3.5⭐ - I liked the premise of this better than the execution, It was interesting at times and dragged at others, and while I enjoyed the multiple POVs, I just wanted to feel a little more engaged in the story than I was.

initial thoughts: just okay.

while the premise of this book had me intrigued, the execution was lackluster. for me, what didn’t work: the plot moved extremely slow, the “twist” at the end was not surprising, and the epilogue at the end seemed very out of left field.

I read this slowly, a chapter each night in bed, and towards the end I just wanted it to be over with.

a big thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. while this wasn’t for me (and I’m in the minority, I know), I’ll definitely pick up D.J. Palmer’s future books.

Loved this book. I have never read anything like it before. I was constantly wanting to know more. A mother love is so strong, despite being blood related or not.

Fun thriller with well developed characters! Loved this author’s writing style and I’m dying to read what else this author will provide in the future.

Thank you St.Martins Press for this gifted copy.

I gave this book 4 stars

This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will leave you guessing until the big reveal! I really loved this book but when the final twist/reveal came out I was a bit disappointed. Other than that I was glued to this book. I do enjoy D.J Palmers writting style. It's very easy to get wrapped up in authors books

Well this one was interesting!

The Perfect Daughter centers around a young teenager named Penny who has a multiple personalities disorder. The story is told from the point of views of Grace, Penny’s mom, Jack, Penny’s brother, and Penny’s doctor. Penny was found at the scene of a murder, but claims she doesn’t remember anything.

I was utterly fascinated by the multiple personalities disorder and ended up falling down the rabbit hole of Google to read more about it. This is the type of mystery thriller where you don’t know what to believe, especially because of Penny is such an unreliable character. It is disturbing and twisted, but I was enthralled and very entertained the whole time.

I read and listened to this one and I have to say the audiobook was very well done. The various narrators were fantastic and they added to the overall creepy vibe! Highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies!

Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

Sorry I just got to finish this book because…life. I really enjoy this author so wasn’t disappointed with this book. I found the subject matter interesting and felt a good job was done in developing the story.

This was a brave move by the author to take on DID, the dissasociative identity disorder, a condition that fascinates me!
While an interesting premise, a girl gets found next to a body with a knife in her hand. Slam dunk, one might think?
Maybe not!
This was executed pretty well, but I had higher hopes from reading the blurb, and the second half fell rather flat and I wasn't as excited to pick the book up again.

What do you do when you child is on trial for murder? Penny is guilty. She was found in a victims home covered in blood. Her mother Grace is working with the psychiatrist determining whether she will be sentenced to a mental hospital or prison. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing!. I really enjoyed this read.

For most of this book, I would have considered a higher rating but unfortunately for me the denouement at the end was unbelievable. The psychology and context around DID (disassociative identity disorder) was absolutely fascinating- I was unaware that there is a great deal of controversy around whether the condition actually exists. I felt sorry for the family dragged into this story through compassion and love. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I always enjoy DJ Palmer's books. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even if you think you have it all figured out, there's always something at the end to shock you. I would definitely recommend this book, and all other books by DJ Palmer as well. He is a great mystery & thriller writer!

Reading this book made me think that I should probably read some nonfiction about DID, formerly known as multiple personalities, because the novels I read featuring this disorder all seem so contrived and over the top. Maybe it’s actually these books that have it right, with each different “alter” seeming more like a cliche of a personality, and I’m the one who doesn’t have a clue? Anyhow...
Throughout most of the story, I was thinking I’d give it three stars. It was entertaining enough, even though there were things that bugged me, like:
1. see above
2. the way characters would give long, Scooby Doo explanations that were unnecessary, I assume as a way for the author to over explain things to us dense readers
However, the last quarter of the book, specifically the courtroom part, got so preposterous that I had no choice but to drop a star. I mean, it was baaad. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this ARC of #theperfectdaughter in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent read! Very suspenseful & informative! Would rate as 10 in 1-10 rating. Highly recommend. Love D.J. Palmer!

This is an amazing book that you don't want to miss ! Twists and turns when you least expect it ! Suspense like you've never known will keep you glued to this book until the last page is read. It simply won't let you go ! To say it's good doesn't seem adequate. It's so much more than that. Go grab a copy and find out for yourself.

If you like thrillers, then this book is a must read! The characters are believable, the storyline flows, and there many twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the book.

Wow! Mr. Palmer did it again. The characters were well developed and the story kept me on the edge of my seat. I never knew what was going to happen until the end when everything was revealed. Great book as always.

D.J. Palmer delivers again with another unique story that keeps you guessing from beginning to end! Through each of DJ Palmer's books, he as a deep skill in character and story development and "The Perfect Daughter" is no exception. "Penny", her family and the rest of the characters truly meld together to give you a perfect visual into what they are living, thinking and feeling. It is very evident that he has spent the time researching Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in his preparation for this book. You can truly see all of "Penny" and how her personalities work together to protect her from the world around her and he writes so you can believe every piece of "Penny" too.

This murder mystery is an extremely unique take on the traditional "who-done-it?". It takes the reader on an up and down roller coaster, much like those that "Ruby" enjoys. And when the answer is revealed, my jaw hit the floor.

"Penny" Francone was adopted by a wonderfully loving family who took her in and gave her a wonderful childhood filled with so much love, but her childhood was not without significant loss. To top it off, when someone from her past is murdered, does she have blood on her hands? She may not know the truth, but do any of her alternate personalities? Her adoptive mother, and the only mother "Penny" has ever known, truly believes her daughter didn't do it and is willing to give everything she has to find the killer!

I was rooting for "Penny" the whole way through and her mom, Grace, had me wanted to get in the car with her tracking down leads all over town too! Add in Dr. Mitch and all of his personal struggles and I'm all in with these characters and this story!

A thriller of epic proportions. At first I was unsure whether this was a book for me.I kept reading and I’m sure glad I did. A rocky beginning to life, multiple personalities, things spiraling out of control. Every page was something new, a fast paced story for sure. I never saw the ending happening the way it did, Great read!

Overall, This is a good read. The story moved along at a slower pace, but I still couldn’t put the book down. The characters are well written, but I felt the transitions between points of view were really hard to keep up with, so I found myself skimming the pages rather than reading every word a few times.

For that reason I rated this book 3 stars.

The storyline is intriguing, however I feel that the number of pov’s in the book on top of the alters of Penny took a lot away from the story.

This book centers around a girl who is abandoned, then adopted by the woman who finds her in the park and later diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. She is accused of murdering her biological mother but has no memory of what happened. Her adoptive mother won’t stop until she finds out what happened that night.

The story really started to pick up in the last 2-3 chapters during the trial. And the plot twist was definitely one that smacked me in the face, but it still wasn’t enough to redeem the slow pace and dragging details that had me skimming the pages instead of being engrossed in them.