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."

            The Twin's Daughter is the exact opposite of what you're thinking right now. Trust me on that. This novel is one of those books that you pick up thinking 'this looks good' and put down a sleepless night later thinking 'oh my gosh that was incredible'. Speaking as a person who has encountered her fair share of literary twists and turns, I never saw the ending of this novel coming. In fact, I felt all high and mighty because I believed I figured out what was really going on before the main character. Then WHAM, the novel slapped me over the head and crushed everything I thought I knew about the characters and the story.

            Not only does the story leave you hanging on every word, the prose is vibrant, with a perfect balance between details and action. It lays the foundation for a story full of intrigue, excitement, pain, loss, and love. The plot combines murders and mysteries in ideal proportions with a coming of age story and first love.

            Lucy Sexton, the protagonist, truly has her heart in the right place. When her mother's twin Helen shows up on the doorstep, Lucy almost immediately welcomes her with open arms. I say almost because she does have an understandable and expected period of shock. (If my mother's twin suddenly showed up, I doubt I'd be half as gracious as Lucy). The two women form a bond. They sleep in rooms across the hall from each other and attend classes with the same tutor. I have to admit that I was suspicious of Helene from the beginning. With the book jacket's ominous statement, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...until it becomes a deadly obsession", how could I not suspect her of performing dark deeds? I won't tell you whether or not my opinion of her changed, but I will tell you that you will never see theses twists and turns coming.

            As I discovered the web of lies and dark deeds that took place in the Sexton household, I was completely and utterly dumbfounded. The twists were not only unexpected, they were brilliantly executed. I have to admit that I am incredibly jealous of the author's ability to create such a suspenseful, exciting plot.

            Because I do enjoy a good romantic subplot, I have to give you a little information about Lucy's incredibly adorable relationship with Kit. When Lucy first meets Kit at her parent's party, she thinks of him as "the bored boy". Soon, their acquaintance grows into friendship, and their friendship into something more. With Victorian sensibilities, the relationship is slow, sweet, and perfect. They are each other's best friends and sweethearts. However, one of the personality traits of Lucy's that does bother me is her disbelief that Kit really loves her. She always doubts herself, thinking that other girls are smarter, prettier, and better. More than once she approaches Kit to 'release him from his obligation to her'.

            So what am I trying to tell you? Read this book. Even my friends who barely read at all are caught up in this book's spell.