Title: Saving Meghan
Author: DJ Palmer
Genre: Adult Thriller
Format: hardback from the library
Series: NA
Star Rating: 5 stars

A special thank you goes to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself. I know it says I read it from the library, I did get an eARC for this book, I’m just not sure where it is on my Kindle.

tw: manipulation, chronic illness, hospitals, medical procedures, child death, domestic violence, child abuse, underage drinking, death, infidelity

Munchausen syndrome by proxy has always fascinated me from a medical standpoint. I’ve heard several horror stories about this disease and it’s amazing how the ones who have it, have absolutely no idea what they are doing. Well, I mean, they do but it’s fascinating how their brain works. For those who may not know what this is, allow me to explain.

Basically, there are two different types of Munchausen syndrome. The first one is just called Munchausen syndrome. What that one is you purposely harm yourself for attention. Because when you are sick, most of the time, people hover over you and pay attention to you. So people will injure themselves to get that attention. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is similar but instead of injuring yourself, you are injuring a loved one. Typically it happens to mothers and they injure their kids. Because people sympathize with a mom and her poor sick kid. This isn’t a professional statement of the diseases or anything. This is just the basic knowledge I have thanks to my psychology degree. Hence why I picked this book. I had no idea what I was getting into and assumed it was just a basic Munchausen Syndrome by proxy book.

This whole time I read this book, I had no idea who to trust at all, even Meghan who was the one sick. I couldn’t trust not one single soul and I was living for it. The best POV was Becky, hands down. She was so unbelievably manipulative and didn’t hide it at all. I sympathized with her even though I didn’t want to give her any of my sympathy at all. We also got POV from Meghan and Dr. Nash. And not one of them could be trusted. It messed with me in the best way possible.

Okay, I know this review is literally only four paragraphs with one of them being a medical explanation but trust me when I say that the less you know about this book and its plot, the better. This book has so many twists and turns, that your head will spin. Don't even read the synopsis. Go into this with an open mind and trust no one, not even yourself.

I was so excited for this book. I devoured it and did not see a lot of it coming. It kept me on my toes. I will not tell you if I am team #BelieveBecky or team #ProtectMeghan I want you to read it and tell me which team you are.
I will tell you this, you will not see the ending coming. You will be as shocked as I was.
I can't wait to read Mr. Palmers next book.
4 stars and I HIGHLY recommend this book.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

An avid fan, D. J Palmer returns following The First Family (my top books 2018), Mercy, and Forgive Me (my top books 2016), Trauma, and Constant Fear (my top books 2015) with his latest thriller SAVING MEGHAN. (my top books of 2019)

"Psychological domestic suspense meets heart-pounding medical thriller.”

WOW, A riveting, chilling new thriller with strong character development, infuses the best of medical thrillers of Michael Palmer (dad) and the award-winning gripping suspense of Daniel Palmer.

I LOVE the new D.J. Palmer's name! No matter the initials or the title, I have been a fan of both authors for many years and a favorite. As long as it has the Palmer name attached— readers are assured an entertaining page-turner experience.

I am so thrilled Daniel has continued his dad’s legacy and adding in medical thrillers to his collection of psychological suspense thrillers with a wide range of topics. I love all Daniel Palmer's books. A rock star, whether Daniel, Michael (dad), Daniel and Michael joint, or D.J! Love the new name by combining the two (father/son) and with St. Martin's Press.

SAVING MEGHAN will keep you guessing to the very end! Twisty, dark, fascinating! If you love psychological/medical thrillers, you are going to devour this one.

This family of three (Becky, Carl, and Meghan) has some deep dark secrets. What a wild roller coaster ride. Is it Munchhausen by proxy, or something more serious? How far will a mother go to protect her daughter?

Emotionally gripping domestic suspense! Nothing screams “claustrophobia” more than highly charged topics revolving around medical conditions and the control of a medical physician, hospital, or a parent making decisions for a child under fire.

Palmer keeps you on the edge of your seat with nail-biting suspense and non-stop action and twists, to the explosive ending.

Becky Gerard is a helicopter mom. You could say she has devoted her life to the well-being of her daughter, Meghan. Becky sees outside sources to learn more about her daughter’s illness. She will do anything for her daughter. (The plane scene was award-winning). This novel would make a great movie or TV series! 🎬

She knows her research and can run circles about most medical staff when it comes to her daughter's condition.

Now, fifteen Meghan is continuously in and out of the hospital with unexplained illnesses. Is she sick, or is someone making her sick? What is she hiding?

Carl, Meghan’s father, thinks his wife is obsessed, enabling the illness. He does not believe in the work of Becky’s other sources. He is not as involved as his wife in her care.

When doctors cannot figure out a diagnosis, they, of course, label it as Munchausen syndrome. A rare disorder where the caretaker seeks medical help for something which is not there. However, is this case, is the mom making her sick or another genuine rare disease?

Meghan is keeping secrets. Mom and dad are keeping secrets. However, these secrets may have deadly results.

When things take a drastic turn, and the hospital is holding the daughter hostage, how far will a mother go to try and save her daughter to prove she is correct and her daughter really is sick?

As always, Palmer is a "master of his craft" and keeps readers turning into the wee hours of the morning to find out the source of the problem and solve this mysterious puzzle.

A very timely novel, with all the lawsuits against the medical industry. A great exploration into how easy it is to lose control of our family’s medical care. It is scary and realistic. The author creates a terrifying scenario that could easily happen to anyone.

I have had the pleasure of reading all of Daniel Palmer and Michael’s books and am excited to see the blending of one name, D.J. I cannot wait to see more of the same and what is coming next! I

#JDCMustReadBooks

Great read! Looking forward to reading more from this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!

I do not have the words to begin to give justice to this book. OMG!!! This book was soooo good. Talk about grabbing you and not letting go? This is it. The writing and storyline had you guessing and held your attention. This will be a book I will highly recommend to be read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Meghan is a star soccer player from a privileged family. She has everything, but her health. She experiences strange symptoms but there is no diagnosis despite seeing the best doctors. Becky, Meghan’s Mother, loves Megan and will do anything for her, or maybe to her? Is she the cause of Meghan’s strange symptoms? Becky is not a likable character. She is pushy and manipulative.

This book kept me guessing til the end. Couldn’t decide if Becky was the cause of Megans symptoms or not. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this and thought it was well-paced and had a nice flow. Though the plot has been done a lot recently, I was intrigued and kept flipping pages to see what would happen. Unfortunately I felt like the ending was a bit of a letdown. It seemed contrived and didn’t really make sense to me. An overall ok read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and D. J. Palmer for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was an okay book - nothing memorable about the characters or the plot.

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2019; St. Martin's Press

Saving Meghan will have you battling with yourself if Becky has Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This medical drama is well written and has some gripping moments. D.J. Palmer is also known as Daniel Palmer, who writes medical mysteries. I have not read any of them, but he is quite popular. I normally do not gravitate towards medical mysteries, but this novel is kind of changing my mind. If you liked Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, this medical drama might be right up your alley.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Can you love your child to death? Becky and Carl are under suspicion due to the variety of symptoms their daughter Meghan continues to exhibit regardless of medical intervention. Is this a cry for help by Becky or Carol or is there something uniquely wrong with Meghan? Read Saving Meghan and find out! A great read!

The premise of the book was interesting and sadly not uncommon in real life, but what made the book better was the constant twists and turns up until the end. You were never quite sure which direction the author was going to take and how the story was going to end. Some of the dialogue and interactions were a little iffy, but overall it was an interesting read.

It took me much longer to read this book than I had originally anticipated based on the synopsis. Although it began to pick up and gain my interest toward the middle, this book was just excruciatingly slow to read at the beginning. Maybe it was just me, I’ve put it down and come back to it multiple times, and this time was determined to finish it.

Saving Meghan is a good read, although as I mentioned before I feel it was slow to start. As I reached the middle the plot began to twist and became more intriguing and I found myself picking up the book each spare moment I had. I feel that the beginning could’ve used a bit more of that same magic, but all in all if you are a fan of thrillers, and enjoy trying to figure out the “whodunnit” of the mystery, then you will definitely enjoy this book.

In today's world everyone knows what Munchausen syndrome by proxy and this novel questions whether it's caused by that or something much simpler. I feel like this author is genuinely great at medical thrillers. this will keep you up at night questioning everything.

Meghan Gerard is sick. Really sick. We've all heard "mother knows best" and there isn't a mother out there that isn't as invested in their child's welfare than Meghan's mother, Becky. In fact, Becky is so focused on finding a diagnosis for Meghan that Meghan has been in and out of hospitals so frequently that people are starting to notice and ask questions. At first, it was all about Meghan's mysterious illness, but now the tables have turned and Becky's parenting has come under fire. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a real disorder where a caretaker makes up symptoms to make it appear a child is sick. This is child abuse and speculation is that Becky is making up Meghan's illnesses. As Meghan is admitted to one hospital after another, more characters and theories are introduced about Meghan's health.

Racing to the end of this novel is full of twists and surprise turns. Thank you, D.J. Palmer for the joyride. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!

I received an arc compliments to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press

2.5 stars. Too many times during this book did I find myself doing an eye roll over some of the stupid dialogue and character's actions. I did like that you were kept guessing up to the end.

Saving Meghan was great! I had my thoughts, and they were strong, about many of the characters. Such a great book! My book club loved this one! It made for such a great discussion! We cannot wait until April for The New Husband!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me engaged the entire time. I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I would highly recommend to all my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!

Meghan Gerard used to be a normal 15 year old. She played soccer, had friends, did well in school. And then she got sick. Her mother Becky wants answers -- what's wrong with Meghan? No one seems to be able to diagnose her. She's now too weak to play soccer, rarely attends school because she doesn't feel well enough to go, has lost most of her friends and mostly stays in bed.

On the surface, Meghan's mom Becky seems like a great mom. She will fight for her daughter and will not stop until she gets answers from the vast array of doctors they've visited. But Becky seems to almost be obsessed with Meghan's condition. She knows how to manipulate each doctor into giving her their personal cell phone numbers. She spends a lot of her time updating her Facebook group on Meghan's condition. And events in Becky's past may be affecting her judgment.

Meghan's dad Carl is tired of all the doctor visits and seems to have grown more and more suspicious of Becky's motives. Is Becky "making" Meghan sick -- either by the power of suggestion, or some other way?

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book.

Meghan seems to be sick all the time. Her mom is looking for answers and her dad thinks it is all bs.
The book keeps you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the end,.

**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**