I want to start with the following words of advice: Do NOT make the same mistake I did and start this book as I got into bed last night. I ended up with only 1 1/2 hours of sleep. The story grabbed me from Chapter Two and did not let go. In typical Palmer fashion, I thought I knew how the book would end only to find I was dead wrong.

Trying not to give too many spoilers, let me say that this is the story of Grace and her daughter Penny and her two sons Jack and Ryan. The story is told through both Grace and Jack point of view, as it revolves around Penny, a child who entered their lives at the age of 4 with very little of her history known.

Penny has been charged with the murder of her birth mother and is taken into custody and ends up at a State Mental Health facility. We the reader follow along as Grace tries to support her daughter's mental health and legal issues. We learn of Penny's multiple personalities and her life both before and after she is adopted by Grace. We learn of Penny's life in the Institution and the doctor who becomes obsessed with helping her as the reader is introduced to more of Penny's life and alters.

This story kind of just sucked me in and I couldn't get enough fast enough. I thought I had figured out the story, and what actually happened is that I got sucked in to exactly where Palmer wanted me to go with it only to learn how very wrong I was. Palmer gives the reader good main character development to develop further insight and provides good development of the sub characters. Another great read from a great author

3.5/4 stars!
I loved the in-depth look at the mental illness DID- I think it’s fascinating, scary and sad.
Penny is found alone in a playground and adopted by Grace and her family. Soon they realize Penny has many other personalities.
Once Penny is a teenager, she has an alter, Eve who is trouble and who may have murdered her birth mother.

We don’t know if she’s faking symptoms or if she really has DID but she’s locked up in a psychiatric hospital awaiting trial. Grace is consumed by proving her daughter’s innocence.

The Perfect Daughter was definitely a page turner and I was totally invested in the story. It felt a little longer than necessary or maybe the ending felt a little rushed.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys twists and psychological thrillers!

This one is out April 2021, thanks to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my advanced ebook copy.

You can never go wrong with a book by this author. I loved the twists and turns and I loved nor knowing where the author was going with the storyline. The daughter was an extremely complex character and I enjoyed watching her be revealed.

A woman has been murdered and it looks like the murderer hasn't left the scene, Penny, a teenager, is covered in blood and catatonic but still holding the knife. She doesn't remember anything. When brought to the police station she isn't Penny anymore she is Eve, Penny was previously diagnosed with DID, "Dissociative Identity Disorder" with four different personalities. At four years old this child was found alone, in the rain, at a park, by what became her adoptive Mom. They have no idea what happened to her previously. Penny is very loved by most of her family. They know she has developed some interesting quirks. They thought she was just fooling around when she said her name was Chloe and decided everything had to be perfect, or Ruby who spoke with a British accent. They weren't fond of Eve who was wild and got into serious trouble as Penny was a sweet quiet and funny girl,. When she was taken to a psychiatrist the DID diagnosis was given. Why she had to form protective personalities is unknown. What kind of horror did she live with her first four years. She never speaks of it. Her adoptive mother knows Penny isn't capable of murder, but is Eve? Could there be more personalities than Eve, Ruby and Chole. While awaiting trial she is put in a mental hospital prison. The doctor there says she doesn't have DID she is a psychopath. Her mom hires a lawyer to keep her daughter from prison for the rest of her life. A new doctor takes over her care and he works closely with mostly Eve, the strong one who can survive in this hell hole prison, to determine if she really has DID and if one of her personalities a killer? What really happened? Will she ever remember? I really enjoy this psychological thriller and was eager to find out the Who, What and Why of this story, It's not until the very - very end that the truth comes out! Thank you NetGalley, D.J. Palmer, excellent job, and St Martins Press NY for allowing me to read this digital advanced copy, My honest opinion is yes read this book!

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for DJ Palmer's latest arc!

It has been a long time since I have stayed up way past my bedtime to finish a book, but by god I stayed up late to finish this. I HAD to know what was going on and where this was going.

The gist of the story is that a teenager is accused of killing her biological mother. A teenager who has DID (Dissociative identify disorder) or what used to be known as multiple personality disorder. So its up to her mom Grace and Dr Mitch to figure out what really happened.

Palmer is fantastic at creating red herrings. I mean to the point where you are convinced that you know how the book is going to end. Then at the last second, the book takes a turn you never saw coming! Palmer manages to do this without it seeming over the top either.

He is also exceptionally good at making you care about the supporting characters as well without taking away from the story itself. Another great one from D.J. Palmer

Fantastic as always!

So many lies, secrets, twists and turns.

Penny is accused of gruesomely murdering her birth mother but can not remember anything about the murder.

Grace her mother continues to believe in Penny and has done a remarkable job of adapting to Penny's Dissociative Identity Disorder so when the murder occurs Grace blames herself .

Who can Grace or Penny even trust? Did she do it?

Look out for curveballs, red herrings and oh so subtle hints that leads to an ending that will surprise and shock you.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an intriguing, mind blowing read.

This was a page-turner full of intrigue and suspense. I found the plot to be original and fun to read, with lots of twists and red herrings. The writing was excellent and the ending was unexpected.

Grace Francone is dealing with the sudden loss of her husband and trying to keep her family together, when her adopted daughter, Penny, is accused of murdering her birth mother. But Penny suffers from DID, dissociative identity disorder, where multiple personalities, or alters, can take over at any given moment. Grace is convinced her daughter is innocent, but she must get her lawyer and her daughters doctor to see what she sees. As her alters come out, and Grace continues to search for answers, Pennys backstory unfolds and leaves everyone questioning who she is, and what she did.

Oh my! D. J. Palmer has hit it out of the ballpark with The Perfect Daughter. I thought The New Husband was good but this one had me guessing what was going to happen until the very end. And I mean the very end. I had no clue what was going on with Penny/Eve/Chloe/Ruby and what was going on with Ryan, the older son. Who really killed Rachel. Was it Penny/Eve/Chloe/Ruby or her boyfriend or a drug dealer, or someone else. Is Penny/Eve/Chloe/Ruby faking the split personalities or are they real. There are just so many things going on in The Perfect Daughter that I couldn't wait to get back to reading. I will be recommending this book to my friends and family.

What just happened?! A well-written psychological thriller that will have reader’s guessing until the very end. Kudos to D.J. Palmer for skillfully weaving a complex storyline with unexpected characters. Palmer expertly leads readers astray over and over again with the perfect amount of apprehension. The characterization was nothing short of brilliant! All with their broken pieces and all with so much potential. Absolutely loved it.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinPress for the ARC of #ThePerfectDaughter. All thoughts and opinions posted by Wayward Readers Book Blog are original and offered voluntarily.

I have never been so surprised by an outcome in a murder mystery as I was with this amazing book! I was 94% through before the stunning revelation came. I was so enthralled with the path of the story and the many “characters,” that I still feel like I’m reeling. Wow! How good is this! A must read. Book provided by NetGalley.

Entertaining and full of suspense, this book was an engaging read. The main character, Penny (Eve, Isabella, Chloe, Ruby), has what is commonly referred to as split personality or DID. She has multiple personalities within one body. This becomes more of a problem when she is accused of murder and isn’t sure if one of her “alters” did it. I enjoyed the description of DID and learning about it through the eyes of Penny. I didn’t know much about the diagnosis other than brief episodes of United States of Tara. There were parts that felt a bit expected and I was never blown away by a revelation, an indicator of a truly masterful mystery, but overall had a good time reading the book.

This was a very slow read for me. About two-thirds of the way in, I began skimming in order to get to the outcome. i won't be posting a review on line. Sadly, the book didn't create enough interest for me to even do that.

Another homerun by D.J. Palmer! Dark, intriguing, and twisty is how I would describe this book and throughout this story I felt a whole gamut of emotions from sadness to extreme anger. I wanted to dislike some of the characters for what they did but was only able to dislike their actions because of the the implied background of some of the characters. I did figure out the twist ending a little before the big reveal but it didn't ruin the story for me. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book thanks to the publisher and author and NetGalley!

Not sure if this was the best choice to read over the Christmas holiday, but it proved to be an intense, detailed read. A woman is brutally murdered and found in the scene is a young woman covered in blood. This young woman suffers from Dissociative identity disorder (DID) or what may erroneously be referred to as multiple personality disorder. Don’t worry, you’ll get a full explanation.
The story is told with multiple narrators, the young woman’s mother, her brother, and her doctor at the mental institution/prison where she’s being held while awaiting trial. We learn about the young woman’s history, her relationship with the victim, and meet her various personalities.
This is a well-crafted story, mainly taking place inside the mental institution, which is fitting for such a grim story. I actually learned quite about DID, and while I had theories about the ending of the story, I did not see that ending coming. With a few little nuggets thrown at us along the way, I was on a different track. Well done!

The Perfect Daughter is a medical thriller which keeps you guessing. Penny's character with DID is intriguing, and Dr. Mitch is an endearing doctor who is truly "one of the good guys," even though his own mental illness causes him to doubt that. I found myself in awe of Grace's motherly strength and instinct. She never gave up or backed down as she fought for her daughter's innocence. An absolutely excellent read I couldn't put down.

This was a really good book! It was a very exciting psychological thriller that had so many twists and turns! Every time I thought I had things figured out there was a new twist. I learned a lot about DID and was so interested by the psychological aspects of the story. I have enjoyed all of this author's books and look forward to reading more. I would definitely recommend this book. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Perfect Daughter” is an enthralling psychological thriller that pulled me in right from the very first page and held me captive right up until the very last. It’s the story of a fragile, teenage girl with mental health issues—unceremoniously arrested for murder—and her steadfast mother, who is determined to uncover the truth at all costs.

Boasting complex, multi-faceted characters and a fascinating, edgy premise, “The Perfect Daughter” is an absolute page-turner! It’s only the second book by D.J. Palmer that I have read, but it definitely won’t be my last!!

Thank you so much to the author, D.J. Palmer, the publishing company, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC for my honest review.

Starts off with a bang, and ends with a bang. Another winner from D.J. Palmer!!
The subject matter for this book, is D.I.D., what used to be called multiple personality disorder. Throughout the book, you can tell that the author really did great research on this subject, and this came through each page of this book.

I love, love, love anything that D.J. Palmer writes, and you will not be disappointed by reading this one.

The Perfect Daughter is a very interesting book which dealt with a subject that I have not encountered very often in novels, Dissociative Identity Disorder, more commonly know as Multiple Personality Disorder. Penny is a young woman who was adopted as a small child, after being abandoned in a park. She started showing signs of multiple personalities as a teenager. Her adoptive mother, Grace, has been trying to deal with these different personalities which has put a strain the whole family, in particular her two sons. Then, Penny is found with her dead biological mother, covered in her blood. She is charged with murder and immediately taken to a mental institution to await trial. Penny has no memory of the incident.

With the help of a sympathetic doctor at the hospital, Grace tries to uncover the truth of what happened to save her daughter. There are some very unexpected twists in this story and dramatic courtroom scenes.

I really enjoyed this book and are grateful to St. Martin's Press for the invitation to read the advance reader's copy. I highly recommend this book.