The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
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Is she Penny? Is she Eve? Or is she lying?
This book drew me in really quickly from the beginning. A teenage girl charged with first degree murder, but she has Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personalities) so the case is much more complicated. This story flips back and forth between a few characters but the two main POVs are Grace, the mom of the alleged murderer, and Dr. Mitch, the accused’s new psychiatrist.
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I really enjoyed this book! I figured from the beginning there would be one of two endings....and the ending still wound up surprising me! I kind of can’t believe I didn’t see it coming! 😅😅
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If you love psychological thrillers, then I definitely can recommend this one! It will be available 4/20/21.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and thank you Netgalley for this digital copy to read.

D.J Palmer’s book threw me back to my old school Soap Opera days, and I mean that in the best way!

I will share the link to my review when it goes live on FreshFiction.com.

#FirstLine ~ At thirty minutes past eight o'clock, red and blue strobe lights lit up the sky outside Grace Francone's modest Cape house with the frenzy of fireworks display.

I loved this book, like REALLY loved it. I was entranced, fascinated and fully engrossed from the first page. I loved the slow burn of this book. It gave information in such a smooth way. There are lots of twists and lots of turns and a few major bombshells, that left me satisficed and surprised. I would say that this was one of my favorite books in this genre. The premise and topic was so interesting and something that made this book an one-of-a-kind hit in my mind. a MUST read and I book I HIGHLY recommend!!!

Loved it!!! I would give it 4.5 stars. I was hooked from the very start. There was a murder, a teen with multiple personality disorder and a mother who would do anything to prove her daughter is innocent. I found Penny's character so interesting and of course all her multiple personalities. Would have never guessed the ending. I was a completely surprised during the court hearing. The Epilogue was my least favorite part. I would have rather learned what was going on with Grace and her family rather than Mitch and Adam. Ryan was my least favorite in the book. I really don't know why he didn't come forward with his information. He blamed Penny for everything that happened to his family.

Definitely recommend the book. I loved the characters, story and writing style. It was a great mystery/thriller with so many twists and turns. Look forward t reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

D.J. Palmer has done it again! “The Perfect Daughter” grabs you from the very first chapter and doesn’t let go until the end of the story. We meet Penny Francone covered in blood, holding a knife next to the dead body of her birth mother. Penny was abandoned at the age of four, apparently abused by her bio mom, and therefore appears to have the perfect motive. At the police station, Penny insists that she be addressed as “Eve.” Why? Well, Penny has Dissociative Identity Disorder… what used to be referred to as multiple personalities. It turns out Penny isn’t alone inside her head… she has several other pieces of her identity (aka her “alters”) to keep her company and compartmentalize her childhood trauma. Did one of these alters that commit murder, or was it someone else entirely?

This taut, fast-paced medical thriller kept me on the edge of my seat. I’ve long been a fan of stories about multiple personalities, and this one did not disappoint. Each of Penny’s alters is very well written with a distinct voice, and the other characters are very compelling as well, especially Penny’s adoptive mother Grace. As a mother myself, I could identify with Grace’s desire to do whatever it took to try to get to the bottom of the situation, desperately hoping to exonerate Penny.

I deducted a star because I thought the Dr. Mitch storyline was a distraction and irrelevant to the novel as a whole. There are plenty of characters central to the plot, especially with all of Penny’s alters. Dr. Mitch’s personal drama wasn’t really necessary and didn’t add anything to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This was a great thriller! Constantly kept me on the edge of my seat and I liked learning about Penny's personality disorder. I definitely didn't see the twist or ending coming 😦. I took off a star or so because I felt like I could have done without jacks film chapters of the book. I didn't feel like it really added any substance to the story.

I wanted to like this one so much because I have loved everything else by this author but I just wasn't able to stay interested in this one. The premise of it sounded really good and there were some surprises that I didn't quite see coming but overall it definitely was not my favorite. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this for my honest review.

Very interesting! I finished The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer yesterday morning and I had to let it sit with me for a while before I could write the review. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. If you know me, you know I like anything with medical cases and I love legal mysteries. So, right off the bat I had two of my favorites in one book!

Penny is an adopted daughter who was found in a park and has developed multiple personalities known today as DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). She has been accused of murdering her biological mother. About 75% of the book was background and trying to find out which one of the personalities committed the murder. The last part was the court trial and the huge surprise ending. I can tell you I didn't see that one coming at me!

There were some gnarly people in this book. I loved several of the characters and hated what they were going through. For some reason, I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I didn't have the connection with the characters like I thought I would. Maybe it was the DID that actually made me stand back.

This story will pull at your heartstrings and it was a good read. I read The New Husband by Mr. Palmer and I will have to say they are nothing alike. If you like a story like this, take a chance on The Perfect Daughter.

I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher and Netgalley for a fair and honest review. Thank you!

I discovered this author through his earlier works when I found The New Husband in a Little Free Library. I love how his writing keeps me on the edge of my seat throughout the book, and The Perfect Daughter was no different.

This book is a perfect example of what a psychological thriller is supposed to look like. I had goose bumps and anxiety....I lost sleep because I was too SCARED to sleep, convinced I would hear something going "bump" during the night. You think you get the story all figured out, then you find out you're wrong. There are so many lessons you'll learn while reading this book, so many emotions you'll experience from heartbreak to triumph and back again. This is going down as one of my favorite books of the year...I can already tell.

This book was, pardon the pun, insane in the best way possible. I read it in one sitting and didn't even put it down to eat - just ate my dinner, kindle in hand. It kept my attention the whole way through and I was extremely tense as I raced through the book, trying to figure out who committed the murder Penny/Eve/Ruby/etc was being accused of. I knew it couldn't be our main character, because that would be too easy...right?

I really enjoyed reading The Perfect Daughter. I love thrillers and murder mysteries and medical fiction, and this book took those categories, shook them together like they were dice, and threw a good throw. I didn't figure out the answers until right before it was revealed, and even then I was thinking, "no. No way. It can't be...can it?" And I was right after all and not disappointed by the revelation in the slightest. In the end it all got figured out and I was left feeling completely satisfied and totally ready for Palmer's next book. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because it was just so damn good. Brava!

I couldn’t get into this book and found it a bit disturbing from the start. I have enjoyed other titles from this author but just couldn’t relate to this one.

My goodness this was a cleverly crafted plot and kept me riveted to the pages. Nothing was as I thought it was and I am still not over the explosive ending. I highly recommend.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Penny was found in the park when she was four years old by her adopted mom, Grace. Grace loves Penny as her own child. As Penny grows, they notice Penny has multiple personalities. This makes Grace have to give Penny even more attention which takes time away from her other children, Jack and Ryan.

Grace receives a call stating her daughter has been arrested for murder but Penny doesn't remember anything. All proof points straight to her so they hire an attorney to help prove Penny get off being charged for murder. The first thing to prove is she has DID. Penny herself did not murder her birth mom but one her her personalities did. They know nothing of Pennys life before joining their family. Is Grace crazy for taking the chance of losing everything to defend her daughter?

I really enjoyed this read. Of course I knew I would since its written by DJ Palmer. His work is always a treat !

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my own opinion.

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer is a suspenseful thriller about multiple personalities(or Dissociative Identity Disorder).I don’t usually love this in a suspenseful mystery story -- the idea of multiple personalities is frequently used as a really forced reveal in thrillers. OH NO! The sweet innocent girl had an evil side! Ugh, no, thanks.

It works here because everyone already knew that teenage Penny had DID when the story began. Instead of asking questions about whether Penny could have an alternate, the book asks interesting questions of mental health and responsibility, about nature and nurture. The evil here is less about scary multiples (although some of the switches are a bit creepy) and more about dark secrets in a typical working-class town.

Also, the familiar Massachusetts locations really worked to ground this wild story in reality.

Did a young teen brutally kill her birth mother?
Did one of the girl's alter's commit the crime?
Or is another person altogether responsible?
That is the mystery that is the focus of this thriller.

What we do know:
Penny Francone was found in her birth mother's home, Rachel Boyd, covered in blood.
Penny supposedly has DID, dissociative identity disorder.
Penny is currently at Edgewater State Hospital, awaiting the murder trial.
Penny's mom will do anything to prove her daughter's innocence.

Penny has three alters that we know of - Eve, Chloe and Ruby. Based on Eve's behavior alone, it was hard to warm up to Penny's character. And I always had my doubts about her. But lucky for her mother, I'm not the one judging her case.

There is no doubt that Grace Francone, Penny's adoptive mother, is the heart of this story. She puts everything on the line for her daughter, despite the overwhelming evidence against her. And she forms a strong ally, Dr. Mitchell McHugh, Penny's new doctor at Edgewater. McHugh not only humors Grace's constant pressure, but looks at Penny's case with an open mind, not forming preconceived notions about her guilt. Together, these two change the course of the story and give Penny a fighting chance in court.

Most of the book is preparation for the trial itself, so we only get about 15% of the story focused on that turning point of the story. I thought some of the new evidence was a little over the top and how things played out, not entirely realistic. But it made for a dramatic ending.

This isn't the first thriller I've read with multiple personalities, but the author did a good job of taking a fresh approach to the story, so it wasn't predictable. Overall, a fast paced and fairly intense thriller.

I did NOT see that ending coming! Wow! What a ride! Penny Francone is a 16 year old girl who stands accused of murder. But was it really her? Or was it Eve? Or Ruby? Or Chloe? Does it matter who did it? All four are one person. Penny suffers from DID, Dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder..
I could NOT put this book down! Absolutely fantastic! Twists, turns and a mind blowing ending. Bonus: I learned A LOT about DID! Thank you so much!

D.J.Palmer has yet another excellent book on his hands. I was a bit hesitant on this one because of the dissociative identity disorder storyline which I seldom like - if not done well these storylines can become a bit confusing. Not a problem here though- it was written very well. I was really surprised at the ending in this one - I never saw that coming. Even as Grace was figuring it out I was still not getting it! This will be my third book to love by this author! Can't wait to see what he writes next.

Wow! I loved this book. Penny has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) which you may know as multiple personalities. Penny is arrested for killing her birth mother. She or one of her alters may or may not have committed the crime. I didn't know much about DID prior to reading this and found the disorder quite interesting. And best of all I did not see the end coming! This rarely happens for me. Fantastic characters and journey to the truth. Well Done.

Thanks to netgalley, D.J. Palmer and St. Martins press for the fantastic arc.