Title: The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
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?
Review:
The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer is an engrossing, multi-layered mystery.
Grace Francone is incredibly tenacious as she attempts to prove her sixteen-year-old daughter Penny is not a murderer. The Francone family has struggled financially and emotionally after Grace’s husband Arthur’s death. She is attempting to keep the family’s business going but Penny’s arrest has taken its toll on their clientele. Her son Jack is still at college, but her other son Ryan dropped out of college to help run the restaurant. Jack and Grace believe in Penny’s innocence, but Ryan is angry, rude and convinced his sister is a killer. Thankfully, Penny’s new psychiatrist Mitch McHugh begins to believe his patient is, in fact, suffering from dissociative identity disorder. But will her lawyer Greg Navarro be able to convince a jury Penny has multiple personalities? And most important, will he win an acquittal for his client?
Grace’s belief in Penny’s innocence never wavers. As the trial draws near, she will take any risk to help prevent her daughter from being convicted. Grace works tirelessly to find evidence that someone else is the killer. She is very grateful that Dr. McHugh is at least willing to keep an open mind about Penny’s multiple personalities. At home and work, she is battling with Ryan’s derisive attitude and active dislike of his sister. Although she would like to get to the bottom of Ryan’s issues, Grace has no time to spare as she works with Mitch to help Penny remember more about the night the murder took place.
Mitch’s personal and professional lives have recently imploded and he is extremely lucky to have his new job at the state psychiatric hospital. He is quite intrigued by the possibility that Penny has dissociative identity disorder. Even after witnessing what her different personalities, a kernel of doubt remains. Mitch is completely invested in her case and he is willing to assist Grace’s efforts to locate the real killer.
The Perfect Daughter is a spellbinding mystery with a fascinating plot and interesting characters. Grace is force to be reckoned with as she tries to save Penny. Mitch’s backstory is unexpected but he is an excellent psychiatrist who truly wants to help the patients in his care. The storyline is compelling and moves at a fast pace. With a stunning plot twist, D.J. Palmer brings this spellbinding mystery to an electrifying conclusion.
