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A review by fulltimefiction
The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
3.0
3.5 stars
The Perfect Daughter tells the story of Grace, the mother of Penny who has 3 alters and has Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID. She has been framed for the murder of her mother since she was found covered in blood with the murder weapon in her hand. What follows is Grace and her family trying to prove that Penny has DID and if possible, her innocence. The story is told from 3 perspectives. Grace, Jack (her son), and Mitch (the psychologist at the hospital where Penny is kept till the trial).
A very interesting mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put the book down at some parts. Discovering Penny’s hidden past was very fascinating to read about. The book started fast page, with the police arresting Penny from chapter 1 and didn’t slow down. Although I wish the second part was shorter, since some things got repetitive, I didn’t mind because I was invested in the story.
I am unfamiliar with DID so it was interesting to read about a character with this mental health problem. The amount of research that went into this book must have been great! But I wonder how much was used to fit the story because ultimately, it’s nothing that would happen in real life. Nevertheless, it was informative if anything to learn about DID (even if the author mentioned that some things were altered).
The characters were likable. I admired Grace’s fight to help her daughter and her devotion to her. She was a well-developed character and, in my opinion, the one that is best written: realistic, compassionate, flawed, but also full of love for all of her children fore and foremost.
I had a minor problem with Mitch. I didn’t think his backstory was important to the plot at all. His part was essential to the story, but I didn’t care much about his personal life. Maybe on its own, it would’ve been better, since I am interested in reading about parents of drug addicts as a part of a book. But maybe if it was Grace’s son (not that it would’ve worked here). The other thing is he was too much invested in helping Grace?? I found this unprofessional as I don’t believe psychologists working in public forensic hospitals, like another reviewer pointed out, work with the parents. It was obvious that the author was trying to keep Dr. Mitch “skeptical” all while believing in Penny’s DID. And he worked with Grace like they’re one team?? (Don’t worry no romance here, platonic relationship.) It was necessary for the plot yet not believable.
I was satisfied with the ending if a bit farfetched. At least the events were given a logical explanation, not that they would happen in the real world, but I was content with how was the story wrapped up.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Perfect Daughter tells the story of Grace, the mother of Penny who has 3 alters and has Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID. She has been framed for the murder of her mother since she was found covered in blood with the murder weapon in her hand. What follows is Grace and her family trying to prove that Penny has DID and if possible, her innocence. The story is told from 3 perspectives. Grace, Jack (her son), and Mitch (the psychologist at the hospital where Penny is kept till the trial).
A very interesting mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put the book down at some parts. Discovering Penny’s hidden past was very fascinating to read about. The book started fast page, with the police arresting Penny from chapter 1 and didn’t slow down. Although I wish the second part was shorter, since some things got repetitive, I didn’t mind because I was invested in the story.
I am unfamiliar with DID so it was interesting to read about a character with this mental health problem. The amount of research that went into this book must have been great! But I wonder how much was used to fit the story because ultimately, it’s nothing that would happen in real life. Nevertheless, it was informative if anything to learn about DID (even if the author mentioned that some things were altered).
The characters were likable. I admired Grace’s fight to help her daughter and her devotion to her. She was a well-developed character and, in my opinion, the one that is best written: realistic, compassionate, flawed, but also full of love for all of her children fore and foremost.
I had a minor problem with Mitch. I didn’t think his backstory was important to the plot at all. His part was essential to the story, but I didn’t care much about his personal life. Maybe on its own, it would’ve been better, since I am interested in reading about parents of drug addicts as a part of a book. But maybe if it was Grace’s son (not that it would’ve worked here). The other thing is he was too much invested in helping Grace?? I found this unprofessional as I don’t believe psychologists working in public forensic hospitals, like another reviewer pointed out, work with the parents. It was obvious that the author was trying to keep Dr. Mitch “skeptical” all while believing in Penny’s DID. And he worked with Grace like they’re one team?? (Don’t worry no romance here, platonic relationship.) It was necessary for the plot yet not believable.
I was satisfied with the ending if a bit farfetched. At least the events were given a logical explanation, not that they would happen in the real world, but I was content with how was the story wrapped up.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.