Title: The Perfect Daughter: A Novel
Author: D.J. Palmer
Release Date: April 20th 2021
Genre: Psychological Thrillers
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.
Meet Ruby, who speaks with a British accent.
Then there’s Chloe, a perfectionist who strives for straight A’s in school.
And along comes Eve, who is spiteful and vicious.
All of them live inside Penny…
Or do they?
Penny Francone, age sixteen, is a murderer. Her guilt is beyond doubt: she was found alone in the victim’s apartment, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon. The victim’s identity and her secret relationship to Penny give Penny the perfect motive, sealing the deal. All the jury needs to decide now is where Penny will serve out her sentence. Will she be found not guilty by reason of insanity, as her lawyer intends to argue? Or will she get a life sentence in a maximum-security prison?
Already reeling from tragedy after the sudden passing of her beloved husband a few years before, now Grace is on her knees, grateful that Massachusetts doesn’t allow the death penalty.
As Penny awaits trial in a state mental hospital, she is treated by Dr. Mitchell McHugh, a psychiatrist battling demons of his own. Grace’s determination to understand the why behind her daughter’s terrible crime fuels Mitch’s resolve to help the Francone family. Together, they set out in search of the truth about Penny, but discover instead a shocking hidden history of secrets, lies, and betrayals that threatens to consume them all.
The perfect daughter. Is she fooling them all?
The Perfect Daughter is a total head spin of a read. You never saw the ending coming!
When reading a DJ Palmer book, I can expect a nice twist or turn. Don’t get me wrong, this book did have one but not sure how well it was executed. I wanted to like this book more than I did. The pacing of the story was up and down. I felt it lulled in a lot of places. The story was good but I felt it dragged on a bit longer than it should have. At one point I almost DNF’d but I wanted to see how everything came together and trudged on. I did feel for the characters. The emotional rollercoaster ride everyone was on. The fighting spirit the mom had. Plus the emotions the author made you feel as you read. Who to trust? What actually happened?
As a whole, this is a good read. If you’ve read others by her, you will enjoy this. This one wasn’t one of my favorites but I do look forward to her next release! I give this 3 stars.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*
The Literary Vixen 