THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER

A Victorian-era girl struggles with confusion when her mother’s identical twin suddenly appears and joins her family. She struggles with horror when one of the twins becomes the victim of a grisly murder. But which twin has survived: her wealthy, gracious mother or her impoverished, tough aunt? Lucy begins the story at 13 and ends it a married woman. She’s the only daughter of a wealthy London family, portrayed too like a modern middle-class American family despite Baratz-Logsted’s attempts to fit the dialogue and behavior into the appropriate era. Characters are nicely diverse until some abruptly change personalities; although these changes may arguably result not only from the murder but also from the misperceptions of an unreliable narrator, readers may well feel that the author does not play fair in her presentation of the mystery. Nevertheless, the story offers many absorbing elements of young love, suspense and surprise that undeniably appeal to fans of the gothic romance. Flawed but ultimately successful. (Historical mystery. 14 & up)