I definitely stayed up past my bedtime this week to finish D.J. Palmer’s Saving Meghan, a fast-paced blend of medical, legal, and family drama. Is 15 year old Meghan Gerard suffering from a rare, hard-to-diagnose disease, falling ill at the hands of her manipulative mother, Becky, or is there something far more sinister going on? This book will make you question throughout if you are team #believebecky or #protectmeghan until the very end.

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer combines medical drama and family turmoil with an element of suspense, and the result is wholly successful. I had no idea how this one would end, but I was certainly curious enough to keep turning the pages.

Fifteen year old Meghan Gerard is in and out of hospitals with a litany of health complaints, yet has remained undiagnosed, much to the consternation of her mother, Becky. Becky has made Meghan's health her sole focus in life, which becomes a serious concern for husband Carl. When a doctor suggests Munchausen syndrome by proxy as the source of Meghan's ailments, Becky fits the profile to the letter, having been abused in a similar way by her own mother, and having lost a son to SIDS years earlier. The author uses a vast amount of medical terminology and dsplays, at least to a lay person, an impeccable knowledge of clinical symptoms and procedures. The medical details of the novel are so well-researched and convincing, in fact, that I found sections of dialogue to be reminiscent of the wonderful writing of Lisa Genova.

Ultimately, this is the story of a family in crisis, with Meghan's undiagnosed illness as only one, albeit large, facet of a domestic breakdown. While I did feel a bit bogged down with medical jargon in parts of the narrative, I was compelled to read on to see Meghan's plight through to an ending that was completely unexpected.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and D.J. Palmer for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:
- Alternates between POV’s (Mom, daughter, etc.) - for a more well rounded story and different perspectives
- Goes through the day to day life of a mom taking care of a child with a chronic illness
- Wanted to keep reading to find out what happens next - so good!
- Combined the medical system, mental health and the legal system for an action packed, tension filled read

Love:
- Shows the difficulty of living with and trying to diagnose a rare chronic illness - really portrays the family’s struggles
- Shows the mom going to the internet for research and emotional support - incredibly realistic
- Reminds me of a Law and Order SVU vibe; Love it!!!

Dislike:
- The revelation(s) at the end - kind of disappointing in my opinion

Wish that:
- The drama didn’t boil down to something so basic yet so ridiculous

Overall, a really good thriller that kept me interested throughout. The author seamlessly combined mental health, family dynamics, chronic illness and the legal system. Definitely recommend!

Thank to netgalley and the author/publisher for the Arc for my honest review.

Everything about this book drew me in. I’ve always been intrigued by Munchhausen by proxy, so I knew this book would be right up my alley. I wasn’t wrong.
I was hooked by the first chapter. You will be too.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Meghan has been in and out of hospitals and doctor's care and they cannot figure out what is wrong with her. Her mother seems obsessed with finding out what is wrong and the medical staff starts to think that Megan has Munchhausen by Proxy as they cannot figure out what is wrong. Becky, her mother, fits the criteria, especially having lost a child to SIDS years ago. Meghan's father, Carl, seems to start to suspect this as well.

Once a few of the doctors get a hold of Meghan, they start to think they have it figured out, but due to Megan's fear of needles, cannot do the test needed. This is just the start of all of the craziness that lies ahead!

This book had twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and the ending was completely different than I had anticipated.

Loved all of the bizarre revolutions and until the end, I was convinced I knew what was going to happen.

Highly recommend!

This book was addictive and sucked me in from the very beginning. Becky was on a flight to visit her mother and sister in another state, when she gets a text from her husband saying their daughter is in the hospital. Becky is frantic, as her daughter has been sick for quite some time and despite seeing many doctors and specialists, and having many medical tests done, no one seems to know what is wrong with Meghan. How can the doctors say she appears to be healthy and fine, when she is always so sick? Can't anyone give them some answers?

I was hooked to the story. I wanted to know what was wrong with poor Meghan, and I felt so bad for her as she always seemed to be experiencing some ailment or another. A young girl, in the prime of her teenage years, and she was so sick she was limited to what she could do. Doting parents who seemed to devote their lives to finding some answers for their daughter, especially the mother Becky.

I enjoyed the twists and turns and shocking revelations that are revealed in this novel. A few surprises that I was not expecting at all. Just what is it that is making dear Meaghan so sick? Will she finally find some answers?

Overall an enjoyable read. Be sure to check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

This book kept me turning the pages until the very end. It is the story of Becky and her daughter Meghan who has a mysterious illness - or it is Becky with the illness? The book tests the trust and relationships in a family, and I found myself changing who I trusted from one chapter to the next. There was a point in the middle of the book where I felt it dragged a bit, but it picked back up, and kept me turning the pages until the very end. I did not see the twist coming, especially after I was disappointed in what I thought the author intended to be the twist, but it turns out he just wanted to keep me guessing.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good domestic or medical suspense story.

3.5 Stars

Becky Gerard knows how to get what she wants. She learned at a young age from her mother, whom she refers to as “the master manipulator”, how to read people and play them to get what she wants out of any situation. She’s been doing it her whole life. Is she doing it now?

Becky’s 15-year-old daughter Meghan was a popular teenager, good at soccer, doing well in school until she got sick two years ago. Her symptoms are severe enough to be worrisome, but the doctors can’t find what’s causing them. Her physical exams and blood work results always come back normal, yet Meghan isn’t getting any better. Becky, determined to find out what’s wrong with her daughter takes her to doctor after doctor, always with the same result – no definitive reason for her symptoms. Meghan doesn’t understand what is happening to her and resents that her father doesn’t seem to believe there’s anything wrong with her at all!

Finally, Dr. Zach Fisher may have an answer. But his diagnosis might well be a result of tragic personal history. He has diagnosed several of his patients with this rare disease. Often enough that the hospital he works for questions his objectiveness.

The story is told through three points of view: Becky, Meghan and Zach. It was interesting to see the same events through their different perspectives.

DJ Palmer certainly knows how to grab his readers attention and keep them riveted from the first page to the last! This is a very intriguing read, joining medical dilemmas, the effects of parental influence and domestic drama seamlessly. With constant twists and turns, I found myself not knowing who to believe, and my uncertainty continued to the book’s end.

This is one heck of a good read! I knocked ½ a star off because I found the end a bit contrived and the book perhaps a wee bit longer than necessary which made the middle seem repetitious at times.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Saving Meghan starts off pretty strongly--Becky, mother to fifteen year old Meghan, causes a commotion when she insists on leaving a flight about to take off to get to her daughter, who has just been rushed to the emergency room. Again.

Meghan has been sick for a while, with symptoms that are causing her to feel as if her body is shutting down. She's been to doctor after doctor, with Becky leading the charge to get her daughter more care, more tests, no matter what.

But is Meghan really ill?

For about the first half of the book, everything plays out fascinatingly. Is Becky making Meghan sick? Is Meghan making herself sick? What does Meghan's mistrust of her father, Carl, mean?

Meghan is eventually removed from her parents' custody, and that's when Saving Meghan turns from a mystery/thriller into a soap opera storyline. There's murder! There's a daring escape! Intrigue! More murder! A final showdown on the hospital roof complete with a scapel wielding psycho! (no, I'm not kidding) There's even an utterly cheesy ending followed by an epilogue that is cringeworthy in its ridiculousness.

Saving Meghan had a lot of potential, but went from a decent thriller to one that strains credibility so hard, it snaps it.

Saving Meghan is an edge of your seat medical thriller that will keep reading into the wee hours of the night. This book has everything from medicine, family, love, and destruction.

With chapters being broken down into different points of view it added a good dramatic touch. It kept me guessing until the end. I had no inkling of what was happening.

Fans of Jodi Picoult should definitely pick up DJ Palmer’s Saving Meghan and give it a well-deserved read.

I received a complimentary copy from St. Martins Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

I just finished Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer and it gets 3 stars. I don’t typically read thrillers, I find the writing to not be my cup of tea. I can’t quite put my finger on what I don’t like about the writing style behind them, except that I just don’t. I do find that thrillers tend to push the envelope with more R-rated content, but this one wasn’t too bad. The reason I chose to read this was because I read in a review that it was about Munchausen by proxy, which I randomly learned about from a book I read in high school. I’ve been fascinated by stories about it ever since. I also am drawn to stories about medical issues and hospitals.
I found this story to be fast-paced, and I read most of it yesterday, stayed up reading late, and woke up early to finish to find out what would happen.
If thrillers are your thing, you would really like this!

Meghan is a sick girl...or is she? She displays a lot of symptoms but all the tests are inconclusive. So what is really wrong with Meghan? I wish I could say that I cared but honestly all the characters were so unlikeable I just couldn't find it in me to care.

I've read lots of comments about the ending...it was unexpected, but to me it felt rushed and not enough to redeem the book in my opinion.

In the author's acknowledgments he says, "it is really about family and the power of love" and if I look at it that way I can agree because Becky will go to any lengths for her daughters.

As we all know, not every book is for every person, so please give this book a chance and report back to me with your thoughts.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

This was a good story that bounced back and forth leading you on and then boom what a surprise. Mothers will fight for their children to the ends of the earth especially when it involves their health and finding a diagnosis for what ails them. I did find the story went on way too long and could of ended sooner but it didn’t keep me from reading till the last page.

SAVING MEGHAN is a medical thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

Can you love someone to death?

Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of the hospital with a whole lot of unexplained ilnesses. Every medical test has come back stating nothing is wrong. Becky, Meghan's devoted mother, will do anything to find out what is wrong with her daughter. Some people, even Becky's husband Carl, think she's searching for medical help for made-up symptoms. Doctors immediately suspect Munchausen by proxy syndrome. But one doctor believes it could be a very rare disease. Is Meghan really sick? Or is Becky putting ideas in Meghan's head?

I really enjoyed reading the multiple POVs, it definitely added to the drama. Saving Meghan is a fast-paced novel full of family drama with a twist of secrets and lies.

*Many thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the official description, I figured this book would have a melodramatic bent. But in no time at all, the bent went for broke and stayed there till the end. That said, it's very well written, moves along quickly and serves up several doses of suspense. For those reasons, I'm comfortable giving it 4 stars even if it isn't quite my cup of tea.

Becky Gerard and her husband of 20 years, Carl, have an almost 16-year-old daughter, Meghan, who's been in and out of doctors' offices and hospitals for years. All that time, there's been no firm diagnosis and no let-up in Becky's all-consuming attempts to find one (and ultimately, of course, a cure). The book begins as Becky is leaving Boston on an airplane, reluctantly leaving her ailing daughter for California to visit her dying mother. When she gets a just-at-takeoff text from Carl telling her he's taken Meghan to the hospital yet again, the news throws Becky in such an emotional meltdown that she gets thrown off the plane.

Chapters shift among perspectives of various characters, and next up is pediatrician Zach Fisher, who still gets nightmares about the death of his young son Will. Turns out he's the physician examining Meghan this time around, and he wastes little of it coming up with a diagnosis of mitochondrial disorder, the same disorder (aha!) that resulted in his son's death. Others at the hospital aren't as ready to accept Zach's conclusion, though; not only is there no specific set of symptoms, Zach has earned a reputation for diagnosing way too many patients with the disorder. Becky, though, has no reservations whatsoever; instantly, Zach achieves demigod status - and the devil take anyone who disagrees (including her husband, who after all this time is far less inclined to grasp at straws).

Becky, now firmly allied with Zach, not only grasps the straws, she darned near squashes the life out of the suckers. Her emotional outbursts are epic, especially as Meghan's episodes become increasingly serious - prompting the medical community (sans Zach, of course) to conclude that Meghan may be a victim of her mother's Munchausen by proxy. Along the way, readers also learn that secrets abound - not every character is as he or she seems - thus building excitement to learn the truth. Near the end, the story takes a darker turn, resulting in a conclusion that for me was half expected, half not.

The overarching question, I guess, is how far would a mother will go to save her sick child, especially when the rest of the world is conspiring against her (and as a mother/grandmother myself, I concede that there are few, if any, boundaries). Overall, this is a story that should appeal to anyone who enjoys relentless angst mixed with a hefty dose of medical details and a few thrills. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Meghan's health has been slowly failing and her parents are at odds over what to do. Becky refuses to stop searching for a diagnosis, while her husband Carl has begun to feel like enough is enough. When one of the doctors consulting on Meghan's case has Meghan taken away and Becky stands accused of Munchausen By Proxy, Becky must also fight to clear her name and get her daughter back.
This book was a roller coaster ride of emotions, full of suspense, and a shocking ending. I felt empathy for Becky and her daughter, while a little nugget of doubt at the back of my mind wondered if it could possibly be true. The characters were realistic and the storyline was captivating. I highly recommend this book!

Saving Meghan

A Novel

by D.J. Palmer



St. Martin's Press


General Fiction (Adult)

Pub Date 09 Apr 2019





I am reviewing ing a copy of Saving Meghan through St.Martin’s Press and Netgalley:



By the time she is fifteen a series of doctors, and tests along with unexpected illnesses, frequent changes in doctors and a mother obsessed with trying to find out what’s wrong with Meghan even at Meghan’s expense leads others to start suspecting that maybe in a call for attention to herself her Mother Becky maybe making her sick.







When Meghan’s elements take a sharp turn, clashing medical opinions begin to raise questions about the strange nature of Meghan’s illnesses. Doctors are starting to suspect Munchauseum Syndrome By proxy. Is that what’s going on or is it something even worse?



The Gerard’s grow more and more suspicious of one another as well as their medical team. Soon Becky finds herself raising to prove her daughter has deadly disease. In order to do that Becky must first face her darkest fears and the family secrets that not only threaten to not only upend her once ordered life, but to destroy it.





I give Saving Meghan five out of five stars!

Saving Meghan.... what a cover!!

Becky's daughter Meghan has been very sick for a long time. So many tests have been done by doctor's and still there are no answers.

Becky becomes obsessed with finding out what's wrong with her daughter. Although, wouldn't you be if this was your child?

So, this reminded me a tad bit of a Lifetime movie that I saw and was pretty much rolling my eyes quite a bit throughout this entire novel. Meghan's mom falls under the suspicion that she may be creating her daughter's illness in her mind or as known as Munchhausen by Proxy disease.

I wasn't that impressed with the storyline and was expecting more. The writing was very strong but I just was hoping for a tad more than was delivered.

I was curious to see what was happening with Meghan and Becky... which gravitated me to finish the book! :)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 4/9/19
Published to Goodreads: 3/27/19

5 out of 5 Stars

First I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Meghan went from a happy, healthy and athletic girl to weak sick ghost of her former self almost overnight. Her Mother Becky believes that there is something terribly wrong with Meghan but the doctors can't seem to figure out what it is. There are too many symptoms that are pointing in too many directions. One day Meghan's Father , Carl finally has a suggestion, maybe Meghan has something called Mitochondrial disease. A friend of his suggested it as the disease has a different symptoms for each and everyone person. It is a very hard disease to diagnose. Luckily his friend knows a doctor who specializes in it. Becky is thrilled with the idea that they may finally have an answer and she is thrilled to meet Dr. Zach Fisher.

Though Dr. Fisher believes she does have Mito when Meghan starts to exhibit new & different symptoms he sends Becky and Meghan to Dr.Nash. Next thing Becky knows she is being accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioral disorder where a parent, usually the Mother makes her child sick to garner attention. Becky is shocked and a battle begins between Becky and Dr. Nash for Meghan's very life.

This book will get hooked and keep you hooked all the way through. This is a taut family drama that will hole your interest. It has a feel much like a Jodi Picoult novel.

I would highly suggest you picking this up!

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer is a gripping tale about a family divided over a sick child. When Meghan, a bright and athletic 15 year old, becomes afflicted with numerous vague complaints that leave her wasting away unable to attend school or play soccer, her mother devotes her every moment to finding answers which involves countless consults and tests. As the story unfolds, new flags are raised... what if Meghan’s Mom is masterminding the whole thing? As the parents are pitted against each other and the hospital, Meghan’s condition deteriorated more. This book was very well done and has numerous twists and turns, I found myself questioning each character’s motives and suspicions. Who will save Meghan? I highly recommend this book! I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.