Monday, May 10, 2021

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer


Title: The Perfect Daughter
Author: D.J. Palmer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 20, 2021




The Perfect Daughter is a thriller that explores the truth or lies behind a teenage girl's multiple personality disorder, from D.J. Palmer, the author of The New Husband.

Grace never dreamt she’d visit her teenaged daughter Penny in the locked ward of a decaying state psychiatric hospital, charged with the murder of a stranger. There was not much question of her daughter’s guilt. Police had her fingerprints on the murder weapon and the victim’s blood on her body and clothes. But they didn’t have a motive.

Grace blames herself, because that’s what mothers do—they look at their choices and wonder, what if? But hindsight offers little more than the chance for regret.

None of this was conceivable the day Penny came into her life. Then, it seemed like a miracle. Penny was found abandoned, with a mysterious past, and it felt like fate brought Penny to her, and her husband Arthur. But as she grew, Penny's actions grew more disturbing, and different "personalities" emerged.

Arthur and Grace took Penny to different psychiatrists, many of whom believed she was putting on a show to help manage her trauma. But Grace didn’t buy it. The personas were too real, too consistent. It had to be a severe multiple personality disorder. One determined psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh, helped discover someone new inside Penny—a young girl named Abigail. Is this the nameless girl who was abandoned in the park years ago? Mitch thinks Abigail is the key to Penny’s past and to the murder. But as Grace and Mitch dig deeper, they uncover dark and shocking secrets that put all their lives in grave danger.










A young woman has been accused of murder. When the cops come to inform her adoptive mother, Grace, she is devastated. 

Grace can't believe her Penny is responsible. She knows Penny wouldn't do it but maybe Eve could. 

How can this be? 

Well, Penny has DID and maybe one of her personalities is the real killer. Of course, some don't believe in DID. Penny has done things in her past that were questionable and maybe she has a personality disorder instead. Meaning she knew what she was doing and she did it anyway. She knew right from wrong and she decided to end a life regardless. 

Grace feels guilty. She should have done something earlier and now she must seek the help of Penny's new psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh to help her prove Penny has DID before it's too late. 

Favorable things for me: The DID aspect, meaning meeting each of Penny's personalities. Penny's brother's sort of podcasts.

Unfavorable: Grace's decisions. There is one particular decision that she makes that makes me want to shake her. Even her sister-in-law was telling her what she should do but she still decided not to do a single thing about it. 

I was not a fan of the last twist. I thought it was way too convenient. 

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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