Rebecca “Bec” Winter was your normal, summer-loving, hell-raising sixteen-year-old girl living in Canberra, Australia. She had a job, lots of friends, and every reason to live life to the fullest. Which is just what she did, ignoring a series of weird things surrounding her that should have caused her senses to take note and worry.
And then one day, she was gone.
Eleven years after Rebecca Winter disappeared, a woman gets arrested and, in a panic, claims to be Bec as a way to get out of trouble.
While the imposter is investigated, she enjoys living the life of the still-missing woman. She wastes no time making herself comfortable in Rebecca’s home and bed, and even involves herself in the Winters’ other children’s lives. Soon she’s even hanging with the real Rebecca’s friends and begins to cherish her new life, but not everything is perfect.
Eventually, the imposter becomes curious about Rebecca and what actually happened to her. Feeling like she already knows her intimately, having assumed her identity, she sets out to find the truth. Wrong move. What was once blissful ignorance soon takes a devilish turn when the imposter realizes that whoever took Rebecca more than a decade ago is still out there and may come for her too.
Special Investigator Vincent Andopolis has mixed feelings. On one hand, he’s thrilled to have helped find Rebecca Winter. On the other, he realizes how odd it is that the girl won’t talk about the circumstances of her abduction. It doesn’t quite add up, so he does some digging and finds a multitude of questions stemming from the original investigation.
As the narrative bounces back and forth between the past life of the real Rebecca Winter and the imposter, Anna Snoekstra packs several compelling plot lines into her intoxicating debut psychological thriller. Like, for example, the imposter’s struggle to play the role of another person and the stress that her situation causes.
And then, of course, there’s the page-turning driving force that is the biggest question of all–what did happen to Rebecca Winter?
While I do wish there was a little more character development, Only Daughter is an edgy debut from a promising new author. Some of the twists and reveals are easily predicted, and, while the book is fast-paced, it’s also a bit choppy at times. Parts of the story rely on readers being able to suspend their disbelief, but those who do will be entertained by the eerie, lightning-quick plot.
Book Details
Author: Anna Snoekstra
Pages: 288 (Paperback)
ISBN: 077831944X
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: September 20, 2016