As with most of Holt's novels, Daughter of Deceit has a joint heritage from the gothic and romance genres.

The novel departs significantly from both formulas, though. It relies less than many Holt novels on the brooding atmosphere of mystery and threat provided by suspicious coincidences and sinister locales. The traditions of the gothic remain in the hints of the supernatural in the depiction of Mrs. Carling and in the hidden threat that she poses.

The novel's concern with parental roles makes it a good vehicle for those traditional gothic concerns, the search for the true father and the motif of the sins of the fathers. The sense of secrets from the past that must be uncovered is less strong in this novel because Holt's interest here is in the influence of parents who are alive and can bring ruin on their children with their present...