The Perfect Daughter

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Grace knew that adopting the girl she found abandoned in a park would have its challenges, but she never imagined she would be spending her days in a psychiatric hospital while her daughter awaited trial. The evidence is piling up against Penny, but Grace doesn’t lose faith and knows there must be another explanation to all of this. As she searches for more clues, she uncovers dark secrets from the past that could change everything. 

I went into this book unsure of how the topics of adoption and mental illness were going to be portrayed. Both are sensitive topics (I am an adoptee) and I was curious how they would be handled in a psychological thriller. While I didn’t love the classic narrative of fate bringing together a traumatized child and doting, adoptive mother, I did appreciate that the plot acknowledged Penny’s past and her complex feelings surrounding her story. I thought the discussions about mental health were much stronger, though I do not have any experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder. The portrayal was both clinical and humanizing. 

The actual story was very intriguing. Just like with The New Husband, I was drawn in and turning the pages as fast as I could. The chapters from the older brother, Jack’s perspective were a nice break from the third person narrative and offered a more personal perspective into what was happening. The characters were pretty developed, but I found myself connecting most with Penny and Dr. Mitch. They both had their unique struggles with mental health and I appreciated the glimpses into them and how those challenges influenced their present motivations. 

I did not predict the plot twists at all. This is both good and bad for me. I love when I can’t predict a plot twist, but I wished there had been a few more clues to hint at what happened. The last plot twist/revelation felt a bit unnecessary to me, but it did resolve some questions I had throughout the book. Overall, it is a strong psychological thriller that will force you to confront mental illness in a new way.