Review: The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. I loved Saving Meghan, and this has a very similar structure and characters to that book. The plot develops in much the same way, you aren't quite sure if Penny's medical condition is made up or all in her head. We also have the strong-willed, devoted mother character who wants to advocate for her daughter and we have the doctor who has some of his own struggles. There is some family drama that takes you off the scent of the case and throws you for a loop. What I thought was different and and an interesting choice was to narrate the book from the perspective of the older brother Jack and the mother Grace. Jack is a film student and using his sister's story as the basis for the movie he is writing. I felt that both of the narrators did a wonderful job with the book. January LaVoy is an outstanding narrator and amongst my favorite audio narrators. She did a wonderful job with the characters, giving voices and accents to each one as appropriate. She always give such emotion to each scene. Dan Bittner was a great addition to Jack’s chapters; his chapters genuinely felt like he was writing letters to his kid sister through the entire ordeal. You could really feel the emotion from his vantage as Penny’s case developed.

I've always been quite fascinated by the multiple personality or disassociative identity disorder diagnosis after having watched Sybil many years ago. It makes for a great plot device in books and movies, but I do know that it is still a very controversial diagnosis amongst actual professionals. I thought it made for a great basis for this medical thriller, especially if you are looking for an unreliable narrator character in a murder investigation. I thought the mental health aspects of this book were portrayed respectfully and well researched. I can't speak to how realistic it is, I'm sure some things were fictionalized to keep things moving in the book. I also thought the author did a great job with the reveal at the end. I didn't see it coming until it happened. I love that in a thriller. I was thoroughly convinced several times that I knew what the ending was going to be, despite the fact that those endings would have been predictable and unsatisfying. I was pleasantly surprised when we were led down several different paths meant to mislead and confuse the reader.

I loved the audiobook version of this. I had a hard time taking my headphones out while I was listening to this. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next in Penny's case and if she really had DID or if she was making it all up. I also wanted to know if she was innocent or if she couldn't remember committing this horrible crime. If you liked Saving Meghan, I think you would like this as well.

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