It took me ages (about 15 goes) to get this one as a swap. It was recommended by my friend and I really enjoyed it BUT...I hate to have a but - it lost a lot of credibility for me because Mrs Winter would have been able to find out which twin she saved and the whole ending of the book hinged on that never being known.It was the essence of the mystery. It would have been so easy to find out whether 'Emmeline' who she lived with all her life, had ever given birth to a child and if not, the survivor must have been Adeline...does anybody else thinks this lets it down or have I missed something...

 I still loved it and if you did you might enjoy Landscape Of Love by Sally Beauman. Fantastic ending

oh...........i got the impression that she knew it wasn't after the fire as she gave emmelines son the ashes of her cremated bones after they found the body and had the burial - did i get it wrong?

I loved the book in many ways - writing style, the interwoven stories of twins both of Vida Winter and the protagonist, and it was admittedly an exciting story. But I felt the ending of a third child who happened to look so similar to the twins that she could be mistaken for them, and who lived in the house seemingly unnoticed by most, quite unbelievable and forced. This let it down for me. However, I enjoyed it all the way until the very end.

it was a gd book found it hard to get into at the beg but half way through i could not put it down i was confused with the idea of the three girls too seems a bit far fetched x

i really enjoyed this. sometimes it s best to put reality to the side for a while!!

katieqr:

i really enjoyed this. sometimes it s best to put reality to the side for a while!!

Exactly! Not really sure that works of fiction have to be believable to be enjoyable.But I appreciate that there can be twists in plots which can jar and spoil the overall enjoyment of a book. But this one was fabulous!

I started this book a couple of days ago and i am really enjoying it! Its so refreshing to read a good ghost story, its the best book ive read in a while x

I dont want to finish this book!

I finished this last night.  I thought the whole thing was wonderful. 

Yes, I can see that the idea of a third sister being able to live there undetected seems far-fetched but the novel was meant to be a "modern gothic" and in the gothic tales of the past these sorts of occurrences happened all the time.  For example in Jane Eyre, a book referred to constantly in The Thirteenth Tale, Mr Rochester is able to keep his first wife locked up in the attic without anyone knowing.

I liked how the author tied up the loose ends at the end so you know what happened to everyone - the only question unanswered was whether Charlie's remains were ever discovered.

windysisters:

Yes, I can see that the idea of a third sister being able to live there undetected seems far-fetched but the novel was meant to be a "modern gothic" and in the gothic tales of the past these sorts of occurrences happened all the time.  For example in Jane Eyre, a book referred to constantly in The Thirteenth Tale, Mr Rochester is able to keep his first wife locked up in the attic without anyone knowing.

Well more than one person were kept in a basement for years in Austria and only discovered a few months ago!

sarita:

windysisters:

Yes, I can see that the idea of a third sister being able to live there undetected seems far-fetched but the novel was meant to be a "modern gothic" and in the gothic tales of the past these sorts of occurrences happened all the time.  For example in Jane Eyre, a book referred to constantly in The Thirteenth Tale, Mr Rochester is able to keep his first wife locked up in the attic without anyone knowing.

Well more than one person were kept in a basement for years in Austria and only discovered a few months ago!

Of course - Truth being stranger than fiction........

Hello,

I don't post here much, but just got a load of books and have been tearing through them.

 I really didn't like this book! I found it hard to get into. Then I got into it about halfway and got to the end and wished I hadn't bothered. I think by the time it engaged me, I didn't care which sister was which.

Just my 2 cents worth!

 

Karen

kahlan:

I loved the book in many ways - writing style, the interwoven stories of twins both of Vida Winter and the protagonist, and it was admittedly an exciting story. But I felt the ending of a third child who happened to look so similar to the twins that she could be mistaken for them, and who lived in the house seemingly unnoticed by most, quite unbelievable and forced. This let it down for me. However, I enjoyed it all the way until the very end.

 

I felt the same way as you, was really enjoying the book until I got to the end, it was a bit of a let down.