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Entwined
No matter how cruelly twins are separated, their lives will always be entwined.
In the newly liberated streets of modern Berlin two women, a pampered, beautiful Baroness, losing control of her mind, and a fearless wild animal trainer, facing the greatest challenge of her career, are drawn together by a series of tragic and extraordinary coincidences.
When a man is found brutally murdered, their lives become entangled by an investigation that uncovers a web of darkness and opens up secrets that have long been condemned to silence...
Who were they, all those years ago? What nightmares did they share? And what is the truth about the undying nature of their love?
In the newly liberated streets of modern Berlin two women, a pampered, beautiful Baroness, losing control of her mind, and a fearless wild animal trainer, facing the greatest challenge of her career, are drawn together by a series of tragic and extraordinary coincidences.
When a man is found brutally murdered, their lives become entangled by an investigation that uncovers a web of darkness and opens up secrets that have long been condemned to silence...
Who were they, all those years ago? What nightmares did they share? And what is the truth about the undying nature of their love?
549 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 6, 1992
158 people are currently reading
503 people want to read
About the author
Lynda La Plante
123 books1,828 followersLynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.
Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.
In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.
She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.
Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).
Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.
Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.
In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.
She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.
Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).
Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
July 1, 2019
Omg what a book. It took me a few chapters to get into but then I couldn’t put it down. I am so glad I read this book. I love any book by Lynda la plate
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April 14, 2011Entwined tells the story of Rebecca and Ruda, twins who were separated at a young age.
Ruda is facing the greatest challenge of her career and Rebecca is slowly losing her mind. As the plot thickens the twins are slowly drawn together but what dark memories do they share?
This book is dark and tragic and at times hard to read.
Entwined is captivating, a page turner and tells the story of Josef Mengele's cruel and vicious experiments within Auschwitz, with grace.
Between 1943 and 1944, three thousand twins passed through Mengele's experimental labs, less than two hundred were known to survive. Their survival rate had been less than 10%
Ruda is facing the greatest challenge of her career and Rebecca is slowly losing her mind. As the plot thickens the twins are slowly drawn together but what dark memories do they share?
This book is dark and tragic and at times hard to read.
Entwined is captivating, a page turner and tells the story of Josef Mengele's cruel and vicious experiments within Auschwitz, with grace.
Between 1943 and 1944, three thousand twins passed through Mengele's experimental labs, less than two hundred were known to survive. Their survival rate had been less than 10%
June 15, 2012
I did not finish this book due to it was disturbing. It was recommend to me, but had I known it was so graphic I don't think I would have started. I unfortunately couldn't read any further, although I really want to find out the ending I couldn't possibly read any further. I am the kind to bury my hand in the sand. The book is a real page turner and does keep you gripped. The story concept is great - Circus and WWII which I love to read about but just to graphic and disturbing for me.
August 26, 2020
The focus of this story is about twins sent to Birkenau concentration camp - what follows is a disturbing yet utterly compelling tale that is grounded in fact. It remains one of my favourite books by Lynda la Plante - but it isn’t for the faint hearted. There are people in the world that don’t believe the concentration camps existed. You really couldn’t make this stuff up. The author researched this book for sure.
March 31, 2016
I have been revisiting some of Lynda La Plante's work over the past few weeks. At this point I have read about eight. "Entwined" is a standout, a compulsive not to be put down book about two women, twins, separated at Birkenau Concentration Camp when they were very young - the victims of the horrific experiments of the Angel of Death, Josef Mengale. A painful read even though I have read much Holocaust literature. One of her best!
November 3, 2015
Despite the very confronting subject matter, I couldn't put this book down towards the end. It was horrible and intriguing at the same time, like watching a horror movie with your hands covering your eyes but peaking through your fingers. Not for the squeamish.
July 15, 2013
Made me cry.......... was brilliant!
November 1, 2014
a very difficult read. a sense of foreboding leaps off every page of this book. a terrible reminder of mans inhumanity to man. Lest we forget.
October 10, 2016
This was the first Lynda La Plante book I ever read and I've been hooked ever since!
November 1, 2020
It’s very rare for me to abandon a book, particularly one by so accomplished an author as Lynda La Plante, whose books I thoroughly enjoy. I tried hard with this one, I really did. More than 200 pages in, I had to leave it. I fully understand the tragic poignancy of the underlying story and the importance of ensuring that these horrors are never forgotten. A novel can be a powerful means of engaging a wider range of people in such understanding. But I’m afraid that, for me, this one got way too bogged down in the intricate detail of the circus and its people and in the minutiae of Vebecka’s schizophrenia. I found it really difficult to identify with any of the central characters or to find that magic thread that, in all great novels, draws you back in to the tapestry of the story. One day, I will try again because LLP is a hugely talented novelist and I have enjoyed the sixteen others books of hers I have read. But for the time being, I’ll leave it.
August 17, 2018
I am about to reread this. I read it when it came out and thought it was utterly sickening. I did not know at the time that it was based on truth! Now, of course, we have "If this is a woman", which is a major historical account of what went on at Ravensbruck.
La Plante has added glamour but I think this is to contrast with the total horror and powerlessness of women and Ravensbruck and their abusers' wickedness.
Ok, I have now read it again. The Birkenau stuff and the detail about post traumatic stress disorder is good, yes. Berlin a couple of years after the wall fell. But can now be read about elsewhere. She is a feminist writer who has inspired many others. All great. But the book is full of cliches. Circus, rich people, blah blah. I love a circus and even circus animals (imaginary). But no, the characters are boring. Sorry.
La Plante has added glamour but I think this is to contrast with the total horror and powerlessness of women and Ravensbruck and their abusers' wickedness.
Ok, I have now read it again. The Birkenau stuff and the detail about post traumatic stress disorder is good, yes. Berlin a couple of years after the wall fell. But can now be read about elsewhere. She is a feminist writer who has inspired many others. All great. But the book is full of cliches. Circus, rich people, blah blah. I love a circus and even circus animals (imaginary). But no, the characters are boring. Sorry.
April 18, 2025
I read (listened to audio) this book after reading Lynda's autobiography. If I hadn't, I don't think I would have been able to believe the content. It would have either sounded too far fetched (the link between twins) or just too horrific to comprehend (even though I knew the atrocities went on) but in her biog she went into great detail about the reason she wrote it, about the thorough research she carried out and the very long time (because it was so harrowing for her) it took her to complete it. It is not your normal Lynda detective novel but it is still very gripping, I found it hard to stop listening.
July 18, 2019
Tackling the subject of probably the most evil man ever to live (Joseph Mengele) takes a skilled and accomplished author. Sadly this was neither.
The prose felt like it was written by an 8 year old. Clumsy, basic writing.
A lion tamer and a dwarf?! You wouldn't dare suggest it to an editor.
The story of the two sisters horrific start in life, and the subsequent way their lives unfolded, could have been a really interesting story, but instead it was almost risible, due entirely to the 'writing'.
A real shame that made this a frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying read.
The prose felt like it was written by an 8 year old. Clumsy, basic writing.
A lion tamer and a dwarf?! You wouldn't dare suggest it to an editor.
The story of the two sisters horrific start in life, and the subsequent way their lives unfolded, could have been a really interesting story, but instead it was almost risible, due entirely to the 'writing'.
A real shame that made this a frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying read.
June 22, 2022
Definitely not a book that I would have chosen but was a Book Club choice. I would like to give it 3.5 stars but Goodreads does not allow that. I give 3 stars to books worth publishing and this book is certainly beyond that but not 4 stars which I give out sparingly. My only criticism is that it is probably too long. I lost interest at times with the content being repetitive and not adding anything of value to the storyline. Also many “clues” just seemed to drop into the hands of the various characters which just didn’t ring true.
Panania Library Book Club loan.
Panania Library Book Club loan.
October 24, 2024
It's a novel that takes place after the Berlin wall fell, so there is some reference to East and West. It's about twins that were in the Holocaust together. As adults, they live very different lives. Ruda is working in the circus as a big cat trainer. Rebecca needs psychological help and is in Berlin seeing a dr for help. The Dr is digging up the past to see why Rebecca is having these outbursts and is harming herself and others around her. It's a mystery why these sisters are the way they are.
January 17, 2020
I had no hesitation giving this book 5stars, but it has taken me sometime to write a review.
The story was a little slow to start, but then there is a lot to take in. Soon I found I was reading late into the night, I only get a chance to read in the evening. I was about 30% through when I discovered the story was based on factual evidence of Dr Joseph Mengele, 'The Angel of Death' and his experiments on identical twins.
Although the actual story is fictional, it gave me a more knowledgable insight of the concentration camps of Auschwitz, than any other book I've read that has hit 'The best seller list'.
Without giving away any spoilers, all I can say is OMG and that I cried. The story is not 'pretty', so not for the faint of heart.
The story was a little slow to start, but then there is a lot to take in. Soon I found I was reading late into the night, I only get a chance to read in the evening. I was about 30% through when I discovered the story was based on factual evidence of Dr Joseph Mengele, 'The Angel of Death' and his experiments on identical twins.
Although the actual story is fictional, it gave me a more knowledgable insight of the concentration camps of Auschwitz, than any other book I've read that has hit 'The best seller list'.
Without giving away any spoilers, all I can say is OMG and that I cried. The story is not 'pretty', so not for the faint of heart.
January 12, 2018
Excellent read
This was an interesting read. I have not read any other books about the atrocities of the holocaust as I knew they would be distressing. However when this book went down that road I considered abandoning it but it was so compelling that I kept going and I'm glad I did. A real page turner.
This was an interesting read. I have not read any other books about the atrocities of the holocaust as I knew they would be distressing. However when this book went down that road I considered abandoning it but it was so compelling that I kept going and I'm glad I did. A real page turner.
June 2, 2025
Readable with plenty of twists and turns
As a Holocaust devotee this book was recommended to me.
I therefore was aware of the shadow of Dr Mengele throughout it.
The book tells the story of two identical twins and the physical and mental torture they endured after the war.
It is readable and horrific in places.
As a Holocaust devotee this book was recommended to me.
I therefore was aware of the shadow of Dr Mengele throughout it.
The book tells the story of two identical twins and the physical and mental torture they endured after the war.
It is readable and horrific in places.
December 29, 2025
Slightly slow to start, this striking story of two twins separated in Birkenau to experience two different regimes under the horrific Josef Mengele and living markedly diverse lives 25 years later. Two parallel narratives emerge - one exhibiting severe mental illness - until they finally meet in the circus in Berlin in a traumatic climax.
May 12, 2020
Gripping
I read this book years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it a second time. It is a gripping heartbreaking story made all the more realistic as its based on twins surviving the holocaust and the angel of death. I couldn't put it down really worth a read
I read this book years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it a second time. It is a gripping heartbreaking story made all the more realistic as its based on twins surviving the holocaust and the angel of death. I couldn't put it down really worth a read
February 24, 2021
I'm afraid I gave up in this book after about 180 pages . Although I understand the seriousness of the subject matter I just felt it was bogged down with too many details which made the book monotonous and distracted you from the horror of the story unfolding .
March 22, 2021
This book kept me hanging on by a thread all the way through made me happy sad angry but I must admit the events towards the end of the book made me loose interest a little more because it was not the ending I was hoping for, expecting but that’s just another twist in the book
November 30, 2021
Different
This book was quite different to the usual Lynda La Plant books I have read. Took me a while to get into it but then it was intriguing and captivating. The ending? Sad not sad? Excellently written, as usual by Lynda. Thank you.
This book was quite different to the usual Lynda La Plant books I have read. Took me a while to get into it but then it was intriguing and captivating. The ending? Sad not sad? Excellently written, as usual by Lynda. Thank you.
February 2, 2025
I find it difficult to write a review about this book! I am not sure how I feel after reading it!
Firstly It wasn’t a subject I expected the author to write about, really different.
Personally I don’t think she pulled it off!
Firstly It wasn’t a subject I expected the author to write about, really different.
Personally I don’t think she pulled it off!
October 23, 2025
Not sure how many stars to give a very disturbing true story, in the senses that we all know about the devastating atrocities that the Nazis put the Jewish people through but with the added horrendous treatment of Circus animals. It was not a happy read.
January 29, 2018
A horrendous story, very thought provoking.
September 29, 2018
Intriguing, graphic, emotional and hard to put down. Love this author
December 11, 2018
Oh My, another great read from Lynda La Plante, a harrowing account of the separation of female twins, the concentration camp, and the Nazi Mengele. Would recommend.
December 10, 2021
Love Lynda La Plante books - this was brilliant. Very graphic would recommend as could not put it down. Page turner,
December 2, 2022
Life can seem like a riddle but nothing is coincidence. This is a thrilling deeply disturbing account of 2 sisters and the soul’s will to survive and connect, no matter how, in a terrible world. Helped by hypnosis one is helped to face all her darkest memories and the horrific disturbing things that have happened to the 2 of them in the Birkenau death camp of Nazi Germany under the supervision of Joseph Mengele.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews