This was a fast paced and 'full on' storyline. There was a lot packed into it. Very interesting from the medical/therapist side and I definitely gained a good insight into personality disorders from this book. A very enjoyable read.

Highly recommended

Thank you Netgalley.

I received an early copy of this book from St Martin's Press.

The Perfect Daughter is the third book by DJ Palmer, and I went in with no expectations after not really caring for The Perfect Husband, but really liking Saving Megan. From the first chapter it starts off with a bang. Penny, a teenager who had been diagnosed with DID, has been arrested for murder. Through it all, you meet her other alters, and start wondering what is actually the truth. Without giving too much away, this book takes a lot a turns and changes your mind on a lot of things until the end. A good read, and well done portraying a character with mental illness like DID.

"That's your mind, though, isn't it, Penny? How confusing it must be to live like that, with your thoughts and memories always shifting, like the sandcastles we loved making together on Eisman's Beach: here one minute, gone the next. Who can trust that brain of yours?"

Told from multiple perspectives, THE PERFECT DAUGHTER, follows the events leading up to a woman's brutal murder and the perplexing journey a psychiatrist must take to determine whether the accused murderer, a teen girl with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), truly has the aforementioned diagnosis or is simply a psychopath.

"Are you ill...or are you evil?"

As someone who took a psychology course in college (and by no means an expert), I loved the information on DID, mental illness, and the stigma surrounding it. It was apparent that Palmer spent time researching, and I loved the inclusion of information pertaining both to the medical community and the impact mental illness has within the home. Furthermore, because the novel had multiple narrators, the reader is provided with a glimpse into the psychiatrist's psyche, dealing with mental illness of his own. In his case, he touches upon stigma of dealing with depression as a member of the medical community, while his son fights addiction.

"I did my research, read every study on DID I could get my hands on, and every one of them said basically the same thing: that I had to embrace all of Penny's alters, even Eve, or it could be like LGBTQ kids who get shunned by their parents. Denial or rejection of any of her personalities could be a potential affront to the self."

While intriguing, I had planned to give the book three stars. That being said, even though I usually can't guess the outcome of a thriller, very rarely am I surprised by the outcome. THE PERFECT DAUGHTER's conclusion definitely shocked me, elevating the rating to four (solid) stars. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I cannot make it through this book. It’s just very dull. I was so hoping for more! It’s going on the DNF shelf for now but I will try it again at some point!

D.J. Palmer put together a great story! I was immediately hooked and wanting more. I did not see that ending coming.

This was definitely an interesting story. But it just seemed to keep going and the twist fell a little flat. It also seemed to come out of left field. A few clues sprinkled here and there, but not enough to really justify it. I enjoyed the book overall. It kept me wanting to read.

Grace adopted a daughter named Penny. Penny has multiple personalities and is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. When Penny is sixteen she takes the family car and sneaks to visit a stranger and Penny is found holding a knife and covered with the women's blood. Was it Penny or one of her other personalities or can Grace save Penny completely?

With the help of a psychiatrist who works with Penny at the facility where she is being treated, each of Penny's different personalities gives insight to things that have happened in Penny's past. Grace will work endlessly to clear Penny of murder charges or life in prison. Grace takes risks and will also try to blame innocent people to help her daughter. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Penny was adopted by Grace Francone and her husband after being found in a park at young age. Grace feels a strong connection with Penny and is overjoyed to have a daughter as part of the family. As Penny gets older, the family starts noticing odd behavior, including asking to be called by different names. The family is there to support Penny as she is diagnosed with DID (dissociative identity disorder, aka multiple personality disorder). Things take a turn for the worse at age 16 when Penny is arrested for
killing her birth mother, and now only wants to go by Eve which is her most aggressive alter ego. What happened to Penny? Could Penny’s alter personality be guilty? Will the Francone’s stand by their daughter to help uncover the truth?

My Thoughts: An interesting storyline is what kept me interested in this book. I enjoyed learning about
DID. Mid-book seemed to slow down for me and got a little repetitive, but I am glad I kept going for some twists and turns at the end!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

Alternates between story and Jack the brother version of story for writing class.

Penny Francone, 16 yo, accused of murdering her biological mother, Rachel Boyd.
Alternate personalities emerged at age 12 when she spoke with a British accent and called herself Ruby. Then came Chloe the perfectionist and Eve the angry, aggressive personality. This lead to the DID, multiple personality diagnosis which holds conflicting options even within the medical community.
Dr Mitchell McHugh was the new doctor with his own sordid story of depression. Trying to support snd make amends to his son struggling with addiction, in and out or rehab. His career gets sidetracked and ends up at working at Edgewater in Swampscott, MA.
Grace Francone is Penny’s adoptive mother whose husband suddenly died at the pizzeria from a heart attack they owned one night with Penny. It happened to be the night before they had planned to send her to a residential treatment center. Her angry alter Eve was becoming impossible to control.
Life is turned upside down when Rachel apparently contacts Penny through Facebook.
They place their trust in Attorney Navarro, Annie (Grace’s sister in law), and Dr McHugh to keep Penny from receiving the death sentence.

I enjoyed this twisted story about murder and family and mental health. Is it possible that 16 year old Penny has dissociative identity disorder and not responsible for the murder of her biological mother, Rachel Boyd? The story becomes more complicated as other characters have ulterior motives for wanting her to take the fall for the murder. Grace Francone is the determined and relentless mother who goes to any extreme to prove her daughter’s innocence.

I don't think this book was supposed to make me angry. However, the representation in this book and HOW they were represented made me feel very sick. Normally this author puts out good books, but this one really rubbed me the wrong way. I continued on with the book, even though I was thoroughly disgusted with how the author was physical and mental disabilities/illness. I really feel like he should be ashamed of himself. This book feels like it was written somewhere out of the 60s before we were educated on a topic we know much better on and rather than demonizing a mental illness, he capitalized on it for his book. It's been quite a while since I've hated a book this much.

1/5 stars

I was nervous to read this when I dived deeper into the summary. Books about mental illness can fall completely off the rails for me. I was pleasantly surprised at how much this book drew me in and kept me guessing to the very end. I feel that it treated mental illness with respect.

What do you do when you find a young girl abandoned in a park? For many, simply calling the police and finding the child’s mother would be enough, but for Grace, this girl was an answered prayer. Grace wanted a daughter more than anything, so welcoming Penny into her home and family was a no-brainer. Now years later, seeing Penny in a psychiatric hospital is almost more than she can bear. Although Penny claims she’s innocent, it’s hard to believe someone covered in blood and holding the weapon isn’t a murderer. As they dive deep into Penny’s multi-personality disorder the line between truth and lies becomes more and more confusing. Who is the murderer? And are they all in more danger than they realize?

This book was wild. Diving deep into psychology is always interesting, but in the case of many different personalities residing within one brain, there’s so much to unpack. While Penny seems to be innocent the disassociation between personalities makes her less credible, especially considering the state she was found in. This book allows readers to explore truth and as more clues are revealed, the truth seems less and less straightforward.

Grace’s deep desire to care for Penny is such a profound example of motherly love. Mixing that in with Grace’s sons who aren’t entirely certain about Penny creates an underlying stream of conflict. Their belief and disbelief seemed to echo my own beliefs and doubts throughout the book. It felt so real.

I love books that challenge me and make me think. “The Perfect Daughter” did just that. Penny isn’t perfect, but there’s more to her past than what meets the eye. In the end, the twists and turns earned this book a 4 star rating!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A little girl found abandoned in a park is adopted by a loving family. Later it is discovered that the child has multiple personalities. At age 16, she is charged with a viscous murder of which she has no memory. What follows is a complex legal case with a surprising outcome. Didn’t see it coming! A bit of a wacky court house scene at the end but, overall, I enjoyed the story.

Penny Francone is not the typical sixteen year old, by any stretch of the imagination. She has been living with Dissociative Identity Disorder a great portion of her life, especially trying with gaps in her memory as the others take control. When Penny is found at the scene of a crime, covered in blood, will the doctors at the state mental hospital be able to determine if she was of sound mind during the murder? Will the new psychiatrist with demons of his own be able to reach Penny in time to save her?

Having read other novels by D.J. Palmer, I was expecting some twists and turns in the plot. Though I had guessed the ending, I did enjoy the path that the novel took through the lives of Grace, Penny, and her brothers. Dr. Mitchell McHugh's backstory was covered a little too thoroughly, in my opinion, as the focus of the novel should have been entirely on Penny. Overall, I would give the novel a 3 1/2 star rating if the system would allow, but bumped it up to 4 for the good characterization and fast paced plot.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Perfect Daughter by NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press. The decision to review this book was entirely my own.

This book would normally be right up my alley - a psychological thriller with twists and turns and surprises. But somehow it just never totally clicked with me and I'm not even sure why. It may well have been my mood, and I certainly didn't dislike it. But somehow I didn't seem to feel like I connected with any of the characters, especially the two main characters - Penny, the daughter of the title, and Grace, her mother. I'm not one who needs to "like" the characters I'm reading, especially ones that are clearly meant to not be likable. But it does help if I understand them, and I had a lot of trouble understanding Grace and her actions and motivations at times. While I can't give it a rave review, I do think many people will love this one, and if I'd read it some other time I might well have been one of them. I'd definitely advise anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers to give it a try, and I'll still give some of Palmer's other books a try.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

When Grace Francone's 16-year-old daughter Penny is arrested for the murder of a local woman, she is desperate to clear her daughter's name and keep her family from falling apart. The police seem to have an open and shut case because Penny was found at the murder scene covered in blood and holding the weapon. Penny has been in serious trouble with the police before, but is she capable of cold-blooded murder?

Penny was adopted by the Francone family when she was 5, after being abandoned in a park. While the identity of her birth mother is known, the rest of her family history has been something of a mystery, although there is a strong belief that her past was abusive. During her childhood years with the Francones, Penny was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, which is characterized by exhibiting multiple personalities, and she has been receiving psychiatric care. Is it possible that her illness or her past is in some way a contributing factor?

With the help of a newly assigned doctor and a defense attorney, Grace devotes herself to proving her daughter's innocence. As she takes a closer look at Penny's past and at others who had reasons to kill the victim, Grace places herself in grave danger. Can she avoid personal injury, save Penny from a lifetime behind bars, and keep her family intact?

The Perfect Daughter is a story of family loyalty and the measures a mother will take to protect her child. The plot is suspenseful, with a balance of decent and shady characters that keeps readers engaged, and an unexpected dramatic climax.

Grace's daughter Penny is charged with a murder she doesn't have no recollection of and of a woman she doesn't know. Or is that really the case? Dive into the world of multiple personalities and see why past traumas can ignite in one's chemical compound. Very intriguing and an edge of your seat book.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-book of The Perfect Daughter by D. J. Palmer in exchange for my review.

“The Perfect Daughter is a thriller that explores the truth or lies behind a teenage girl’s multiple personality disorder”

Penny has multiple personality disorder and things really go awry when mom, Grace, answers a knock at the door to see a police officer who says Penny has been arrested for murder! At only 16, Penny is locked away inside a psychiatric hospital. Grace, along with Penny’s doctors and lawyer, try to pick apart Penny’s life to see if they can find anything to help her from a life inside prison.

Elements of a mental hospital, courtroom drama and a thriller all wrapped up for you in this book! I read this fairly quickly because I just had to know more!

Wow, what a roller coaster ride full of twists and turns! Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down.

I could tell quite a bit of research went into the main character (or characters, respectively) of this story. The twist at the very end totally blindsided me! I’m usually very good at picking up on when a twist is playing out, and who is involved but I had no clue. I think DJ did that on purpose, not giving a single hint. It was nice finally reading a book where the villain in the story didn’t have a major neon arrow pointing at them the entire story lol Definitely kept me guessing.