DJ Palmer's latest follows the story of Grace the mother of Penny, a teenage girl diagnosed with mulitple personality order who is about to stand trial for the murder of her birth mom. It is told from the viewpoints of Grace the mother, Jack her son/Penny's brother, and Penny's new psychologist.

This was a fast-paced page turner and fun for what it is. One of those you have to extend a bit of disbelief for some of the far fetched actions. But it was interesting, held my attention, and kept me entertained and guessing through out. This satisfied my thriller craving and had an original plot. If you enjoyed the New Husband, check this one out as I thought the Perfect Daughter was an improved follow up.

***Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, but I don't feel it was DJ Palmer's best work, I was that happy with the ending because it really didn't fit that well with the story line, and to bring the doctors son into it , when it had nothing to do with the true story. Hoping his next book will be better written.

Author D. J Palmer returns following The Perfect Husband (2020) and Saving Megan (2019) with his most intense and gripping domestic suspense yet —THE PERFECT DAUGHTER.

"Emotionally explosive, fast-paced, action-packed, and haunting. Palmer is at the top of his game!

Cleverly plotted, a twisty, multi-layered complex psychological thriller on steroids, with an explosive heart-pounding and jaw-dropping court scene—when all is revealed. My mouth is still hanging open. You may have to go back and re-read when you get to this part. Trust me, it is, “award-winning” and you will not see this coming!

Truly EPIC, Mr. Palmer.

If you are looking for a unique thriller that stands apart from the rest, this is the one! Now let’s get into the details.

Set in Swampscott, MA, an average family, which turns into anything but ordinary. Parents Grace and Arthur Francone live in the suburbs and have two sons, Jack and Ryan. Grace always wanted a girl. One day at the park, her wish came true.

She discovers a poor little girl alone in the park, hiding. Her parents, nowhere in sight. Being the good mother, Grace, of course, calls the authorities and stays connected to the case. Finally leading to adoption.

Penny was only four years old, and they did not know the sort of mental illness that existed until much later. She was around twelve or thirteen when she started taking on different personalities.

As the book opens, Penny (the name they gave her) is now sixteen-years-old and has been arrested for murder. The person that has been murdered is the biological birth mother, Rachel Boyd. The police believe it a homicide.

There is a history here, and Palmer provides all the details filling in the blanks from the time they found Penny until today.

Penny has DID, Dissociative identity disorder. We will find out just how complex this is for family, legal, and medical.

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

Which personality murdered the mother and why? Or was it someone else?

Penny does not speak. However, to help save her, her mother is very protective, and now she must hire a criminal defense attorney and try and find a doctor specializing in this condition. An attorney falls into her lap.

However, one of Penny’s friends is very dark – Maria and very manipulative when looking over the past. There is a lot of evidence that does not help her case from the past with violent fantasies the girls secretly shared with a hit list of targets and murder.

Back then, Penny’s psychiatrist came to the rescue but now murder. One of those targets happened to be Ryan (the other son), who had difficulty with his sister and Rachel Boyd was the other.

How much trauma did Penny actually experience before coming to live with her adopted family? This time she has a bloodstained knife in her hand but has blacked out the events with no memory. Real or fake?

Grace, the mom is tenacious and does not believe Penny is a murderer. She must find a professional who can work with her to prove this. However, they can never get to speak to Penny. She is always turning into another personality to guard her. Time is running out before going to trial. Greg Navarro was hired as the attorney. Penny’s brothers Jack and Ryan attend college in Boston.

Were the personalities really a psychopath inventing alternate characters to justify and explain away the crimes and this time murder? Is she playing them? Is she damaged or deranged?

With her alters taken over and locked up in Edgewater State Hospital, which less a healthcare facility and more housing for the criminally insane. They must seek a competent a psychiatrist who can get through to her.

There are hints that someone else was there. There are many clues if they can put them together to help re-enact that night to bring back Penny to determine what happened. She is in a fugue state. Penny has no memory of how she had come to be at the hospital.

There is the bad shrink, and also one of the brothers is acting weird, and many red herrings having readers suspecting everyone. Jack, the film student, seems to be helping but not Ryan, who is acting weird.

The family pizza restaurant is failing and there are money problems. Ryan drops out of college. The husband dies (suspicions there), and now all of this is left on Grace to bear the burden. Jack is making a film which makes it more intriguing.

A new doctor takes over the case, Dr. Mitch McHugh (adore him). He has his own tormented family past, and just maybe he can reach the real Penny to determine what happened that night. However, there are behind the scene forces, clues, and faint memories. As the book moves on with more twists than the Pacific Hwy, we arrive at the explosive court scene.

Will, they put Penny on the stand, and what if one of her personalities takes over? It could hurt the case. What comes next will have your head spinning and jaw-dropping! Out of nowhere, nothing is as it appears.

Wow! This was one intense and highly entertaining impeccable suspense thriller. No one does complex mental health issues mixed with domestic family drama better than Palmer. An unlikely pair of broken people come together to solve a murder.

Palmer adds a nice tie-in to the story with the doctor and his family seeking redemption. He is compassionate and determined, with his own mental problems and drug issues- son and family.

Fans of Author, Michael Robotham’s (a favorite), will enjoy this one; especially, fans of his Cyrus Haven series. THE PERFECT DAUGHTER is a perfect spring and summer read. I am hoping for a sequel or series. I want to see more of Dr. Mitch McHugh.

If you have not read D.J Palmer or Daniel Palmer, you better move them to the top of your list. Of course, this is Daniel and Michael Palmer (long-time fan) which are the BEST.

Now writing under a new name D.J., combining the best of father and son with domestic suspense combined and medical thrillers for a winning-combo. He just keeps getting better and better. His writing is stellar. Your dad would be proud! Highly recommend!

Stay tuned for my upcoming Elevator Ride with the Author where we will go behind the book’s scenes and the author on April 20th.

#JDCMustReadBooks @JudithDCollins
Top Books of 2021

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

When Grace's car has gone missing along with her 16 year old daughter, she fears the worst. That knock on the door with the police outside confirms her worst fears. Something has happened to Penny, her daughter. But it's a shocking revelation that Penny is unharmed, in fact, she has been arrested...for murder. And there's no question of Penny's guilt. She was found at the scene of the crime with the victim's blood all over her body and clothes.
But Penny has DID, or multiple personality disorder and Grace is absolutely sure that one of Penny's alters has committed this vicious crime. She hires a good attorney and the fight is on to save Penny...from herself!
Told in multiple POV's this thriller delves deep into the diagnosis of DID and how Penny came to live with Grace and her family. We learn that there may be a new alter, who might just be the key to unlock Penny's mysterious past...
At times the writing is simple and cheesy but the ride is worth it! Pick up this title as soon as you can get your hands on it!

Grace and her husband Arthur adopted Penny when she was found, as a little girl, abandoned in a nearby park.  Years later, Penny is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (sometimes referred to as "multiple personalities").  Grace is stunned one night when she there is a knock on her door and she is told 16-year-old Penny has been arrested for brutally murdering her birth mother. The evidence against her is staggering. Penny is sent to a psychiatry hospital, as she awaits trial, where she is treated by Dr. Mitchell McHugh.  As Grace fights to prove her daughter's innocence, Mitch works relentlessly to unravel the truth.  

What I Liked:  

It's always fun to read a thriller that keeps me guessing.  I had several possible scenarios running through my head as I read this. There were also a handful of characters I kept giving the side eye as I tried to piece together how they could possibly be involved in the grand reveal. And that twist!  🙌  I love a great twist, and the timing and setting involved in this one was fantastic. 

What Wasn't for Me:  

I felt like the characters were kind of written as clichés, so they never had that believability factor for me. The mystery at the heart of this book was super compelling, but not being able to connect with the characters prevented me from being as invested as I'd like to have been.  Additionally, I'm typically okay with suspending disbelief, but I must admit that certain plot points were a bit over the top for me.  

All in all, in was a compelling suspense - just one I didn't connect with as much as I would have liked. If you enjoy a twisty psychological thriller, this is one to keep in mind. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.  The Perfect Daughter is set to release on April 20th.

My rating ⭐⭐⭐💫

Holy whiplash! This mystery had me swerving left and right as I tried to figure out what was going to happen. My English teacher background still didn't prepare me for the surprise ending!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this Advanced Copy to review.
Penny was found abandoned at a park at the age of four. She was happily adopted by a woman who found her and adored her. However as years crept by her adopted mother noticed changes in Penny, drastic personality changes and she was taken to a doctor and diagnosed with DID (Dissasociative Idintity Disorder). She had multiple personalities that had different names and were accused of murdering her biological mother. Did she murder her mother while under one of her Dissasociative states? If so could she use that in her defense?
I enjoyed the read as it kept my interest even though I'm not sold on multiple personalities as described in this book. However it was a good read.
I give it 3.5 stars.

Published: April 20, 2021
St. Martin’s Press
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
384 pages

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 with his wife and two children in New Hampshire

“You play stupid games; you win stupid prizes.”

Grace is a loving, passionate, intelligent, and fierce mom. She would do anything for her children. Though, Grace had no idea just how far she would have to go to keep her daughter from being sent to prison for murder.

Holy buckets. This book takes off right away. Like lazy waves lapping the salty seashore, the build-up intensified slowly until the pressure erupts and leaves you stunned.

I enjoyed the characters in this book. They are so well developed, and all have such intense mannerisms and things that make them tick. This is clearly a very profoundly researched novel, and I feel like D.J. Palmer did justice with his handling of DID.

The twist in this book is so absolutely unexpected and will take your breath away. I did not see it coming. The build-up is so well done that you find yourself looking every which way- except the right way.

With a deeply complicated scenario and a mother’s unconditional love, this legal/medical thriller is an excellent read. I could not get through it fast enough—the twists, the turns, the epic plot twists- absolutely incredible.

Penny was found abandoned in a park as a little girl. She was taken in and adopted by Grace and her family. Through the years there were Issues with Penny and she was diagnosed as having a split personality. Grace never dreamed Penny would be accused of a brutal murder. Penny has no memory of the murder. The story addresses drug abuse and mental illness. There is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Thank you to netgalley for an advanced readers copy.

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

A laudable effort of bringing a mental health issue and addiction into a single book. The characters with all their flaws and goodness are a big asset to this heavy theme. The initial part of the book is quite slow with quite a lot of repetitions, but gets rectified in the final third. The suspense was awesome. Superb.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author D.J. Palmer and the publisher St.Martins press for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a young girl who is found abandoned in a park as a child, unable to answer any questions as to where she came from or what happened to her. She is then adopted by the family who found her that day in the park. Fast forward years later where you find out she has been diagnosed with DID (multiple personalities) and is facing murder charges, the murder victim being her biological mother. Her adopted mother is sure of her innocence and works together with her daughter’s psychologist to try to get bits and pieces of the whole story out of each one of her alters (multiple personalities) in order to try to prove her innocence.

The writing in this book was very well done, it flowed well, characters were well developed and interesting and it kept you wanting/needing to keep reading to know who was guilty.

I would rate this book 3.5/4 out of 5, some parts were a bit slow at times and I probably could have done without the backstory of the psychologist but I get the need of it to explain his deep interest in this case.

I would like to read more by this author and suggest this to anyone who enjoys psychological mysteries/thrillers.

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.

What a fascinating book! Not only was it a page turner, but it was my favorite mix - a riveting story combined with real learning from the writers extensive research. The characters were rendered colorfully, you could feel their emotions as they worked toward understanding Penny’s potentially multiple personalities in their attempts to save her from a murder charge. The story kept getting deeper and windier as the book progressed, cementing your attention and focus to make sure you don’t miss a thing. You know you’re reading a good book when thoughts of the characters and storyline invade your non-reading thoughts, I couldn’t wait to get back to it!

I really wanted to love this book, but I had some issues with it.

I think my main problem is that the story rested hard on a big reveal--one that likely would not be not be a reveal to anyone who's familiar with other books/movies about DID. While I appreciated this book's nuanced take on DID disorder, it cannot escape the shadow of other stories about the condition which all seem to have a common trope--that at the end of the story the person with DID reveals something particularly awful that happened during their childhood that ultimately caused their reality to fracture.

**SPOLIERS**

In this story, we're lead to believe that every time Penny disassociates, that's she's flashing back to the scene of the murder. But I never believed those scenes. As a result of my past media conditioning, every time she "flashed back" I simply thought, "oh, here's another flashback to her childhood." Unfortunately this made all of the "let's make her disassociate to solve the murder" adventures kind of a slog to get through (and, of course, the "These were ACTUALLY memories from her childhood" a less than thrilling reveal.)

This was shame, because I thought the murder mystery part of the story was compelling. I was indeed surprised by the final reveal of the murderer and thought the courtroom scene was well done. I thought Grace was a solid character and found Mitch's chapters interesting (although his son's drug troubles started to feel like a very large subplot.) Sadly, I really disliked the chapters from the brother's perspective, which felt like shifting perspective simply for the sake of shifting perspective.

I think perhaps this book was just not a good match for my tastes. While I'm not an expert on DID, I have read a lot of stories about it and know DID tropes well and found it ineffective when this book tried to play against those tropes.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another fabulous book not to be missed by DJ Palmer. Filled with twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat! Truly fascinating, and well researched book dealing with multiple personality disorders set in a psychiatric hospital. DJ Palmer’s writing is so rich in detail that you will be turning the pages of this book into the wee hours of the night! This is one book not to be missed!!

⚓️Penny, a teenage girl with a multiple personality disorder is charged with the horrific murder of her birth mother, Rachel.

⚓️Grace—Penny’s mom, will stop at nothing to prove that her adopted daughter is innocent. Working closely with Penny’s Attorney and Doctor, they must navigate the evidence Penny — Eve — Ruby —and Chloe present during therapy and interviews before the trial begins.

⚓️With 4 very different personalities living within one young girl, the memories of what really happened that night are a mystery they must solve to save this young girl from a life in prison.

⚓️Who killed Rachel Boyd? Is Penny innocent? Or did one of her alternate personalities kill her birth mother? Will she pay the price for murder, or is someone else responsible??

⚓️This is a fast paced psychological thriller has all of the gripping components to keep you racing to the end, and when you get there you won’t be disappointed!

⚓️The author’s writing was well researched and the character’s mental health was portrayed very realistically. The different personalities of this young girl kept me very invested in the book!

⭐️This book will be on sale April 20th, 2021. Pre-order now at your fave book spot. You are DEFINITELY going to want to add this to your TBR!!!

⭐️A special thanks to @djpalmerauthor @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me an early copy!

Another GREAT read by D.J. Palmer!
Had me sucked in from the first page!
Never saw the ending coming and that is great writing!
Will always recommend a book by D.J. Palmer and will be sure to tell others about this coming book in April! Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC and a great one at that!!

This book and every other book by DJ Palmer is a must read. The Perfect Daughter is a complex step into mental health and will be eye opening for so many people. I really enjoyed this book, a must read!

What if your daughter had a dark side?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story of a young girl arrested for a terrible crime. Her adoptive mother knows that the daughter she loves couldn't be guilty... but what if another part of her personality was? I think that books describing alternate personalities tend to get cheesy very quickly, and this book did a good job of avoiding that. The story is intriguing, and I didn't see the twist coming. Overall, an entertaining read!