rochelleisreading's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, and Violence
sarahgrimbly's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
kbranfield's review
4.0
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.
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.
lhhrmn's review
2.0
Meh. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up on my own, but it was the January book club pick and I liked the idea of reading something different. The book is good in that it's a manageable length and it is entertaining enough that I found myself wanting to keep reading to see where the story line was going. I figured out pretty early on that the story was probably going to take a weird/unexpected turn that wouldn't seem quite so realistic and would hurt my rating of the book and unfortunately, I was right.
Some of the writing I felt was a bit weak - the conversations between characters were very monotonous: "He said 'x.' / 'y' replied Bec" and while I realize the author wanted to paint numerous potential suspects in for readers to have to sift through, I think there is something to be said for explaining those loose ends later.
Like many books, I think this one ended kind of abruptly, as far as page ratio. A few other reviews have mentioned that there's a lot that happens in the last 30 pages - and I find it to be almost too much. The earlier 250 pages make several references to past events, so you know you have to keep reading to learn about them, but then the book takes a hard, unexpected turn, and there aren't enough pages left to truly develop the twist AND explain the past references AND provide some sort of closure.
I still have a fair amount of questions about some of the characters and don't think the ending was particularly impressive, so I'm left giving this one 2 stars, which for me, means: I was entertained while reading this, but wouldn't recommend it to a friend since the ending leaves me feeling disappointed.
Some of the writing I felt was a bit weak - the conversations between characters were very monotonous: "He said 'x.' / 'y' replied Bec" and while I realize the author wanted to paint numerous potential suspects in for readers to have to sift through, I think there is something to be said for explaining those loose ends later.
Like many books, I think this one ended kind of abruptly, as far as page ratio. A few other reviews have mentioned that there's a lot that happens in the last 30 pages - and I find it to be almost too much. The earlier 250 pages make several references to past events, so you know you have to keep reading to learn about them, but then the book takes a hard, unexpected turn, and there aren't enough pages left to truly develop the twist AND explain the past references AND provide some sort of closure.
I still have a fair amount of questions about some of the characters and don't think the ending was particularly impressive, so I'm left giving this one 2 stars, which for me, means: I was entertained while reading this, but wouldn't recommend it to a friend since the ending leaves me feeling disappointed.
tonistrack's review
5.0
My husband won this as a giveaway and recommended I read it. Wow! Great story! I'm so glad I read it. I knew the ending would be a surprise, and yet, I couldn't help but be shocked.
r_strack's review
5.0
I received a free ARC of this book through a giveaway drawing on GoodReads. This does not affect my honest review.
When a woman is caught shoplifting some food because she is hungry and has no money, she claims to be a girl who went missing more than a decade before. She recalls that the missing girl could have been her twin and she hopes this tactic will keep her out of jail. She has a keen eye and extensive knowledge regarding human behavior. She fools police and medical investigators but knows the family and friends will be a different matter. She knows that once they see her, she will be exposed and she will be headed to jail. But...everyone freely accepts that she is who she says she is. Even so, something is not right. She can feel it but she can't quite put her finger on what it is. As she insinuates herself deeper into the life of Rebecca Winter (the missing girl), she tries to unravel the mystery of the disappearance herself.
There are some twists in this story that take it to some dark places. Like most people, when reading a thriller, my mind is pulling at strings in the background the whole time trying to guess at how it will unravel ultimately. I've got to say that I didn't see the plot twists coming, and I love that.
The story is told in two separate timelines, alternating chapters for each. One timeline is "current" (set in 2014) with the replacement woman living the life of Bec Winter, told in first person narrative. The other timeline follows the last few days leading up to Bec's disappearance, told from third person perspective. This is very effective because it allows the author to control the reveal of important plot details at a good pace.
This was an outstanding read and I would recommend it to anyone.
When a woman is caught shoplifting some food because she is hungry and has no money, she claims to be a girl who went missing more than a decade before. She recalls that the missing girl could have been her twin and she hopes this tactic will keep her out of jail. She has a keen eye and extensive knowledge regarding human behavior. She fools police and medical investigators but knows the family and friends will be a different matter. She knows that once they see her, she will be exposed and she will be headed to jail. But...everyone freely accepts that she is who she says she is. Even so, something is not right. She can feel it but she can't quite put her finger on what it is. As she insinuates herself deeper into the life of Rebecca Winter (the missing girl), she tries to unravel the mystery of the disappearance herself.
There are some twists in this story that take it to some dark places. Like most people, when reading a thriller, my mind is pulling at strings in the background the whole time trying to guess at how it will unravel ultimately. I've got to say that I didn't see the plot twists coming, and I love that.
The story is told in two separate timelines, alternating chapters for each. One timeline is "current" (set in 2014) with the replacement woman living the life of Bec Winter, told in first person narrative. The other timeline follows the last few days leading up to Bec's disappearance, told from third person perspective. This is very effective because it allows the author to control the reveal of important plot details at a good pace.
This was an outstanding read and I would recommend it to anyone.
wombat_88's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
allyexa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Ever since seeing the 2012 documentary “The Imposter “ I hoped someone would have a go at a fictional mystery along the same lines. And this one was going so well- very atmospheric, nicely dropped clues and hints as both storylines progressed, plenty of twists and red herrings, and a true page-turner that had me reconsidering if I really needed sleep on a work night.
But the ending was not only unsatisfying and full of the worst horror movie tropes, it also was unnecessarily detailed on some animal torture. It really soured the whole book for me. I cannot recommend it to anyone because I hate the reveal of “whodunnit “ so much.
8/3/23
But the ending was not only unsatisfying and full of the worst horror movie tropes, it also was unnecessarily detailed on some animal torture. It really soured the whole book for me. I cannot recommend it to anyone because I hate the reveal of “whodunnit “ so much.
8/3/23