THis book is about a girl with DID, who may or may noit have been involved in a murder. The book was interesting, yet it was slow in some parts. This book has many twists and turns.

WOW! Psychological thrillers are not my go to genre, but this book, the second that I have read from the author, is spellbinding and ends with a real shocker. Don't read the end first!

Grace Francone is a happily married mother of two sons, but always wanted a daughter. And one day, in the park with her sons, they come upon a little girl, who appears to have been abandoned. Grace and her youngest son Jack believe that they were meant to find her and when she will not speak even her name, Jack comes up with one- Penny, because they found her and picked her up. Despite misgivings by Grace's husband, Arthur and her older son Ryan, they eventually adopt her. But as she becomes inculcated into the family, Jack eventually notices that something isn't quite right with Penny. Ultimately, she is diagnosed with DID, dissociative identity disorder. The book starts with Penny be arrested for the gruesome murder of her birth mother? Did she do it? Was it one of her alters or is she being set up by the real murderer? Very interesting examination of DID, with intriguing characters, not only the family members but also Penny's psychiatrist, Dr Mitchell McHugh and lawyer Greg Navarro.

I read an ARC that I received from NetGalley.com. This is my voluntary and unbiased review.

Oh my gosh this book. I love it when a story keeps me in my toes and I don’t have any idea of how it will end, and once again, Ms Palmer didn’t disappoint. This was so good,

Different much better than the perfect husband! 10/10 would recommend this title! Thank you for the review copy

4.5* Many thanks to St Martin’s Press & Netgalley for a copy to read.

This is my 2nd read from D.J. Palmer and this was as awesome as his previous book "The New Husband".

Grace Francone’s adopted 16 year old daughter, Penny Francone is found holding a bloody knife, covered in blood, standing over the body of a dead woman and is arrested for murder. But Penny claims that she doesn’t remember anything from that night – Grace is convinced that Penny is innocent and she couldn’t have killed Rachel Boyd, instead she is concerned that Penny suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID) and possibly one of the personalities might know what happened! Penny is admitted in a psychiatric hospital while she awaits for her trial, she is seen by Dr. Mitch McHugh who has experience working with DID patients. Mitch has to decide if Penny is really suffering from DID or is she a cold hearted killer, and might be very good at fooling everyone.

A very fast paced, gripping thriller – as we dwell into the book we meet all of the personalities and that raises more questions than answers. Grace and family are running against time to prove that Penny is innocent and that there was someone else that night in Rachel Boyd’s house. The reveal was a good one towards the end and was totally worth the wait!

I really enjoyed this book and kept wondering what was going to be the outcome with Penny. Does she have DID? Or is she playing everyone? Her mother goes to great lengths to protect her daughter, even putting herself in danger at times. I really wasn't sure what to expect for the ending for quite some time but then figured it out right before it was revealed. Such a great book though! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

This is the first book I read from this author and I couldn’t put it down, The characters were believable and intriguing and te setting disturbing. It was a very good psychological thriller that kept me guessing the whole time. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer.

Penny is a teen girl locked away in a psych ward after being accused of a murder. Her mother Grace just can't believe that Penny could do this, even with her mental illness of multiple personalities. Holding herself responsible for what Penny has allegedly done, and for her illness, Grace will not stop until she gets to the bottom of what happened. But what happened may mean digging up some painful truths.

I'm honestly tired just thinking about this book, I didn't want to review it. It's not that it was bad, or unenjoyable, just uuuuuuuuugh, it's been dooooooone.

And not just that, but it was exhaustively overdramatized. The characters were all people who take every ounce of energy out of me. Too much, all of it was too much. And also, I'm sure the author did her research, but do we know enough about this disorder to really be standing so steadily on it? I don't know, it was all just too much for me.

The Perfect Daughter is the most complex and ambitious book to date from author D.J. Palmer. The story was inspired by his interest in writing a book about dissociative identity disorder (formerly referred to as multiple personality disorder). Palmer admits it was the hardest book to write so far in his career. But his efforts paid off, because it's a compulsive mystery centered around one central question: Did sixteen-year-old Penny Francone murder Rachel, her birth mother? Palmer also examines the delivery of mental health treatment in America, particularly within the criminal justice system, as well as family dynamics, and forgiveness.

The story begins with Grace Francone finding a police detective on her doorstep, informing her that her adopted daughter, Penny, is in police custody. She was discovered in Rachel's apartment, holding the murder weapon and covered in blood. The police believe it is a proverbial open-and-shut case.

Of course, things prove not to be that simple.

Grace convinced her late husband, Arthur, that Penny should become part of their family when she was abandoned in a park at the age of four. Penny was a sweet child, but her transition into the family was complicated by the reactions of the Francones' two older boys, Jack and Ryan. Indeed, interspersed between chapters told in the third-person from the viewpoints of Grace and Dr. McHugh is a first-person narrative from Jack addressed to Penny. He explains that he is working on a film project at Emerson University detailing his sister's case, and recounts his experiences growing up with Penny. He makes clear that he believes Penny is a murderer, explaining that why she killed is the only thing that matters to him. The narrative provides insight into the familial relationships and Grace's fierce struggle to ensure Penny assimilated into the Francone family. Ryan, who decided to forego college after his father's death in order to help Grace run the family business -- Big Frank's Pizza -- and ensure that Jack could pursue his studies, is angry and resentful toward Penny. He blames her for their father's death, and does not want to participate in efforts to mount an adequate defense for his younger sister, stressed because the business is failing and the family stands on a financial precipice.

Shortly after the Francones adopted Penny, it became apparent that the little girl either had an extremely vivid imagination . . . or something was amiss. One day she suddenly began speaking with an English accent, using terminology not employed by Americans, and insisting that her name was Eve. The Francones played along. But other more disturbing events eventually led to a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID), a topic about which Palmer did extensive research in order to convincingly depict the story. He learned that mental health professionals lack consensus about the condition and it is frequently misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety. It is believed that DID is an extreme coping mechanism employed by very young victims of trauma that causes the mind to fragment its emerging personality into different personas. In that way, the pain associated with the trauma experienced is deeply hidden in the subconscious mind. Hence the old terminology, multiple personality disorder, is inaccurate because a single personality splinters. The resultant alternate personas exist to protect the core persona from the truth. It is believed that the various alters either do not know or do not remember what transpires when they are not presenting as the core persona.

Palmer used what he learned to credibly portray the conflicting opinions of Penny's prior psychiatrist, Dr. Palumbo, and Dr. Mitchell McHugh, who has just started working at Edgewater State Hospital. It's a definite step down for a physician who formerly practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. But Mitch has to be grateful that he still has a medical license after his failure to practice what he preached to all of his patients resulted in his own treatment with Physician Health Services, monitored and supported for his depression and prescription drug addiction. He is also dealing with his son's issues. But he has given himself one year to redeem himself professionally and, hopefully, re-establish his private practice. Now he finds himself handling the challenging case of Penny Francone that will require him to formulate his own diagnosis and, ultimately, testify about his conclusions. Dr. Palumbo did not believe in DID and, therefore, concluded that Penny could not be suffering from it. Rather, he found her to be manipulative, clever . . . and dangerous. Palmer says he took care to understand the myths and misconceptions about DID and "portray the symptoms, the impact on the patient and loved ones, and the treatment as accurately as possible" in order to dispel those misunderstandings. He "prioritized portraying the character with DID as true to life as possible."

In addition to Eve, Grace is aware that Penny has at least two other personas: Chloe is a perfectionist while Eve is the darkest, hardest persona, exhibiting bravado that Penny does not possess. It is Eve who has been confined to Edgewater for nearly a year and a half, protecting Penny and the others from the horror of being accused of murder and imprisoned in a psychiatric facility. Grace acknowledges that Penny would not survive in Edgewater and Jack describes the pain of losing the sister he came to love: "It feels a bit like you abandoned us, ran away, leaving us with the harshest, cruelest, most caustic and hard to handle of all of your alters. You left us with Eve."

Palmer believably explores Grace's angst as she fights to save the daughter she always wanted. She and Arthur discussed the idea of having another child, but decided to be happy with their two boys. Then fate intervened when Penny was abandoned. Grace believed Penny was the perfect daughter she had always wanted, and they could provide Penny with the stable home she so desperately needed. But as time passed, and Penny's problems worsened, Grace refused to give up on her . . . and will not do so now. The boys, Jack and Ryan, overcame their resentment and grew to love Penny, but Palmer illustrates the tensions the family felt when Penny's issues came to light, and Grace focused more and more of her energy on Penny. Things became particularly strained after Arthur's sudden death and now Grace struggles to provide Penny the support she needs, as well as a defense. The experienced criminal defense attorney she happens upon and eventually retains to represent Grace, Greg Navarro, explains that Penny's legal challenges may be insurmountable. And a legal victory will not be cause for celebration. Greg will have to have to convince the court that Penny has DID and make the case that one of her alters committed the crime, which explains why she has no memory of killing Rachel. But the best possible outcome -- a ruling that Penny is not guilty by reason of insanity -- will still result in her being hospitalized for years, probably receiving suboptimal, if any, treatment in a state-operated facility. Undaunted, Grace refuses to believe that Penny or any of her alters are guilty, insisting that the police should be looking for the real murderer.

The Perfect Daughter is an impressively clever, intricately-plotted mystery replete with shocking revelations and surprising plot twists that keep the story moving at a steady, unrelenting pace. Palmer has crafted credible, empathetic characters -- Grace, the dedicated mother who unwaveringly believes in her precious daughter's innocence, chief among them. She refuses to see Penny as anything other than a victim of her early childhood experiences, pushing those around her to join her in her crusade to save the child she so urgently wanted. Jack and Ryan, as noted, have complicated, conflicting feelings about their sister, based upon their unique experiences with her and the way her entrance into their family served as the catalyst that tore it apart. Mitch is the highly skilled physician who must rise to the challenge of keeping his patient's best interests at the forefront and base his diagnosis on science, not emotion. And at the center of it all is Penny, the girl whose psyche may have shattered as a result of what she suffered as a young child. She is an absolutely fascinating character and Palmer's admitted favorite. He keeps readers guessing about whether she has DID and if she is a killer until the book's explosive conclusion that will leave many readers with their jaws on the floor as Palmer discloses secrets, lies, and an utterly infuriating betrayal, And what will be the emotional aftermath of those revelations? Once the truth is known, will the Francone family stand together? Will Penny's alters ever be integrated? Can she hope to lead a healthy, productive life? Or will she be consigned to a lifetime of being institutionalized or, worse, incarcerated?

The Perfect Daughter is an intense, gripping, and very entertaining thriller that proves Palmer's story-telling prowess.

This is a thriller that will leave you gasping, shaken, and in utter disbelief at the end. D.J. Palmer takes me on some of the best thrill rides I’ve ever been on.

Grace rescued Penny after she finds her alone in a local park and ends up adopting her. Fast forward into Penny’s senior year of high school when the police show up at her door and tell her Penny is charged with murdering her biological mother. Grace has suspected for years that Penny has Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) and that Penny uses her other personalities to cope with stress or difficult times in her life. Grace doesn’t want to believe that her daughter is capable of such a heinous crime and fights tooth and nail to try to prove her daughter’s psychological problems.

This book immediately hooked me from the very beginning and intrigued me more than any other thriller. I have always found Dissociative Identity Disorder fascinating and I feel that the author did an amazing job at portraying the disorder in a great way.

The only reason I’m not giving this book a full 5 stars is because of the lengthy courtroom dialogue. This is just a personal preference of mine but I honestly don’t care for books that have a ton of courtroom setting in them, nothing wrong with that being in this book since it did play a huge part in it, it’s just not my favorite thing to read.

*Many thanks to St. Martins Press for the free copy for my review*

I enjoy DJ Palmer’s writing style and storylines and The Perfect Daughter was no exception. A mute girl shows up n the park one day and the adoptive family names her Penny, as in lucky Penny. As the girl becomes more comfortable, she opens up and is essentially a normal child. Now, at age sixteen, Penny is under a psych hold accused of killing her biological mother. Can the family prove her innocence or were their signs she was not normal after all? I highly recommend this book! I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

The rain poured down, soaking her. Her hair was plastered to her scalp, brunette strands sticking to her face. Her tears came now as fear washed over her, the salty drops cascading down her cheeks and mixing with the darkening sky’s tears that had been weeping all evening. She looked down at the puddle forming around her feet... raindrops, teardrops... and something else... blood drops.

Wow. The Perfect Daughter was a wild ride and guess what? I could NOT predict the twist until it was revealed. Finally a thriller that did not let me down!

A girl, arrested for murder, a murder her mother swears she didn’t commit. This girl, suffering from dissociative identity disorder, doesn’t remember what happened that night, but it’s looking like she’s the only suspect and the only one to commit this brutal crime. But will her many identities admit to what really happened?

I’m always a little nervous when mental illness is involved in a thriller, but wow, this book was written brilliantly and I love how D. J. Palmer wrote Penny’s character.

I’m telling you, I don’t hand out five stars to just any book. This psychological thriller is a must read!

TW: Murder (gruesome descriptions), Physical Abuse, Mental Illness (Dissociative Identity Disorder, Depression, Anxiety), Thoughts of Suicide (briefly mentioned) Drug Addiction, Drug Overdose (briefly mentioned), Death of an Animal (gruesome depiction, but short scene), Arson, Time in A Mental Institution, Blackmail, Mentions of HP.

Once again this author has written a great book. I was hooked from the first page. Highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this book. The main character has dissociative identity disorder and I thought that was an interesting premise. I didn't know much about DID and I felt like the author did their research into it and it made for a very interesting plot for this thriller. I was pulled into this book and kept wanting to read more. This book is also told in a few different perspectives which made the book interesting as well. I was surprised with the ending and didn't figure it out so it was great to see all the pieces falling together. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to my thriller lovers or anyone wanting to read a good thriller book!

Now this is what I call a psychological thriller! I was hooked from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down until the last page.

Penny suffers from DID -- Dissociative Identity Disorder -- where one of her personality states did something that the others don't remember*. We follow Penny as she's in an institute for her protection during the process of going to trial.

Penny is 100% a completely unreliable narrator and that made <u>The Perfect Daughter</u> a fun and interesting read. Not a whole lot can get better than an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to psychological thrillers.

The ending had my jaw drop. I was not going there as I continued reading the story and when I read that twist and reveal, I was completely shocked. It made the entire story come together full circle but in the most absurdly creative way! I was really expecting one of her brothers to be responsible somehow . . . I'm glad it didn't go that way!

Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy psychological thrillers. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed! (Or I can at least hope you won't!)

<small>*I apologize if I did not describe that perfectly. I know it's not like multiple personality disorder, so I tried to condense the meaning a little. Please research DID for yourself to learn more, as I did once I finished this book.</small>

4 star

This is a gripping psychological thriller with a bit of mystery. I was hooked immediately and I didn’t want to put this book down for anything. A must read!

Thank you #stmartinspress #netgalley and #djpalmer for the copy of this book

Meet Penny. She is the perfect daughter. She also has DID. Her multiple personalities include Ruby, a british reader, Chloe, a perfectionist and Eve, spiteful and full of hate. Penny does a fine job of containing them most of the time. Or does she?

Grace, Penny's mother, hears a knock on the door one evening. She is told by the police that her daughter has been arrested for murder. Grace's world comes crashing down. Fragile and alone, she turns to her new friend who just so happens to be a lawyer and is happy to help with her daughters case. With the help of her friend and her daughter's new psychiatrist, Grace and Penny find out exactly what happened that fateful night.

This was a great book. Full of twists and surprises. Told from multiple POVs, this book is full of suspense. A very smart novel that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Definitely my favourite book by this author.

4 stars

Hmmm! I enjoyed the ride while reading this. I didn’t see the ending coming. Will round up to 4 stars

DJ Palmer is an unbelievable writer. I am never ever disappointed. Always intelligently written with lots of twists. This story is narrated from (mainly) three perspectives. I really liked the format.
I think that mental illness has such a stigma in our country that it is helpful when books like this portray it in a realistic way. You will not be disappointed!