some of the urgency that drives a Gothic. Also, years pass--presumably four or five--and we learn that Lucy makes the transition from child to woman. But the novel isn't really about Lucy and Lucy's own story suffers from that. In fact, I think Baratz-Logsted tried to right three different novels at once. And didn't quite pull it off. I felt cheated on Lucy's behalf. She doesn't have much of a teen-hood and her adulthood doesn't shape up to be much better.

I think my main frustration with the novel was that Lucy felt like a prop. I wasn't much interested in her story because I wasn't given much to be interested in. Life seems to be lived by Lucy's Mother, Father and Aunt. Her own life is given far less attention. This would be okay, except that this is a Teen novel. And I really wanted Lucy's life to be the contrast to the other, more sordid and tragic elements of the book. Instead, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth. This could be entirely my own baggage, but I don't want to read books like this. I don't need a complete 100% happily ever after. But even the epilogue didn't make me feel better after the resolution. I scowled at the dust-jacket when I closed the book for the last time.

Therefore, I'm only giving The Twin's Daughter two points. I don't want to spend any more time with it than I already have.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the first portion of the book boring. Later the book was creepy, but still boring. I found the shock of the reveal was dampened by the fact that only two outcomes were probable: the surviving twin is the mom, who is actually evil, or the surviving twin is Helen, who is actually evil. It's hard to be surprised when you're just wondering which of two things something will be.
To make matters worse, the protagonist didn't seem to have much effect on the plot. She just sits around while all the drama happens being worried that the boy who obviously loves her doesn't actually love her.

[Amy Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half moves slow, it took too long to get to the mystery of this mystery book. It’s too bad, the heroine is quick witted and likable. Lucy kept me reading.

[Geertje · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lucy lives happily with her mother and father until, one day, aunt Helen shows up. Helen is the identical twin of Lucy’s mother Aliese and no-one knew of her existence until she came knocking. Helen didn’t have the rich upbringing that Aliese had, but the family is quick to embrace her and give her everything she never had. Helen is grateful and quickly adapts to her new life. However, when tragedy strikes, the twins look so much alike that Lucy is no longer sure who is who. Who is victim, and who is perpetrator?

I had issues with this book, and I’m going to put them into bullet points because who doesn’t like a good list?
• The entire story about how the twins got separated felt really stupid. I’m going to summarise it here (don’t worry, this is within the first forty pages so I’m not really spoiling): A rich couple can’t have children but the unmarried maid has fallen pregnant, so they decide to adopt her baby and act like it’s their own. The maid gives birth to twins, the couple doesn’t know what to do, they go to a fortune teller and this person tells them to just keep one and dump the other, which they do. In a workhouse. I have several issues with this:
o Why, if you want to have children so badly, do you complain when you get two instead of one? Okay, it wasn’t what you expected, but seriously?
o Alright, let’s just say that this couple really only wanted one child, then why give the other one to the poorhouse? That is insane. It is cruel to say the least. Children were sexually, physically and mentally abused in workhouses and I am pretty sure that people were at least aware of the fact that it was a hard life. How can you even think of giving up a tiny baby to that life? It wasn’t as if this rich couple didn’t have enough money to take care of two babies; they were filthy rich. It makes no bloody sense to me.
• The writing style was grating. It is supposed to resemble a Victorian writing style, but it felt overly formal in some places and too informal in others. It just really didn’t work.
• Why does this story even have to take place in the Victorian times? I am not sure. It doesn’t really add anything to the story, it only makes it harder on the writer to research all these facts (and though I am not completely sure, I do think some details were historically inaccurate.)
• The characters felt very flat to me, especially our main character. I didn’t give a toss when she got romantically involved with Kit (though I have to admit that I started to feel a little less indifferent as the novel progressed; Kit and Lucy grew on me). He also tells her that her letters have saved him, but really, she only wrote him, like, three letters over the course of a month. Come on. They weren’t even that interesting, they just told him about trivial matters. You have to do better if you want me to believe that this kid willed himself to stay alive because of these letters. They were as dry as my shopping lists.
• For the sake of this story, the twins have to be identical. However, that would have been impossible. I know that genetic make-up plays a large part in the way you look and that nature can only alter it to a certain degree, but by God, there is no way in which Helen and Aliese would have looked as identical as they did, because nature sure as hell would have interfered here. For starters, Helene should have been tinier because of malnutrition. I don’t buy that her face is as perfect as Alieses, I’m pretty sure that her hard life would have left its marks in the way of tiny wrinkles or bad skin or scars. Grey hairs, maybe? People growing up in the workhouse would look old when they reached 31 years. This brings me back to one of my earlier points: why not set this story in a different time period? It would have been more realistic if it would have been set during the 1960’s. You could have a more convincing story about the separation of the twins, too, saying it happened during WOII during an air raid or something.
• We have to wait till half of the book before anything really happens. I know you slowly have to plant hints about Helen and Aliese, but I did feel that it took too long.
• I’m pretty sure that murder cases weren’t treated the way they are in this book

In the end, it wasn’t such a horrible read even though the twist wasn’t that surprising. I had expected more from this novel and I think it could have been better, if the origin story of splitting the twins had been thought out properly and probably if the setting had been chosen more carefully. For now, I'm left feeling entirely underwhelmed.

[M A · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING: this review is CHOCK FULL of SPOILERS

I had to sleep on the decision of how to rate "The Twin's Daughter." I found the reading experience engaging enough to stick with it to the end, and the writing is mostly very smooth and lyrical with a convincing voice and tone for Lucy. The story's first-person heroine does a lot of growing up in the novel. At its start, Lucy is fourteen years old, by its end she is an adult and a newlywed. I liked that she sounded more like a teen when she was still a teen but more sophisticated as she grew up.

The novel has a strong childhood sweethearts romance element I enjoyed a lot. Kit and Lucy come across as an excellent match for each other in personality and temper in an "opposites attract" trope. It worked for me and I'm enough romantic at heart to love their HEA. Lucy isn't the most likeable character, but Kit's a nice boy and, later, a nice man, so I stayed intereted in their storyline.

I felt the story failed, to some extent, in its overall structure. The author covers a period of about 4-5 and she did a good job with compression and pacing. Unfortunately, the first half (Parts 1 and 2) are so rife with exposition and set-up it I was hard-pressed to keep reading. It took over two months for me toe read the first half of this novel and less than two days to read the second half. It just seemed to take forever for the story to go anywhere. The gruesome murder of Lucy's Aunt Helen doesn't occur until the last chapter of Part 2. Lauren Baratz-Logsted does a great job of handing out numerous clues concerning issues of dysfunction in Lucy's family's household, and there is definitely a sinister undertone to the exposition, but it took a while to get through it and I simply wasn't invested enough in the book or its characters to WANT to read it. I credit that to the limitation of first-person narrative.

The resolution to the murder mystery element was also a disappointment to me, particularly Lucy's extremely conflicted attitudes. Her rage toward Aliese made no sense to me. While I don't condone Aliese's resorting to murder to resolve her domestic troubles, I could appreciate the anger and personal anguish driving her motives. How could Lucy be so forgiving and understanding when she believed Aunt Helen had stolen Aliese's identity to enjoy Aliese's privileged existence (if anything, Aunt Helen had as much motive as Aliese to want her twin sister dead,) but when she discovers her beloved mother murdered Helen (more or less a charity dependent, sleeping with Aliese's husband, even pregnant by him,) Lucy turns against her mother with swift condemnation and disavowal.

Finally, the novel included a potential plot hole concerning Lucy's own maternity. I was left with the impression that Lucy was not, in fact, Aliese's natural daughter. I thought the book implied Lucy was adopted (possibly Aunt Martha's love child, hence Lucy's resemblance to her father's side of the family.) Despite the strong implications, this is never revealed in the novel.


The mystery itself reads as a peculiar metaphor for life changes and growth as Lucy comes of age. I almost began to doubt Lucy's reliability and wondered if Aunt Helen was real or just a representative of how Lucy's relationship with Aliese changed over the years. This is a well-crafted book, with a lot of nuance, maybe too much for it to be perfect. The ending fell a little flat for me, but I'm not sorry I read it.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Lauren's talent for writing historical fictions, as she paints a vivid picture of the era and has this ability to make me feel like I'm apart it. Like The Education of Bet, The Twin's Daughter is a well written historical fiction/ victorian era book.

The Twin's Daughter has a cast of great characters, a fast paced plot full of twits and turns that left me quickly turn pages to figure out the "who done it", and a beautiful victorian era setting. The mystery unfolds within the very beginning of the book when young Lucy, the main character answers the door to find her mother's (unknown) twin sister. From there, the plot thickens and becomes much more twisted.

Through the education of Aunt Helen, the twin sister to Lucy's mother, Lauren allows us to be educated in the ways of society during this era. Lucy's is an only child, and comes from a well to do family. Helen's transformation not only gave me the chance to see what she needs to do to be accepted into London's higher society, but also what's excepted of women during this time.

I liked reading the book from Lucy's perspective. While she's innocent and at times seems naive, her voice is strong and what surprised me most about her, is her ability to observe. I know that's weird to say, but with all that goes on with the story, if Lucy's observance of the little details hadn't happened, than she never would have been able to solve the murder-mystery. Lucy is a very likable characters, as her family's wealth and privilege put her in the higher class in society, but she isn't a character who's snooty or a snob. She's humble, and has a silent strength that is well developed as she privately tries to unravel the mystery behind horrific death that occurs in her families home.

My two favorite supporting characters are Helen and the love interest Kit. They were the most realistic to me and were also well developed. Lauren did a wonderful job at growing Helen and Lucy's relationship, as well as Kit and Lucy's. I liked the immediate connection Lucy and Kit had. Their relationship wasn't one that was rushed and one I felt grew naturally and was very fitting for their time period. I really, really adore these two characters.

The Twin's Daughter is a wonderful read, as it offers a little bit of everything to it's readers. It's a brilliantly written historical fiction, as it's vividly detailed historical setting, realistic family dynamics, and sweet romance draws you and makes you feel like you're apart of another era. It's the suspense wrapped around it's twisted murder mystery that will leave you glued to the pages until the very end and as you try to figure out what really happened.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description of this book is very true in that you will be guessing till the very end. When a stranger comes to the door, with a remarkable resemblance to her mother, Lucy is shocked. After her mother and father decide to take her in, a drastic transformation occurs and Aunt Helen begins to look more and more like Lucy's mother. Aunt Helen grew up under completely different circumstances without the money and social standing as Lucy's mother. From Lucy's point of view we get to know this character and see the changes through her eyes.

The Twin's Daughter starts with us learning about Lucy, her family, and the story behind Aunt Helen's past. Lucy's parents take the time to transform her by helping with her education, clothing, and manners. Even with this, they keep her sheltered inside the home for an unknown reason. Then a tragedy spins Lucy's world around and takes this novel down a new path of mystery and suspense.

This story shocked me with the twists and turns. It was a fascinating read that turned out to be more than I expected! Although long, I didn't find myself bored with the story and I had to stop many times to play "detective" and attempt to figure out what was going on. Needless to say, I was wrong. This was a difficult story to figure out and I truly enjoyed being on the journey with Lucy as she explored life, love, and the complications of betrayal.

The historical setting made this book even more dark and mysterious by the end. For Lucy, the truth isn't easy to discover and the secrets prove to be more than she ever imagined. The difficult part of this book was seeing everything through Lucy's eyes and figuring out if her judgment could have been clouded. But again, this is all part of the mystery and the questioning that goes along with The Twin's Daughter.

Cover: Love the cover and the "image" behind it. Can you see it? Although the pink image with the girls seems more cute and fluffy, that image unlocks the key to the real story inside this book.

This is an amazing graphic novel that is more than it seems. The characters, setting, and plot help build the life of Lucy and her struggles to find the truth in the midst of so much betrayal.

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. I was expecting this book to be much creepier. While I liked reading about the different events that took place as Lucy grew up, I felt like the story dragged and meandered too much before getting back to the mystery.

I think the main thing that bothers me about this book is that... Lucy's mother has a complete change in behavior towards her that I didn't find to be consistent with her character from the beginning of the book. I get that Lucy's mother had some hatred towards her husband and sister, but why would she suddenly start acting so differently towards Lucy? She always acted as though she loved and cared for her before everything else happened. It just didn't make since to me. It seemed like the author twisted her character to fit the story in order to keep us guessing. Ultimately I was disappointed in the ending. Part of me wishes it had been her aunt and not her mother. While part of me also feels like that would have been too predictable. I also thought that Lucy's whole reaction from the time she confronts her mother to the time she tells of her mother and step father being hanged was lacking in emotion other than anger. Regardless of what her mother had done, I think she would have still been very emotional in other ways over it all. I mean more than once in the book Lucy talks about how she loved her mother so much and how horrible it would be to lose her. Well she did, even though she wasn't the person she thought she was, it still would have hurt, and the deception and actions of her mother would only have made it hurt more. I also couldn't understand why Lucy could get so angry with her mother but be so forgiving of her Aunt Helen. Sure she didn't murder anyone, but she still did some pretty bad things that helped to perpetuate the ruin of her family. In the end she even names her first child after her aunt? It just didn't make sense.

Even with all of that being said, I did really enjoy the story and I had a hard time putting it down. I just had a hard time finding it believable.

As for the things I enjoyed about the book...there was the sweet romance between Lucy and Kit, the fact that the book did keep me guessing, the time period that I love reading about, and the gorgeous cover.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Lauren ever since I read her previous release, The Education of Bet. Her terrific writing and knack for developing a strong, likable main character returned in The Twin's Daughter and I can't wait to see what's next for her!

To begin with, the plot was fast paced and addicting. Each page was filled with a new plot twist and I never knew where things were going. At first, it was just an ordinary, albeit interesting, story of a young girl who discovers her mother had a twin sister that she was separated from at birth. Helen arrives disheveled and poor, so her twin decides to get her a new wardrobe and much more until the two sisters look identical and even the main character is not always sure which twin is her mother.

From here things begin to get more and more twisted and complex. When a horrific event occurs Lucy is left to unravel the mystery and is truly put to the test of believing who is who.

Lucy is a fabulous main character. Her personality is unique and likable. She comes from a family of great wealth but she isn't snobby or disagreeable, she stands up for what she believes in and stays strong through all the events that tear her life apart.

Aunt Helen, Lucy's parents, Minerva... every character introduced in this novel left an impact on me in some way. They were well developed and seemed so realistic. Especially Kit. His character was crafted so well I felt like I had known him all my life. The connection between him and Lucy was instantaneous and I knew from the start how perfect they were for each other.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and Lauren presents it perfectly. The historical details are prominent and through her writing I was transported back in time.

The Twin's Daughter had a little bit of everything- mystery, romance, history, suspense, friendships, and family. It was definitely unique and I am looking forward to discussing it with others who have finished the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was twisted and suspenseful and kept me guessing until the very end. I loved Lucy and Kit!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

[Arthur Pengerbil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Level: Grades 7+

When the doorbell rings one day at the Sexton household, thirteen year old Lucy answers it herself, grumbling that her household servants never do much around the house. Standing on the doorstep is her mother, dirty, disheveled, and looking wholly not herself. But the woman is not her mother.

It seems that Lucy’s mother has a twin sister who, after being separated from both her parents and her sibling at birth, was sent to an orphanage and then a workhouse. Her whole life, Helen Smythe never knew she was meant to be a society woman, living in rich luxury and with an identical twin sister.

Aunt Helen is quickly adopted into the Sexton household, and lessons begin to change her into the woman she was meant to be. Despite her lack of any formal education, Helen learns very quickly and soon is deemed ready to be presented to Society by Lucy’s parents.

After Aunt Helen’s arrival into Society, life begins to change very much for young Lucy. With her aunt an official member of the household, Lucy is no longer allowed to think of her as a younger sister who needs to be shown the simplest things, or a schoolmate. Still, their relationship is much more open than Lucy’s with her mother, and Lucy is pleased for her aunt’s presence in the Sexton household.

A rousing New Year’s Eve party brings Lucy further into adulthood as she receives her first kiss from the boy next door, Kit, and on New Year’s Day the budding couple goes for a cold stroll in the park. When Lucy arrives home, her house is uncharacteristically silent and she immediately knows something is wrong. Making her way from room to room calling for her parents and aunt, Lucy becomes more and more worried about the silence in the house. When she opens the door to the back parlor, all she sees at first is red.

Mother and Aunt Helen sit in straight-backed chairs, tightly bound to each other. One of their throats is cut.

Lucy’s mother raises her head and looks, terrified and confused, into her daughter’s eyes, and nothing is ever the same again.

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[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a different book than I'd normally pick up and I can't even say what drew me to it. I should have reviewed it as soon as I finished but with being so busy the past three or four days I haven't been able to update and review like I usually do.
When I first started The Twin's Daughter I was impressed with the storyline but the actual voice sounded strained at best. I went back and forth between thinking it sounded strained to think it sounded fake. Kind of like if someone asked me to speak like a woman in 1920's England for example. I could try. But I would not succeed. As time went on I either changed my mind or got used to it and I'm still not sure which is was exactly.
I'm going back and forth on so many different things. Part of me feels there were parts that didn't stay true to the time period in which the story takes place, even though we don't know what period it was.
The ending..... surprised me. I think. I went back and forth with that too. :) A big part of me thinks it's totally unrealistic to believe the main character didn't know if this woman was her Mother or not. Maybe some instances I can buy that, from afar or from the back if the women were truly identical. But so up close and over time? That was hard for me to swallow to say the least. I ended up buying it by the end though. I'm not sure if that's a testemant to Lauren Baratz-Logsted's or because I so badly wanted to believe it so the story wouldn't have a crack in it for me.
I have to say this also, I don't exactly consider this 'historical-fiction' and think by sticking it in such a genre that it'll lose readers. Readers so judge a book by genre. I'm also not very sure I'd agree that this is 'young adult' - does a main character under the age of 18 make a book YA? Not to me. I didn't really see anything YA here. I don't meant to say it's only for adults, I don't remember anything I wouldn't want a teen reading, but it's not YA. IMO.
I'll definitely read another book by the author - I think she's one that will only get better with time!

[Penny Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really full of drama, twists after twists, and I think it would have been perfect for a movie, but not so good as a novel. Due to the many twists, sometimes the readers just get so confused (like the main character Lucy, since the story is told from her point of view), and for me, I don't like getting confused. I like to think that I'm smart and I know what is going on in the story, but in this novel, I just can't figure out. This is partly because the whole story is told in Lucy's point of view, and whatever she thinks, we assume that it's correct, so when Lucy's thoughts are wrong, we get extremely confused.
If this story is retold in a movie, I can imagine the movie being filmed in different perspectives - Aliese, Helen, Lucy, Lucy's father. This would definitely enlighten us more clearly on what is happening.
The plot of the story is pretty interesting, and keeps me in suspense. At the start, I thought this was some 19th to 20th century England life based book, but little did I know that it started to turn out to be a mystery novel. In fact, the end of the story reminds me of Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie, which really sent shivers down my spine. Then again, I'm not strong-hearted.
It's really confusing between Helen and Aliese, the twin sisters, and the confusion is increased because even Lucy can't differentiate between which is her mother. At first, I thought that Helen was the evil one, but then Lucy started to like her, and then it appeared to Helen tried to pretend to be Aliese, and you get the drift. It was really confusing.
For people who like to solve mysteries, this book will be a great challenge to you. Good luck in trying to solve it!
There is also a large aspect of Lucy growing up from a thirteen year old girl to becoming an adult, some romance with Kit, her neighbour which I thought was quite sweet, and err some uncomfortable parts about puberty.
Overall, this book is definitely interesting and not a bad read, though its the confusion that bugs me like crazy.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story. I enjoyed going back and forth on which twin survived.
While it was very sweet for Lucy to name her daughter after Helen who was murdered in cold blood, Aunt Helen herself wasn't completely innocent. Granted, she didn't kill anyone, but she did have an affair with her own brother-in-law. I understood that Helen knew nothing of Aliese's dark motives, yet willingly slept with her newly found sister's husband. Aliese, for the first part of the novel, seemed very happy to have her sister and gave her everything she could want. Helen repaid her by getting pregnant with Frederick's baby.
It was surprising that Helen, who grew up with nothing, was so adamant about redecorating after Aunt Martha moved out. She also became spoiled rather quickly with wanting several new dresses made for her.
The final thing Aunt Helen did that bothered me, was her treatment of the schoolmaster, Mr. Brockburn. He genuinely cared for her even before she could read or write well. She turned him down because of his station and monetary status, when she herself was far below him just a few months before! For someone who grew up very poor, she certainly switched to a "holier-than-thou" mentality rather quickly.
I understand that these points could have been added to the story for the reader to question Aunt Helen's motives and believe her to be the evil twin. I certainly did for a while.
The story of Lucy and Kit was perfect. I liked that they weren't head-over-heels in love when they first met, but came to feel that way with time and friendship. Overall, an excellent story.