Only Daughter in Aussie Readers

Jan 11, 2017 PattyMacDotComma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, mystery-crime-thriller, australian-author, arc-netgalley-done, aa

3★
A case of from the frying pan into the fire. A girl escaping whatever it was she’s done at home is on the road, hungry, is caught shoplifting, and so grabs at the opportunity to impersonate a girl who disappeared 11 years ago from her Canberra home.

Her resemblance to Rebecca Winter, the missing girl, is so pronounced that even her boyfriend had commented when they saw the notice on TV.

Unfortunately, it seems she may have let herself in for more than she bargained for.

This girl tells the stor 3★
A case of from the frying pan into the fire. A girl escaping whatever it was she’s done at home is on the road, hungry, is caught shoplifting, and so grabs at the opportunity to impersonate a girl who disappeared 11 years ago from her Canberra home.

Her resemblance to Rebecca Winter, the missing girl, is so pronounced that even her boyfriend had commented when they saw the notice on TV.

Unfortunately, it seems she may have let herself in for more than she bargained for.

This girl tells the story in first-person.

“. . . a photograph came up on the screen. She had my nose, my eyes, my copper-coloured hair. Even my freckles.

‘Rebecca Winter finished her late shift at McDonald’s, in the inner north Canberra suburb of Manuka, on the 17th of January 2003, ‘ a man said in a dramatic voice over the photograph, ‘ but somewhere between her bus stop and home she disappeared, never to be seen again.’

‘Holy sh*t, is that you? Peter said. . . do you think that’s your long lost twin or what?’”

As she gradually infiltrates the family and friends, she gets more and more brave, always trying to guard against saying the wrong thing, but also trying to figure out what really did happen to Rebecca Winter. She refers to the parents always as “the mother” or “the father” and the twin brothers by their names.

I really appreciate that there is never any confusion in the reader’s mind whose story this is. The tone of the two girls' stories varies, and the change of the point of view is very effective.

Flashbacks to 2003 are Rebecca’s, told in third person. Bec and Lizzie are best friends, and Lizzie is the hardest to convince that Rebecca has indeed returned from possibly succumbing to the intense, deadly Canberra bushfires of that season.

The 11-year gap between the disappearance and the 2014 time of this girl's story help us believe that she might fool doctors, detectives and friends, but it’s still a pretty big ask.

The ending at first seems like what we might have expected but then turns out to be something else again – always fun!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.
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Sep 12, 2016 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra is a riveting mystery that is written in a split narrative that takes place during two different time periods. In 2003, the story takes place in the days leading up to Bec Winters' disappearance. In the present, the story begins when a young woman who closely resembles Bec takes her place to avoid arrest. Both story arcs are compelling but the events leading up to Bec's disappearance are the most chilling.

After being picked up for shoplifting, a young woman makes Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra is a riveting mystery that is written in a split narrative that takes place during two different time periods. In 2003, the story takes place in the days leading up to Bec Winters' disappearance. In the present, the story begins when a young woman who closely resembles Bec takes her place to avoid arrest. Both story arcs are compelling but the events leading up to Bec's disappearance are the most chilling.

After being picked up for shoplifting, a young woman makes an impetuous decision to tell authorities her name is Bec Winters. Since she bears an eerie resemblance to the missing girl, the police have no reason to doubt her claim and she is quickly reunited with "her" family. Fooling the family seems to be easy enough but the imposter has a more difficult task of convincing the real Bec's best friend Lizzie Grant. The imposter must also endure in depth questioning from the detective on the case, Vincent Andopolis. An excellent actress with an uncanny ability to read people, she manages to evade answering Vincent's many questions about her kidnapping but he seems to growing suspicious of her. Although Bec's parents and twin brothers Andrew and Paul seem to harbor no doubts about her identity, the imposter begins to grow uneasy with the family's increasingly strange behavior.

The flashbacks detailing the days before Bec's disappearance begin with normal teenage behavior. She hangs out with her best friend Lizzie in between working her shifts at a fast food restaurant. At home, Bec's parents dote on Andrew and Paul while mostly ignoring Bec and chastising her for not spending about time with her brothers. As strange things begin occurring at home, Bec turns to Lizzie and her co-workers to help exorcise her ghosts. Shortly after a disagreement with Lizzie, Bec vanishes without a trace after a late shift at work, leaving everyone, including the police, stymied about what happened to her.

A suspense-laden debut by Anna Snoekstra, Only Daughter is an intriguing mystery that has plenty of twists and turns. Bec's story arc grows increasingly ominous as the bizarre events she is experiencing become more frightening. The present day storyline is full of tension as the imposter tries to keep everyone from realizing she is not Bec. Both story arcs reach their denouement at the virtually the same time and although a little far-fetched, the novel's conclusion is full of stunning plot twists. An all around spellbinding mystery that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 Josie rated it really liked it

A very cleverly written debut thriller novel, with a very distinctive narrative, alternating between two characters, one in current day and one in the past.
I'm not sure if the plot twist was predictable or not, but it had quite a few facets to it to still keep it interesting.
A very enjoyable read. ...more

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