The Perfect Daughter

by D.J. Palmer

A thriller that explores the truth or lies behind a teenage girl's multiple personality disorder, from D.J. Palmer, the author of The New Husband.

Meet Ruby, who speaks with a British accent.
Then there’s Chloe, a perfectionist who strives for straight A’s in school.
And along comes Eve, who is spiteful and vicious.
All of them live inside Penny…
Or do they?

Penny Francone, age sixteen, is a murderer. Her guilt is beyond doubt: she was found alone in the victim’s apartment, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon. The victim’s identity and her secret relationship to Penny give Penny the perfect motive, sealing the deal. All the jury needs to decide now is where Penny will serve out her sentence. Will she be found not guilty by reason of insanity, as her lawyer intends to argue? Or will she get a life sentence in a maximum-security prison?
Already reeling from tragedy after the sudden passing of her beloved husband a few years before, now Grace is on her knees, grateful that Massachusetts doesn't allow the death penalty.

As Penny awaits trial in a state mental hospital, she is treated by Dr. Mitchell McHugh, a psychiatrist battling demons of his own. Grace’s determination to understand the why behind her daughter’s terrible crime fuels Mitch’s resolve to help the Francone family. Together, they set out in search of the truth about Penny, but discover instead a shocking hidden history of secrets, lies, and betrayals that threatens to consume them all.

The perfect daughter. Is she fooling them all?

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2021

About the author

Pseudonym for author Daniel Palmer

D.J. PALMER is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels, including Delirious and Desperate. After receiving his master’s degree from Boston University, he spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer before turning his attention to writing. He lives in New Hampshire where he is at work on his next novel.

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly hell! My jaw dropped, my nose hit the floor! Before losing other parts of my face: I’m screaming: this is freaking fascinating!

This is like eating Wagyu steak accompanied with one bottle of St. Emilion Grand Cru and a thick slice of Sweet Lady Jane’s chocolate cake! This is quite thriller feast for me:

I found all my dreamy thrilling elements such as brutal murder, unreliable narrators, dissociative identity disorder, mental hospital theme, intense slow burn pace. And of course mind shattering writing style which deceives you with new theories and sudden changing directions make you question your own reality!

And that pulling the rug up it from under you kind of extra WTH final: that revelation earned extra star from me! For million years I could never see it coming! The author punched me so fast and I barely gathered myself!

Quick summary of the story :( I’ll do everything not to give spoilers and ruin your reading adventure. Actually I’m really wondering how your face expression will change as you reach the last blowing chapters!!!)

When Grace returns back to her home after busy working day at family Italian restaurant, she realizes something must be wrong because her deceased husband’s car is not parked in front of the house and her daughter Penny is not at home. Penny already deals with psychological issues and she was so close to get arrested after her murder bucket list she has written was gone viral. So she has no permission to leave her without informing her mom and drive her father’s car. But she did them both!

Somebody knocks the door. Grace thinks her daughter came back but no: there is a police officer waiting outside to inform her they arrested her daughter for murder charge. She is found standing in front of her death birth mother, covered in blood. The murder weapon is covered with her fingerprints!

Grace doesn’t want to believe her daughter can commit such a brutal crime and actually her daughter Penny is long gone, her body is invaded by her alter persona Eve who has no idea why she’s at the police station.

Penny/ Eve gets locked at the state hospital till her court date for more detailed observation of her mental situation. Her new doctor Mitch McHugh is expert about DID cases. As other personas like Chloe, Ruby starts to appear, Mitch gets more confused to give a diagnosis. Penny’s one of the personas insist she wasn’t alone during the crime scene. Could she tell the truth? Could somebody who knows her mental state to put the blame on her? Or could she be a psychopath who plays game with them by acting like she’s suffering from DID?

Time to shut my big mouth! This is good! This is smart! This is so far my favorite book of the author! I highly recommend it to the author’s fans and psychological thriller/ crime thriller lovers!
By the way: I mostly enjoyed Jack’s POV ( Penny’s brother who is Emerson College student, plans to make a movie about his sister’s case!) His narration was dark, smart, sarcastic, entertaining! I loved his relationship dynamics with his sister.

Overall: It deserved my five gazillion stars with its ultra smart writing style.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[MarilynW · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer 

Grace's adopted daughter, Penny, has multiple personalities and is finally diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). When Penny is sixteen, she takes the family car to secretly visit a stranger. Later, Penny is found holding a knife and covered with the slaughtered women's blood. It looks like a clear cut case of murder but who really murdered this woman? Was it Penny or one of her other personalities and how can Grace save her daughter from prison? 

With the help of psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh, who works with Penny at the facility where Penny is being treated before she goes to trial, each of Penny's different personalities gives insight to things that have happened in Penny's past. Grace will go to the end of the earth to clear Penny of murder charges or to at least keep her from a life in prison. I wasn't too impressed with some of the things Grace did, hoping to shift the blame off her daughter. Grace takes dangerous risks and is also willing to have another teenager blamed for the death when it was her own daughter holding the knife. 

But it's very interesting learning about DID and it is very scary being inside a facility that houses mentally ill people who need guards to keep the peace and to attempt to keep the residence safe from harm. We have other suspects hinted at or openly named and we are even shown that Penny's coddling, because of her diagnosis, has caused problems within her adoptive family. The ending comes with a huge twist that throws everything into a new light. 

Pub April 20th 2021

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Cow...Wow... This is a psychological thriller that just had me guessing and totally pulled into the storyline the whole time. I love that this book had me guessing and puzzle the whole book, and the ending of the book just had me totally floored. I have to say I loved trying to really get into Penny's head. This book was so well written. The characters in this book was developed through out this book, and that was really why this book was so very good. This was a slow built up thriller, and this is not a fast pace thriller. I normally love a fast pace thriller, so I am shocked that I love this book so much. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (D.J. Palmer) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. Note: I also won an arc copy of this book for Goodreads Giveaway.

[Will Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When we arrested her, she was covered in blood—it was all over her body, in her hair—so when you come to the station, you should bring a change of clothes.…there are no visible wounds on Penny. But the victim was found deceased at the scene, and we believe it’s the victim’s blood on your daughter’s body.”
Grace got the impression the detective was holding something back.
“She’s calling herself Eve, but that’s not the name on her license.”
Again, a chill ran through Grace. Eve.
“She said she doesn’t remember anything that happened before we showed up. We think maybe she’s in shock, but we’re not sure,” Allio went on. “Is Eve a nickname?”
Grace paused, deciding how to answer. “It’s more complicated than that,” she offered.

It certainly is.

A bucket of ammonia, boats and water, a book with a blue cover. What do they all mean? The clues keep popping up, from different voices throughout the novel. Of course, the voices, however diverse they may be, all reside inside one body. Penny Francone is afflicted (or is it protected?) by a mental health condition now known as DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder, what we used to call Multiple Personality Disorder. People with this are seen today as a single, splintered personality, rather than separate entire personalities vying for literal face time.


DJ Palmer, or Daniel Palmer or son of Michael Palmer - From Judith D. Collins Consulting

We are presented straight away with a particularly tough scenario. It was sixteen-year-old Penny’s birth mother, Rachel, a woman with a checkered past, who was brutally murdered. Penny had been found, unaccompanied, in a city park when she was four years old. Birth mother and daughter had recently reestablished contact, and Penny had gone to b-mom’s place to meet. Penny was found next to the body, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon. Did Penny kill her mother? Looks pretty open and shut. But perhaps it was one of her alters, Eve, maybe, or Ruby, or Chloe, or even some other, as yet undiscovered, alter. But the question remains. Is Penny a supremely gifted liar, fooling everyone, and truly guilty of slaughtering the woman who had cruelly abandoned her, or is there something else going on?

Grace Francone is terrified for her child. DID is not a fully recognized condition, and there is a strong likelihood that her teenager will spend the rest of her life in prison, for a crime she apparently cannot recall committing. She is currently being held in a less than cushy state institution, largely a grim custodial service for the criminally insane. Penny’s eighteen-year-old brother, Jack, serving the needs of exposition, is planning to make a documentary about his sister. We get his intermittent second-person commentary, as if he is telling Penny about his plans.

Your shrink at Edgewater was a guy named Dr. Dennis Palumbo, who we all despised. Well, maybe all but Ryan, because Palumbo thought the same thing he did: that you didn’t have DID. According to Palumbo, DID wasn’t even a real condition, and didn’t belong in the DSM…It’s thought that DID is just a variant of a borderline personality disorder, or in your case an antisocial personality disorder, and that the appearance of your alters is akin to fantasy play rather than a verifiable neurological state. In short, Palumbo thought you were an expert liar.

Thankfully, Palumbo (The name of this character, BTW, was sold at auction to raise money for The Evelyn Swierczynski Foundation. There is a real-world writer/psychologist named Dr. Dennis Palumbo out there.) is replaced with a different shrink, someone with a more open mind, Dr. Mitchell Hughes, a guy with issues of his own, (does there exist a shrink with none?) but an eagerness to learn the truth about his patient.

In order for Penny to avoid becoming a permanent resident of a penal institution, she will need support for her not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea with an official DID diagnosis. Doc Mitch is skeptical, but willing to look at the facts. He and Grace form a team trying to ferret out the truth, and give Penny at least a fighting chance. Most mysteries entail sleuthing in the concrete world, and there is plenty of that here, for sure, but this Doctor Holmes and Ms. Watson must do a lot of their work inside the world of Penny’s personalities. It is far from elementary.

This was a bit of a change for DJ Palmer.

This was the hardest book I’ve ever attempted. There were so many moving parts and for my first ever mystery (mostly I do crawl out from a hole thrillers, not murder mysteries with clues peppered throughout). - from the Judith D. Collins interview

And nicely done too. It is the author’s third novel under this name. Saving Meghan came out in 2019 and The New Husband was published in 2020. But DJ Palmer is an alter, of a sort, for Daniel Palmer. He is the son of physician and noted author of medical thrillers, Michael Palmer. Daniel even wrote some books that were published under Michael’s name (“with Daniel Palmer”) after his father died. His books as Daniel tended toward the technological thriller sort, building on his years working in the tech industry, while those written as DJ tend more towards the familial and medical. Saving Meghan, for example, is about Munchausen’s by Proxy.

When I switched from writing as Daniel Palmer to writing as DJ Palmer, my themes changed along with my name. The DJ books delve more into family drama and psychological suspense. - from The Nerd Daily interview

As such, DJ can step back from the ready-set-flee that permeates so many thrillers and look at the family dynamics at play. Loyalty, for example, comes in for some attention. Grace is fiercely loyal to and protective of Penny, and her brother, Jack, is on her side as well, but big brother Ryan is more hostile than helpful. A question is raised as to where Penny’s loyalties lie regarding her birth mother.

The story is presented through several non-DID points of view. We see most through Grace, as she girds for battle, and enters the fray. Jack offers some exposition in his once-removed take, as he addresses Penny, as if writing letters to her. Finally, there is Doctor Mitch, who offers us medical expertise, and the step-by-step of exploring a very strange terrain.

Palmer offers not just a medical take on DID, but shows how it impacts in personal, family, legal, and medical ways, and how easily it can be misdiagnosed. He does a great job of showing how DID affects not only how her family relates to Penny, but how the world does. There are serious legal implications for her if the people in a position to decide her future deny the existence of the DID diagnosis entirely. In that case, it is off to jail forever. Life over. In addition, Grace having to take on the out-of-pocket legal costs and spend her time working on the case instead of at the family business (a pizzeria based on Palmer’s experience with owning a small restaurant) has serious implications for the family’s financial welfare, and stress level. It certainly turns on its head the supposed legal presupposition of innocent until proven guilty and shows how families of the accused are punished along with those charged with a crime. A dismissive diagnosis can destroy a life, but also cause collateral damage to all those connected to it. One of Palmer’s aims in the book was to dispel myths about the DID condition. He certainly changed my perception.

The action continues apace, as clues are found, investigated and incorporated or dismissed. This is a very readable, engaging thriller-mystery. But every now and then there are passages that made me break out into smiles.

On that bleak afternoon, Lucky Dog looked anything but. The dark interior had the ambience of a power outage… Four of the nine stools at the dark varnished wood bar were occupied by beefy men, who put the dive in dive bar… Behind the bar stood stacks of bottles that looked sticky even from a distance. The air reeked of booze and cleaners, overlaid by a whiff of desperation.

Just gotta love that.

DJ Palmer has integrated multiple elements, of medical mystery, suspense, family drama, and high-tension-watch-your-back thriller, into an engaging, white-knuckle read. Polly-Eve-Chloe-Ruby Francone may not be the ideal progeny, but The Perfect Daughter is a perfectly fabulous read. Set aside as many hours as it takes. You owe it to your self.

“Dr. Cross, who gave us the DID diagnosis, said that we all start out with multiple personalities when we’re young. Is that something you believe?”
“I do,” said McHugh, nodding. “It’s like learning about life through committee. Those disparate voices in our young minds help us figure out the world and how different environments and stimuli affect us. Do we like things sweet or sour; what’s funny to us; what scares us? By age nine, our experiences tend to mold us into the person we become, and all those likes and dislikes, our moods and disposition, solidify into a single identity—this concept of self.”

Review posted – April 30, 2021

Publication dates
----------Hardcover - April 20, 2021
----------Trade paperback - April 5, 2022



This review has been cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi.

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, other personal, Twitter, Instagram and FB pages

Interviews
-----The Nerd Daily - Q&A: D.J. Palmer, Author of ‘The New Husband’
-----Three Good Things - D.J. Palmer and Lisa Unger - chatty, offers a feel for the author, but is not particularly informative
-----The Poisoned Pen Bookstore - DJ Palmer in Conversation with Lee Child - This is a really good one
-----Judith D. Collins Consulting - Q & A with D. J. Palmer - there is a fair bit here

Items of Interest
-----The Perfect Daughter Discussion Guide
-----American Psychiatric Association - What Are Dissociative Disorders?
----- American Documentary - Busy Inside - the film is a documentary about people with Dissociative Identity Disorder – this link takes you to the film’s site, but not to the film itself


The following emerged from some inner rhymester

CLUES
Boats and water figure large,
a book with a blue cover,
A bucket of ammonia,
And meanings to discover

Ruby, Chloe, Eve, and Penny,
We’re not sure, in truth, how many,
Did an alter kill her mother
Or could it be it’s someone other?

Tough to question any one
So quickly are they here and gone.
But answers lie behind those screens
All is rarely what it seems.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Perfect Daughter is Daniel Palmer’s third domestic thriller using his D.J. Palmer pseudonym, and my (unpopular) opinion is that the third is a bit of a turd.

Harsh, I know, but I found it so hard to engage with the book that I didn’t want to pick it back up between sittings. I think I finished three others in the meantime! It could be that I started it on the heels of the 5-star psychotherapy memoir, Good Morning, Monster, which expertly dealt with a Dissociative Identity Disorder patient and her tragic childhood. So a thriller using a young girl with D.I.D. as the center of a murder investigation felt like changing the channel from PBS to Lifetime.

A cat is also tortured and killed. Not just referenced in passing, but several pages are dedicated to the end of the poor animal. I skimmed this part with one eye barely open and can’t fully attest to how graphic the description of the event is, but if animal abuse is a trigger for you: WARNING!!!

Clearly based on other early reviews I’m in the minority here, and another reason could simply be domestic thriller fatigue. I keep picking them up due to FOMO, but I need to listen to my gut that the MO isn't any worse than the FO. I'm finding the genre tired and increasingly unoriginal with each passing read, and The Perfect Daughter certainly didn't do anything to change my mind.

So with that, I’m officially putting myself on a one-year hiatus for any books formulaically-titled "The Adjective Family Member."

I received an advance copy to read and review from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. The Perfect Daughter is now available, and there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it more than I did.

Blog: www.confettibookshelf.com
IG: @confettibookshelf

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

DJ Palmer's latest psychological thriller proves to be a brilliant and addictive read, the highlight of which for me was his impressive research into the mental health condition of Disassociative Identity Disorder, which might be more familiar to readers as Multiple Personality Disorder, that he illustrates with his character of Penny. Fragile teenager Penny Francone has been arrested for brutal and horrifying murder, covered in blood and with the murder weapon, in what appears to be a slam dunk of a case and placed in a locked ward at the Edgewater State Psychiatric Hospital. Penny is the adoptive daughter of Grace and Arthur, who have two sons, Jack and Ryan, a much wanted child after being found in mysterious circumstances, growing up in a loving and caring household.

Grace is doing what mothers so often do, feeling guilty, but she is the ultimate protective and determined mother, she believes her daughter is innocent, and nothing is going to stop her getting to the truth, aided by Dr Mitch McHugh, a man with issues of his own. However, this is going to bring danger, not to mention the fact that she faces a hostile public and threats to their livelihood. Are one of Penny's alters, such as Eve, Ruby or Chloe, responsible for the killing? Is Penny lying about her condition? Penny's unknown background includes a traumatic childhood with her drug addict mother as the reader is left reeling with twist after twist in this tale of deception, secrets, betrayal and lies.

This is complex, edgy, and multilayered storytelling, with stellar characterisations, particularly that of a Penny with her complicated and stressful mental health issues, and which explores with skill the legal processes and medical issues within the form of a tense and suspenseful psychological thriller. Highly recommended! Many thanks to St Martin's Press for an ARC.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

***HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY TO THIS GREAT THRILLER***


This book checked all of the boxes for me!!!! Here we find the ultimate unreliable narrator in Penny, a young woman with DID (dissociative identity disorder). I was a little worried about how the author would incorporate a troubling, severe mental disorder into a mystery/thriller. I needn’t have worried. The author, having done exhaustive research, presented the disease in an empathetic and genuine way, showing how it is often mistreated, misunderstood and even ignored.

The blurb for this book is extensive and worth reading. The book opens with Penny’s mother, Grace, coming home to an empty house. Her husband Arthur, has passed away, her two sons are away at work and school and the family car is missing. She doesn’t know where Penny has gone and is just beginning to worry when the police arrive at her house. Penny has been arrested for a brutal murder.

Grace and Arthur adopted Penny when she was found abandoned in a park at a young age, her mother was a drug addict and her father not in the picture. They brought her into their family home and she was accepted by her brothers and things went well for a long time. It wasn’t until around ninth grade when other personalities began to emerge, Eve, Ruby and Chloe, those are the ones that are known.

The book is written at a fast pace as Grace races to find an attorney to represent Penny. She reaches out to an attorney whose card she recently received after a fender bender with her own car. Penny has been admitted to the state psychiatric hospital which is almost as bad as prison. The doors are locked, the patients all suffering from numerous illnesses can be heard crying, sometimes screaming, Penny’s room is gloomy and dark, guards are everywhere. There is a new doctor on staff, Dr. Mitch McHugh, who tries to understand whether Penny (here presenting as Eve) truly has DID or is a psychotic patient who is hiding behind this defense. He has his work cut out for him since Eve isn’t a very accommodating patient.

Grace is the consistent nurturing and loving mother who is as strong as steel inside. She will not let her daughter be locked away for a crime that she knows she didn’t commit. It’s how she goes about doing this that propels the story forward.

There is the mystery of who really murdered Penny’s birth mother, is she innocent or guilty? We aren’t sure really how it was done and whether there are others behind the scenes manipulating the way Penny is being treated and how her defense should be handled.

There are many secrets that will come out, from some of the least likely characters and the ending is a combination of WHAT??? DOES THIS REALLY MAKE SENSE???? THEN THE SOUND OF PUZZLE PIECES CLICKING INTO PLACE!!!

I highly recommend this mystery thriller and hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Grace discovers a four-year old girl abandoned in a local park, she knows the little one is destined to be her daughter. Grace fights hard to foster the child and is ultimately able to adopt her.

Grace and her husband, Arthur, have two boys, Ryan and Jack, but Grace has always wanted a daughter. The mother-daughter relationship is just so special.



As it turns out, mothering this particular little girl, named Penny by her older brother, Jack, is more challenging than Grace initially anticipated.

Due to early childhood trauma, Penny has suffered a schism within her psyche, outwardly displayed as a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID.



Once known as Multiple Personality Disorder, Grace and the rest of the family are slowly introduced to Penny's alters, Ruby, Chloe and Eve.

When Penny is accused of killing her birth mother, caught red-handed at the dead woman's apartment, Grace knows there has to be another explanation. Her sweet Penny would never be capable of such violence.



But would one of her alters be capable? Would Eve, the most aggressive and openly hostile, have committed such an atrocious act?

Penny gets arrested and is subsequently committed to Edgewater Psychiatric Hospital prior to her trial. It is there that she comes under the direct care of the perceptive, Dr. Mitch McHugh.



The Perfect Daughter is a fast-paced and intriguing Psychological Suspense novel. Palmer did a great job of keeping the tension high throughout the story.

I was constantly questioning who, or what to believe. I know that mental health can be a complicated topic to write about, but I never felt icky about this narrative. It felt like Palmer handled the topic with care, never demonizing Penny simply because she suffered from DID.



In signature Palmer style, this did get pretty wild towards the end, but it was a heck of a lot of fun to read.

He definitely has a brand and style he keeps returning to, and you know what, it works for me. It may be a little far-fetched, but it keeps me coming back every time!!!



The audiobook is fantastic, I highly recommend that medium, as the narrators truly sweep you up into the story!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies of this to read and review. In my opinion, this is Palmer's best work yet, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

[Farrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ A decent thriller/suspense that takes place in one of my fav book locations - an ominous mental institution.
And to my delight there were power-tripping guards, a doctor battling his own personal demons, and murderous patients wreaking havoc.

𝙎𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣.
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡.
𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 '𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨' 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧) 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮'𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝.

What's stopping me from rounding up is that the characters aren't much more than cliches. (Penny's 'alter' Eve is constantly making not-funny, MEAN GIRL snarky one-liners and it was annoying enough that I was hoping she 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be found guilty.)
Also, warning, a kitty cat is killed!

The Perfect Daughter is very twisty though and all loose ends are satisfyingly tied up by the end.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺.
𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 20

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm writing this review over hear in Outliers Land...*Waves* 🖐

It appears that I am not nearly as enamored by this one as much as all of my other Goodreads friends. The Goodreads average rating for this is 4.45 stars and I'm over here like..."What you talkin' 'bout Willis, I mean, Goodreads?" 🤦‍♀️ In fact from 50% on I really, really struggled.

* Unlikeable AND uninteresting characters - I don't mind unlikeable but you had better be interesting.😒

* Suspension of disbelief - the outrageous actions of some of the characters was too much. 🤨

* Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. (See what I did there? 😉)

* Unnecessary side plots - who are you again and why do I care? 🤔

* Ridiculous plot twist - Instead of the jaw drop I was hoping for 😮 I got a case of the eye roll 🙄.

* A useless epilogue that I had no interest in due to the said unnecessary side plot. 🤷‍♀️

I did manage to finish this because I kept hoping at some point I was going to get my AHA moment but it never happened. At nearly 400 pages I feel like an editor should have really gone to town on this to tighten it up and even then I'm not so sure I would have enjoyed it. Oh well, can't win them all. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my digital ARC.

[Kaceey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
Finding a Penny is supposed to be good luck…right!?💁🏻‍♀‍

Grace and her husband were very content raising their two sons. Though Grace always longed for a daughter. When Grace and her son are out for a walk they come across a sad lost girl all alone in the park. No parents to claim her. Grace swoops in and suddenly has the daughter she always wanted. Renaming her Penny. Only Grace may have gotten more than she bargained for.

Grace’s new extended family are all settling in, until there are some behaviors that can’t explained . Out of character for Penny. In fact, so different than the sweet Penny they have all grown to love, that she is diagnosed with a multiple personality disorder.

When the police come knocking on Graces door to inform her of a murder. Who is involved? Penny? Or one of her other personalities?

I was immediately drawn into this book. Fabulous premise! And I loved the writing. But about mid book it became a bit repetitive and stalled somewhat.

Don’t give up! (And I’m glad I didn’t) because there are some amazing twists at the end!

This is the third book I’ve read and enjoyed from this author and am looking forward to more.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC to read and review.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...

4.5 Stars!!

A fascinating and wild read!!

I’ve enjoyed D.J. Palmer’s previous novels. After reading the description for The Perfect Daughter, I was excited to get started.

When Grace Francone returns from her evening run and realizes that her sixteen-year-old daughter, Penny is gone, she isn’t all that concerned. However, she’s a bit annoyed that Penny didn’t leave a note and that she’d taken the car without asking for permission. Grace sends Penny a text but doesn’t receive a reply.

A little while later, Grace looks out her window and sees two police cars in her driveway, their red and blue lights flashing. Immediately she wonders if Penny has been in a car accident. She opens the door to two men who introduce themselves as Detective Jay Allio and Sergeant Brent Adams. They ask Grace if Penny Francone is her daughter.

“We came here to tell you that we’ve arrested her”.

But what they say next shocks Grace even more…

“We believe she killed a woman.”

Grace can’t believe what she is hearing. How could Penny be involved in something like this?

Grace is shaking as they tell her that Penny has told them that she can’t remember anything that happened. Then they tell her that Penny is calling herself by a different name from the one on her driver’s license. She says her name is Eve. They ask if it’s a nickname and Grace tells them it’s more complicated than that.

When Penny was very young she’d been found abandoned in a local park. Grace and her husband, Arthur brought her home, eventually adopting her. They were thrilled to have her as a part of their family. Penny had a few strange behaviours along with mood swings and gaps in her memory. But as she got older, her behaviour became more disturbing and she ended up in some trouble after an incident in the ninth grade. When the different “personalities” started to appear, they tried to get help for Penny with little results. Some psychiatrists even thought Penny was faking or putting on a show. But Grace believed in her daughter. There was no way that Penny could consistently fake such realistic personas…Right?

Now Penny is in serious trouble. Grace knows she needs to call someone who can help them.

Could Penny have really committed such a heinous act?

Grace works with Penny’s doctor and lawyer to try and learn more about Penny’s past in hopes that they may find something that will help her case. But they may uncover much more than they expect when those secrets come to life.

Will Grace be able to save her daughter from life in prison?

A thrilling medical and courtroom drama!!

This was a clever and gripping novel that also has some fantastic twists.

We learn a lot about Penny’s mental health and her possible diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). I’ve always found the subject of DID interesting. Back when I took psychology it was referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder and was commonly confused with Schizophrenia. Over the years, more has been made known about the disorder and I find it fascinating.

The plot was intriguing and I liked hearing the different perspectives from many of the characters throughout the novel.

The Perfect Daughter has some mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. It has suspense, medical drama, courtroom drama, family drama as well as some excellent twists! It was an exciting read for me and I flew through it in just a couple of sittings.

A gripping story about murder, mental illness, secrets, lies, and more!


I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

[Lit with Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tbh I want to get away from one-star books because it's like, why do I torture myself? But I finished this because I was interested to see how DID was presented and I plan on reading another book that tackles the same topic, so I wanted something to compare it to.

SYNOPSIS

17-year-old Penny is about to go on trial for the brutal murder of her mother, Rachel Boyd—but is Penny truly responsible, or is it one of her DID alters? Racing against the clock, her adopted mother Grace and her brother Jack, try to figure out if Penny is the greatest actress alive, or her DID is to blame.

MY OPINION

L M F A O. Right away I knew the writing was ass so my only hope was a bomb ass plot. Unfortunately there was no plot to be located. Here's some examples of the asstastic/strange writing:

After her bath, Penny came downstairs damp, still wearing her bathrobe, nose in a Harry Potter book. She was entering adolescence and all that came with it—new places for hair, menstruation, buds for breasts. She was reading book four in the series, The Goblet of Fire." HOLD TF UP LMAOOO did the editor accidentally paste that sentence about adolescence in there... what is the correlation between breast buds and Harry Potter? And why was this told from the mom's POV.

As she layered pizza sauce on dough, she layered the guilt on herself. BOOOOOOO 🍅🍅🍅🍅

It was Penny's that occupied an outsized portion of his gray matter. lmaoo writing gray matter instead of brain is giving me "must reach page minimum on this essay" vibes

Grace didn't have a purse with her, so she had to resort to using stiff cafeteria napkins to dab her eyes dry. I mean....??? why

...Grace had handwritten important details. Clues, Annie called them. Apparently good ole Gracey has never heard of clues. Amazing.

Beyond the bad closed caption ass writing, here are my other complaints:

1. Worst psychiatrist known to mankind (filming a patient with his personal iPhone... pls). I also did not care about his backstory because it had nothing to do with the plot. This story was supposed to explore the controversy around DID but instead we had Mitch complaining about how he wished his son tried harder to not be addicted to heroin.

2. The Francone family possessed a collective IQ of a wet fart. Sooo apparently they've been preparing 1.5 yrs for this trial but two weeks before it all pops off, Jack is like PAUSE what if we look into the victim's background and see why Penny would want to kill her? I rolled my eyes so hard they almost popped out of my head. According to Jack, Rachel "had never been a priority until this moment." So what in susmaryosep have you been doing for the past 1.5 yrs??? How is establishing a motive not the #1 priority on your list??

3. I'm also just mad confused as to why this story was told from the POV of Jack? I guess he was there to provide background or whatever but the author could've done that with a series of flashbacks told by a third-person omniscient narrator.

4. The dialogue was extremely stiff and awkward. Tons of spoon feeding passed off as conversations between characters.

Just a weird ass, illogical story with dumb characters. This is a cool premise but the execution was like Michael Scott's school for tots.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: I finished my first book featuring a character with DID

Cons: writing, characters, plot execution, ending, existence

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The Perfect Daughter tells the story of Grace, the mother of Penny who has 3 alters and has Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID. She has been framed for the murder of her mother since she was found covered in blood with the murder weapon in her hand. What follows is Grace and her family trying to prove that Penny has DID and if possible, her innocence. The story is told from 3 perspectives. Grace, Jack (her son), and Mitch (the psychologist at the hospital where Penny is kept till the trial).

A very interesting mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put the book down at some parts. Discovering Penny’s hidden past was very fascinating to read about. The book started fast page, with the police arresting Penny from chapter 1 and didn’t slow down. Although I wish the second part was shorter, since some things got repetitive, I didn’t mind because I was invested in the story.


I am unfamiliar with DID so it was interesting to read about a character with this mental health problem. The amount of research that went into this book must have been great! But I wonder how much was used to fit the story because ultimately, it’s nothing that would happen in real life. Nevertheless, it was informative if anything to learn about DID (even if the author mentioned that some things were altered).


The characters were likable. I admired Grace’s fight to help her daughter and her devotion to her. She was a well-developed character and, in my opinion, the one that is best written: realistic, compassionate, flawed, but also full of love for all of her children fore and foremost.

I had a minor problem with Mitch. I didn’t think his backstory was important to the plot at all. His part was essential to the story, but I didn’t care much about his personal life. Maybe on its own, it would’ve been better, since I am interested in reading about parents of drug addicts as a part of a book. But maybe if it was Grace’s son (not that it would’ve worked here). The other thing is he was too much invested in helping Grace?? I found this unprofessional as I don’t believe psychologists working in public forensic hospitals, like another reviewer pointed out, work with the parents. It was obvious that the author was trying to keep Dr. Mitch “skeptical” all while believing in Penny’s DID. And he worked with Grace like they’re one team?? (Don’t worry no romance here, platonic relationship.) It was necessary for the plot yet not believable.

I was satisfied with the ending if a bit farfetched. At least the events were given a logical explanation, not that they would happen in the real world, but I was content with how was the story wrapped up.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Bridgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I'm the first to admit I haven't loved anything I've read by Daniel Palmer, or his pen name, D.J. Palmer...that is, until now.

I have continued reading his work though, because I could see that glimmer of greatness just under the surface. I feel like, with The Perfect Daughter, he finally broke through that barricade (for me, at least). I see that many of my friends felt differently, but for me, this story worked on nearly every level.

It was incredibly well-researched, and I enjoyed the back and forth way it was written. Told from several points of view, including the mother, Grace; her filmmaker son, Jack; and Penny's psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh...this book kept all my interest, and even managed to keep me guessing. Dude gets all the props for keeping me guessing. Admittedly, I did end up figuring things out, but I was well into the story before I did...and that always makes me happy.

The conclusion tied everything up beautifully. I actually didn't find it to be implausible or over-the-top at all. I spent a great deal of time working in mental health facilities, both during nursing school and during my nursing career...and the descriptions, reactions, and attitudes in this novel all felt quite authentic to me.

Finally! I can happily recommend The Perfect Daughter.

Available April 20, 2021

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy.

[Sheyla ✎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young woman has been accused of murder. When the cops come to inform her adoptive mother, Grace, she is devastated.

Grace can't believe her Penny is responsible. She knows Penny wouldn't do it but maybe Eve could.

How can this be?

Well, Penny has DID and maybe one of her personalities is the real killer. Of course, some don't believe in DID. Penny has done things in her past that were questionable and maybe she has a personality disorder instead. Meaning she knew what she was doing and she did it anyway. She knew right from wrong and she decided to end a life regardless.

Grace feels guilty. She should have done something earlier and now she must seek the help of Penny's new psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh to help her prove Penny has DID before it's too late.

Favorable points: The DID aspect, meaning meeting each of Penny's personalities. Penny's brother's sort of podcasts.

Unfavorable: Grace's decisions. There is one particular decision that she makes that makes me want to shake her. Even her sister-in-law was telling her what she should do but she still decided not to do a single thing about it.

I was not a fan of the last twist. I thought it was way too convenient.

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[Catherine (alternativelytitledbooks) - tired of sickness! · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and D.J. Palmer for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 4.20.21!**

She may look like the Perfect Daughter...but who is she REALLY?

Penny Francone has a textbook case of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)...at least, according to her adopted mother Grace. When she is found at the scene of birth mother Rachel Boyd's murder, however, bloody weapon in hand, is it Penny who is present? Or is it one of several disparate alters...snarky and acerbic Eve? Posh Brit Ruby? Do-gooder straight-A student Chloe? Was Penny just a witness to this terrifying crime....and will she ever be able to remember a single detail? Grace is determined to get justice while Penny awaits her trial, biding her time in a mental hospital. But does the answer lie buried in Penny's psyche...or somewhere else entirely?

After enjoying the straightforward domestic suspense of Palmer's The New Husband, I was incredibly excited to hear this particular story centered around multiple personalities. Some of my favorite thrillers have used similar devices even if they didn't use DID specifically, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this combination.

Well...color me incorrect.

I cannot believe it took me over a week to read this book. Not only is it entirely too long to begin with, but the action was slow and I just never felt like the plot was actually going anywhere. For instance, the trial doesn't even START till about 80% and still managed to take ages. This book's strength should have been in character development, but not only did these characters come off as unlikable, I felt like I barely knew any substantive or interesting about any of them---even the alters! Even on a base level, most of the dialogue felt very stereotypical, and didn't help to give any credence to the fact that these were supposed to be 'real' and separate personalities. I also think not having the alters themselves (rather than side characters) function as narrators was a fairly basic missed opportunity. While I didn't necessarily predict the outcome, I wasn't at all surprised by it either and didn't feel I had been properly tricked on any level. There is also an entirely unnecessary and cheesy epilogue that comes out of left field, just to put a cap on my overall disappointment.

While this premise had unlimited potential, this novel didn't live up to it on any level for me personally and I can't say the juice was worth the squeeze in this instance. I do appreciate Palmer's attention to detail and the research that went into this book, however, and hopefully his next book will give me the sort of satisfied feeling I had at the end of The New Husband.

3 ⭐

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin's Press for this compelling and puzzling psychological thriller. At its centre is a teenaged girl, Penny. She is believed to have a rare mental condition, Disassociative Identity Disorder. (DID). This was formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder that became known to the general public through two movies, 'The Three Faces of Eve'(the 1950s) and 'Sybil'(the 1970's). There is still much unknown about the disorder and its cure that involves the integration of the separate personalities.

Penny was adopted at an early age by Grace and Arthur who happily welcomed her into a loving, caring family with their two sons. Her mother was a drug addict and her father was unknown. It was assumed the child suffered from a traumatic experience before being found abandoned in a park. Several years after her adoption, Penny began to demonstrate mental problems when three other personalities began to emerge, (Eve, Ruby and Chloe).

She was arrested for a frenzied, brutal murder and found drenched in blood and holding the murder weapon. She was imprisoned in a locked ward in the State Psychiatric Hospital while awaiting trial. Grace is loving and fiercely protective of her daughter. She is determined to have her found not guilty of the horrific murder.

There is much controversy about her diagnosis. The prosecution would like to claim that the girl is a psychopath and is lying about her DID. She was first diagnosed by the hospital psychiatrist as having a borderline personality disorder. Grace wants the new psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh, to prove she has DID and the possibility that one of her alternate personas committed the murder while Penny was unaware and unable to tell right from wrong. This would make her not guilty by reason of insanity. The possibility of a sudden psychotic break was also explored. Dr. Mitch is very cautious, sympathetic and methodical in his assessment of Penny and in no rush to make a final diagnosis. He has his own problems with his troubled son.

There are many twists, turns and shocking surprises when the shy, introverted Penny must testify in court. This was a tense, suspenseful and mystifying story with a complex, well-researched plot.

[Terrie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Perfect Daughter" by D.J. Palmer is a Psychological Thriller.

Grace and Arthur Francone adopted Penny when she was four years old. Grace found Penny abandoned and crying in a park. Grace had always dreamed of having a daughter and with a mission to make it work, Penny was welcomed with open arms not only by her new parents, but by Ryan and Jack, her two brothers, as well.

Life for this family became very interesting with the addition of Penny. Over the top interesting!

At sixteen years old, Penny is found in her birth mothers apartment covered in blood, a knife in her hand, her birth mother dead. It's obvious that Penny is the murderer and she's arrested at the scene.

Psychiatrist, Mitch McHugh is assigned to observe and diagnose Penny while she is held in a high security state psychiatric hospital pending trial. Did I mention Penny has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)? Multiple personalities? Which one is the murderer? Grace is convinced it may be someone else...

Psychological Thriller is not my preferred genre. I've tried over and over again to love them. But, I just know there is one out there with my name on it. One I would eventually connect with. After so many attempts, I'm due a winner! Right?

Truth is, folks, I was fooled again! Yes, I wanted to keep reading it the further I was into it. I was drawn in by the "whodunit" suspense that continued through the story. The ending was twisty and I felt satisfied. Yes, everything felt pretty good!

Then, after I took time to reflect and gather my thoughts, something changed for me. Jotting down my notes, I realized I disliked more about this story than I liked! Ouch!

- I wanted more meaningful background on Penny growing up. Not just snippets.
- There was too much unnecessary personal information about Dr. Mitch. Way. Too. Much.
- I wanted more interaction between Dr. Mitch and Penny. There just wasn't enough IMHO.
- Penny wasn't the only family member who was disturbed. This family had issues.
- I'm trying to find a single character I liked. I tried. I failed. This alone is a deal breaker for me!
- The epilogue should have been about Penny, right? So, what was up with that?
- The kitty issue was very disturbing. Period. The end.

I could go on....but I won't. I thought I liked it...but I don't. I'm not giving up on Thriller's because I just know that one marked for me is still out there somewhere and I'm determined to find it!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and D.J. Palmer for a free ARC of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny Francone, age sixteen, is a murderer. Least that is what the police, media, and just about everyone believes. How could they not? She was found next to the victim holding a knife covered in her blood. Penny stands accused of killing her birth mother Rachel, who abandoned her as a small child. The question is which alter killed her? Penny has multiple personality disorder, or does she? Awaiting trial locked away in a secured hospital, the truth is waiting for someone to find it.

Whew, that reveal knocked me off my feet. No way I would have seen that coming! About the time I had a clue, it was too late, and I was locked in on what was happening. I kept going back and forth if Penny was faking or not. I couldn't make up my mind. Recommend!

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story about Penny, who is arrested at the beginning of the book. She's covered in blood, holding a knife, and her birth mother is lying dead at her feet. It's an open and shut case, or is it? Penny suffers from DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and is remanded to criminal mental hospital while she awaits trial. Her adoptive mother, Grace, believes that Penny is innocent and sets out to prove it.

In general, I cannot stand books that use DID as an explanation for committing murder. I feel like it's usually lazy writing--can't figure out who to blame? Just blame it on another personality. This book, on the other hand, actually handles the diagnosis in a believable and thoughtful way. Whether you believe that DID is a true diagnosis or not, this book gives both sides and provides some astute observations about it.

Now to the actual story. I alternated between the audio book and the print copy, and both provided a great experience. I will give a bit of an edge to the audio book because the chapters are narrated mostly by January LaVoy (love her narration!) and occasionally switches to Dan Bittner, who gives Jack's (Penny's brother) first person point of view. When I was reading on the page, it wasn't always clear when we were switching to Jack's POV and I had to go back and start some chapters over once I figured it out.

When everything came together it was kind of an "a-ha" moment. It's not difficult to figure out, but it does come as a surprise nonetheless. I liked how the author tied things together in the end and explained clues that were left along the way. I really didn't like Grace as a main character. Some of the things she does are annoying, hysterical, and reckless and didn't seem realistic, thus my grade down a half star.

Overall I did like this mystery/thriller and recommend it. It was a very fast read/listen for me, if you like audio books this one is a winner in that format.

I voluntarily reviewed both the audio and print versions of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When sixteen year old Penny Francone is found holding a bloody knife, covered in blood and standing over the body of a dead woman she is arrested for murder. Penny claims to not remember what happened and while her adoptive parents are convinced that she couldn't kill anyone, they are concerned that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID) and one of her other personalities could know what happened. Penny is sent to a psychiatric hospital while awaiting trial where she is seen by a doctor, Mitch McHugh, experienced with DID patients. He will need to decide if Penny is truly suffering from DID or is a psychopath who is very good at fooling everyone, as the Prosecution will claim in court.

This is a very twisty psychological thriller. The author has researched the current thinking on DID and produced a realistic and plausible scenario where Penny's alters serve different purposes in her personality, with one being dominant and protective of the others. Penny's mother Grace is brilliant at supporting her daughter and assisting her lawyer and doctor in trying to unravel her condition. Her brother Jack, a film student making a film about Penny's case is also supportive and working in the background to find out more of Penny's history before her adoption. The climax of the novel is shocking as secrets and lies come tumbling out with a surprising twist making for very addictive reading! 4.5★

With many thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy to read

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture this......

In most mystery thrillers when a murder is committed, you have a finger span of suspects most likely to have motive and opportunity. Through the process of elimination, the guilty are spotlighted and they usually trip up and stumble along the way. Many become overconfident and let their guard down. Handcuffs, please.


In The Perfect Daughter that whole array of suspects is there......only they all reside inside the same person. Let's back up a moment, shall we?

Grace Francone and her husband, Arthur, own a pizzeria in Lynn, Massachusetts. They have two young sons, Ryan and Jack. Between the business and her family, Grace is kept on a tight schedule. She's in the local park with Ryan when it begins to rain. Out of the corner of her eye, Grace spots a little girl. There's no one else in the park. Grace calls the authorities and the little one is taken to the hospital. The child is confused and offers no clues as to who she is. No one reports a missing child to her description. In time Grace convinces Arthur that they were destined to adopt this child.
And so she becomes Penny, the daughter that they've always wanted. Perhaps.....

By the time Penny is thirteen years old, she is diagnosed with possible DID (Disassociative Identity Disorder). Previously, it was known as multiple personalities. A definitive diagnosis is not always possible. But even with its challenges, Penny becomes part of the family.

But one fateful night, Grace receives a phone call. Penny has been charged with murder. She was covered in blood still holding the weapon. The entire family is torn apart. Grace, now a recent widow, believes that Penny is not capable of murder. But, oh my, one cannot deny the heavy evidence against her.

The majority of this story takes place in a psychiatric clinic where Penny is taken after the crime. The Perfect Daughter veers away from a police procedural. D. J. Palmer has done an indepth study of this condition as well as today's approach to mental illness. We'll see how physicians differ in diagnosing and treating mental illness. But how does one sort through so many alters to lock into what actually happened that night?

The Perfect Daughter contains a very clever and creative storyline. Not all the characters are likeable or, moreso, tolerable. And then there's the believability factor that leans in and whispers: "Are you really buyin' that?" But plow forward. The ending must be swallowed with a giant glass of Pinot Grigio. Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda been far better without a trip into the high weeds. But alas, a 3.5 kicked up to 4 Stars. Mark it down for your TBR. It's worth the bumpy ride.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to D.J. Palmer for the opportunity.

[Melissa ~ Bantering Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those of us who review advance copies of books, we all have a title or two sitting on our NetGalley shelf that we don’t really want to read, knowing we requested it in a moment of poor bookish judgment. D.J. Palmer’s The Perfect Daughter is that book for me, along with one other that shall remain nameless until I actually get around to it.

And for the most part, I got exactly what I expected from a Palmer thriller – maybe a bit more. His story about a teenage girl accused of murder while suffering from multiple personality disorder is quite engaging and entertaining. Palmer tripped me up with a few twists, and – surprise, surprise – I was very wrong about the whodunit.

But the book loses points for the brutal scene with the cat. I’m not one to hold animal violence against an author, but this scene is so graphic and filled with suffering that I couldn’t take it. Skim reading didn’t even help. (Note to authors: if you’re going to kill an animal in your story, make it quick and as painless as possible.)

So three stars seems a fair rating for The Perfect Daughter, though had it not been for the kitty death I may have leaned towards four. Consider your knuckles rapped, Mr. Palmer.


My sincerest appreciation to D.J. Palmer, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my mind it was the perfect situation and she was the perfect daughter. And I don't mean to imply that she never did anything wrong or gave us difficulties, even before her mental health crisis. None of us are perfect, but she was perfect for me. That's what I'm trying to say here.

All the stars to D.J. Palmer for once again delivering a domestic suspense novel with insights into mental illness. It's a bit like reading Lisa Genova. You get an engaging fictional story with a side of insight into life with--in this case--dissociative identity disorder. The psychology of drug abuse is also addressed to a lesser degree. I was pulled in on the first page when Grace is visited by the police and told her daughter (Penny) has been found covered in blood at the scene of a homicide. Due to Penny's DID, she is sent to the mental institution that is partnering with the prison. New doctor Mitch McHugh comes on staff just in time to help try to unravel how many alters Penny really has and whether any of them can reveal what happened the night of the murder. Most of the narrative focuses on the efforts to prepare for trial with Grace moving heaven and earth to keep Penny from being found guilty. There are also intermittent chapters from the perspective of big brother Jack and his plans to film a documentary that will help make a case for Penny to be free. Fascinating and heartbreaking with some fantastic twists and turns. I loved it!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This DJ Palmer book started off with a bang and never let up. We are introduced to Penny when the police find her covered in blood holding a knife, standing over her birth mother who has just been brutally murdered. Much of the novel is from the POV of Penny’s adoptive mother Grace, who found Penny in a park when she was a little girl and later adopted her. Penny suffers from dissociative disorder, and the novel is part mental health facility psychological thriller, part legal thriller as readers try to piece together what really happened that night from Penny’s alters—Eve, Chloe and Ruby—in the weeks leading up to her trial. But does Penny truly have DID, a diagnosis that has split the psychiatric community, with half claiming it doesn’t exist, or is something else at play? All the DJ Palmer books I’ve read have featured crazy twists at the end, and this was no exception. One of my favorite books of his that I’ve read to date!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started slowly but ended up at warp speed!

Penny Francone was found in a park when she was around four years old by her adoptive mother Grace. She did not say a word and looked so forlorn and lost that Grace’s heart just melted. She already had 2 sons - Jack and Ryan, but had always wanted a little girl. So after her birth mother, Rachel Boyd, agreed to give her up in exchange for avoiding a drug conviction and jumping through the hoops Grace and Arthur adopted the little girl whom they named Penny. Everything was fine until Penny reached adolescence and also made a new friend, Maria Descenza, who was a firebug. At that point the worried parents noticed some disturbing changes and eventually got a diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Then, when she is 16, Penny is charged with murdering her birth mother. Someone called 911 and police found Penny covered in blood, clutching the murder weapon - a nasty big knife! She is sent to a secure psychiatric facility to await trial. Grace can’t believe her sweet daughter Penny could have done such a thing but she is up against her history with Maria and the fact that they came up with plans to kill people, including Rachel Boyd. Grace is convinced all that trouble is the work of Eve, one of Penny’s alters and sets about finding a lawyer and putting together a defence of insanity. A new doctor at the facility, Dr Mitch McHugh, gives Grace hope as he is at least open to the idea of DID although he needs a lot more time to reach a firm conclusion.

You know that click bait you see online - “you won’t believe what happens next!” That’s this book. Let’s be honest, the start is really quite slow but from the halfway point the puzzle pieces start to come together and by the time we get to the court case things are very interesting and move at lightning speed. Still, that slow start set the scene for what was to come and is necessary for the story. The author did a great job describing DID and it’s effects in a very sympathetic and compassionate manner. Was it all accurate? I have no idea but it certainly sounded plausible to me. I was very invested in the character of Penny/Eve/Ruby/Chloe, well the whole family really because they were so ordinary. They weren’t wealthy or intellectual or gorgeous. They were so very ordinary and I could really relate to them and their struggles. And I did find the whole story very interesting and in the end I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and D.J. Palmer for providing a copy to review. My opinions are my own.

A trigger warning for animal lovers, there is one nasty incident involving a cat

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Grace returns home to find her daughter, Penny along with the car of missing. Penny is a teenager so initially Grace chalks it up to her teen taking the car without permission. Shortly, thereafter there is a knock on the door. The knock that changes everything. She is told her daughter is at the police station having been arrested - the charge: MURDER.

Thus begins the tale, as the book progresses, we learn that Penny is diagnosed with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Grace and her husband, Arthur, adopted Penny after Grace found Penny abandoned in a park. They know little about her life before Grace found Penny as she would not speak or share what happened to her.

Now, Grace is fighting to help her daughter in any way that she can. But it is not an easy case as Penny's alters emerge. Could one of them hold the truth to what happened that night?

There are plenty of twists and turns and the most interesting ones come at the end (as they tend to do) which ties everything up. Perhaps too neatly? Decide for yourself. Readers will get the answers. Will you have seen the ending coming? I did see one reveal coming - I have limited experience with DID on a professional level, add that with being an avid reader of mystery/suspense/thriller books, which led me to think "hmmm.... I wonder if......."

For me, the book started off interesting as we learn of Penny's arrest, and we begin to slowly be introduced to her diagnosis, and how she became a member of their family. But along the way the pace slows down, and it tends to just hoover a little before picking up quite nicely at the end. Although I enjoyed the ending, you must suspend some disbelief. Some will have to suspend a lot of belief.

Plus, if you are not familiar with DID, this book does give a description to what is a widely debated and polarizing diagnosis in the Mental Health field.


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️5 Stars⭐️
Wow!!! Super impressive, this superbly written thriller was compelling reading, edgy and gripping.

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer is a psychological thriller that explores the truth behind a horrific murder.

Thirteen years ago Grace Francone promised her son Jack a quick stop at the playground as it was beginning to rain. To her shock she came across a wailing child who was standing alone, rain-soaked and shivering. The child was around four, there were no parents in sight and after scanning the area it appeared deserted. Who would desert a child? Grace called the police, an ambulance soon arrived and Grace accompanied them to the hospital. Fast forward a few months later and the child was to be adopted by Grace and her family, a miracle daughter they called Penny!

As Penny grew older, some of her actions became disturbing as she developed different personalities known as dissociative identity disorder (DID).

Penny now a sixteen-year-old has been arrested for murder, she’s bathed in blood and holding the bloodstained murder weapon. Penny looks guilty beyond doubt but can’t remember a thing. Is she playing them along or is she innocent?

Grace believes her teenage daughter is innocent and is determined to prove it. Dr Mitchell McHugh a doctor at the state mental hospital where she is being held awaiting trial, helps Grace as they set out to find the truth.

The characters were lifelike and relatable. I found this story fascinating, it was an intriguing insight into a complex medical condition.

This book won’t disappoint, highly recommended read for thriller fans!

I wish to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Perfect Daughter is a twisty thriller that is heart wrenching, compelling and pulled me in immediately. Is Penny guilty of a unspeakable crime, or is one of her many alters responsible? Does Penny actually have D.I.D., or is she a skilled actress trying to get away with murder? Is she ill or evil? This character driven thriller broke my heart and intrigued me simultaneously. My heart went out to Grace. Seeking justice for her daughter leads Grace into dangerous territory. Is it possible to both love and fear someone close to your heart? The ending was shocking and surprising! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.