The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer is a perfect psychological thriller, a murder mystery wich at the beginning seems to be a really simple one to solve. A victim and a murderer with all the evidence against her and someone who does not beleieve that the suspect is capable of murder.
Penny has multiple personality disorder. Her condition, arousing controversal arguments even among psychiatrists, is integral to the plot. She was only four years old, when Grace on her way home one rainy evening, found her abandoned in a public park. Grace and Arthur already had two sons, but Grace had always dreamed of a daughter. A perfect daughter. So little Penny was was adopted by Grace and Arthur.
But very soon it becomes clear that something is wrong with Penny. She acts as if several different personalities live inside her – Eve, Chloe, Ruby … . Grace suspects that Penny uses these personalities to manage her childhood trauma. Attempts to find a cure for Penny`s condition only add emotional distress. Family dynamics play an important role in this novel.
Twelve years after adoption Penny is accused of brutal murder of her birthmother. All the evidence is against her. Did she really murdered her birthmother? She might have had her reasons …
New York : St. Martin’s Press, 2021
Check from e-catalogue ESTER.
Eha Elmi
Department of Literature in Foreign Languages