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Saving Meghan

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Member Reviews

This is a very entertaining book about a very interesting topic. There was plenty of mystery with lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it. I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

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I really enjoyed this book! I would recommend if you are interested in medical dramas and/or munchausen by proxy - this is not giving a spoiler as the synopsis does hint at it...however, is that really what's going on in the book? ; )

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This was an interesting book about Munchausen syndrome by proxy with many twists and turns. The story centers around a mother trying to find out what illness her 15-year old daughter has. She suspects it is mitochondrial disease, but as the story progresses, people and doctors start to suspect that the daughter is fine and that the mother has Munchausen syndrome by proxy. I definitely recommend this book, a good page-turner.

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Meghan is sick. She has been poked and prodded so much she has developed a terrifying fear of needles. Both her Mom and Dad are desperate to find out what is wrong with their daughter. But it is her Mom, Becky, who is relentless in finding a doctor who can give them a treatable diagnosis. When they finally do, several other healthcare professionals get involved and suddenly, Becky is fighting to save her daughter.

Is Meghan really sick or is Becky using her daughter to get attention? And what about Meghan's Dad? He is pretty wishy washy about the whole thing and often thinks his wife is the one who is sick. Plus, Meghan has a little secret she knows about her Dad. Hmmm - how does that fit in the picture?

Boy, this kept me guessing right down to the very end. As soon as I thought I knew what was going on, something happened that made me question myself. This really does show the extent a parent will go to save one of their children. This was a real page turner.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.

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Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to preview this ARC of Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer.

Becky has the same fear as many mothers, that her child may have cancer. But her fear may be a bit more warranted because her fifteen year old daughter Meghan, has NEVER been healthy. Constantly in and out of the doctor's office with strange disorders, Becky is constantly on edge that they might finally take her life. So when doctor's suspect that is might be BECKY who has issues, not Meghan, and Meghan is taken from her, Becky will stop at nothing to reach her child.

This was borderline campy and not at all believable, but I still couldn't put it down.

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A suspenseful story detailing the hardships related with ongoing illness of a family member. All the suspense keeps you turning the pages. The ending is unexpected.

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Wow!! This book was an amazing read! It was such an interesting topic. Never read anything like this before. Made you really question everything about even your own body and how the mind works.

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Saving Meghan is a gripping Medical mystery novel that could have been too dry or too technical but hits the right mix of story and character.

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For most of the book, I was team #protectmeghan , but my thoughts on who she needed protecting from kept shifting. I then start thinking about when I first got sick and my mom had to research and fight to get me diagnosed. As well as all the random diagnoses I have now that are “rare”. It’s hard to judge knowing firsthand the side of a chronically ill and “rare” patient as well. In the late 1940s Dr. Theodore Woodward instructed his medical interns: "When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras". This meant that the more common ailment is often the correct diagnosis. Overtime, this has lead to the misdiagnosis of individuals or label of being hypochondriacs when in reality these individuals have rare conditions that are being overlooked. The lead me to #believebecky at times as well. On page 52, when Becky (Meghan’s mom) is correcting Meghan about the timeline of her symptoms to Dr. Fisher reminded me of my mom and I in doctors appointments. I was so sick, I couldn’t keep anything straight in my mind. “That’s right, I thought. That’s when it happened. That lesson was the start of my slow decline. And then I thought: how does she know more about my sickness than I do? I hate to admit it, but it’s moments like these when I had doubts about what’s going on inside me”. I finally got my diagnosis and several more since then, but I didn’t go through the same extremes as Meghan had to. It’s an engaging read that kept me up reading most of the night so that I could finish it in two days. Highly recommended.

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Legally Bound

This starts out fairly slowly; I wasn't sure I was even going to be interested. But as the plot unfolded and the story enveloped me, I found myself sucked in, turning pages ever faster, while my brain tried to get ahead of the tale to figure out what was going on. The need for instant action to protect the innocent can create massive injustices to all parties. Lack of sufficiently trained personnel to investigate and verify claims makes the appalling actions permitted by law that much more flagrant. This nice, solid, medical thriller explores a number of areas not generally known--I love when a book teaches me new things!

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Saving Meghan is an intriguing medical mystery told in multiple point of views. The characters are well developed, suspiciously unreliable, and unlikeable. The plot is not unique to me, as I’ve seen it done several times by other authors. I found the ending to be a bit unbelievable, however it’s well written and entertaining. I can see why many readers are giving this novel 5 stars, especially if you haven’t read this kind of plot before.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

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After the build up, which had me puzzled at first, this book took off. Leaving me guessing and perplexed, a surprise turn of events had me loving this book! Book provided by NetGalley.

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This was my first book by this author and I am hoping to read more from him , I absolutely loved this book , very interesting story

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While I didn't particularly love the characters in this book, I can't help but appreciate the way the author guided me into thinking I knew the outcome, then surprising me with a twist at the end.

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A story that had me going back and forth questioning everything I read. Every time I thought I had the answer the author would switch up on me and have me guessing what comes next.

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riveting. Tense. Consuming.

Wow! What a ride! This book kept me on my toes, kept me guessing, and then second-guessing. I’d imagine having a sick child would be devastating and having a sick child without a definitive diagnosis would be frustrating. Throughout this book I did feel for Becky, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking is this Munchausen by Proxy? Is she making her child sick? Is Megan really sick? Or is something else going on here? So many questions so few answers.

The book starts off with Becky on a plane to LA about to take off. When she receives a message from her husband that Megan is in the hospital becky demands her way off the plane. Medical exam after medical exam, test after test, and still no answers to what is wrong with Megan. Megan was once an active soccer star who excelled in school, now she is too tired to even make it to school most days. You know Megan is hiding things, keeping secrets, but does that have anything to do with her illness? Is it stress induced? Is it all in her head? Or is it really her mother who is causing all this? I truly had no idea, but boy oh boy did I want some answers!

This book had some pulse pounding moments, with some over-the-top antics. Admittedly this book wasn’t always believable and sometimes I did question the judgment of the medical professionals and the parents, but for me none of that mattered because this was just so entertaining. I liked how it really kept you trying to guess the outcome until almost the bitter end. Even though I figured some of it out, I certainly did not figure it all out. Simply put this was an engaging story that kept me guessing. The ending was satisfying and the getting there was a lot of fun! 8/8

*** many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***

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Absolutely loved this fascinating thriller! Make sure you don't read it in the dark. Will definitely make you heart rate peak!

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I really enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing from the jump. Is it the mother? The Daughter - what will happen? I really enjoyed the different points of view and how the story played out. A great read for anyone who loves a good mystery.

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Let me start off by saying that I have been fascinated by Munchausen syndrome by proxy ever since I watched the Mommy Dead and Dearest documentary on HBO. I’m also watching The Act on Hulu right now which is a re-enactment of that same story. So duh, of course I was super excited to read Saving Meghan.

Meghan has a mysterious illness that no one can diagnose. Her mom, Becky, spends every minute of every day worrying about her daughter, researching illnesses, and trying to get someone to help her daughter. People, including Meghan’s father start getting suspicious that maybe Meghan doesn’t really have any illness at all, but that Becky is suffering from Münchausen syndrome and is somehow making her daughter believe she is sick.

Saving Meghan is told in alternating chapters between Becky and Meghan. As the story unfolds, so many questions come up. Is Becky really the one with the illness? Is Meghan faking it? Why is the father such a jerk? What secrets are they all hiding? Can we trust any of them?

When everything comes to a head at the end of the story, you will be shocked! My one complaint about the story is that the ending, while the twist was a good one, happened really abruptly and left me wanting a little bit more.

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Saving Meghan raises the question of: how far will a mother go to save her child? The book switches back and forth between several characters POV and honestly, is a bit confusing. The different POV's pull you in several different directions as the family members try and uncover what exactly is causing Meghan's illness. There are multiple twists that keep you guessing (some harder to believe than others).

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