Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer

3 reviews

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An interesting thriller. I find that mental illness in thrillers can be very hit or miss. While I can't comment on the accuracy of the DID representation, it seems like the author is well-researched in this regard. The effect of trauma on the child psyche was definitely believable. Definite trigger warnings for murder/torture/mental illness/child abuse. I felt that the multiple points of view detracted from the story, but it was an enjoyable read overall.
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shirtypantser's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book wasn't very good. It wasn't bad, either. It's a fairly generic psychological court drama. It's very predictable until the part where it isn't, but honestly, it's a mediocre plot twist. If you want a palette cleanser this book would probably do the trick. I'd say it was the book equivalent to plain white bread but that'd be doing an injustice to plain white bread. 
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gingerkathrynreads's review

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

2.0

I was given an ARC ebook copy free through Netgalley.

This book, sadly, just wasn't for me. I found the exploration of DID really interesting, and have read about/watched tv shows exploring the condition before. Penny's character and alters were really interesting to read about, I just wish we had more from her perspective - we are only given one chapter towards the end that gives us insight into what she's experiencing, but I wanted more. 

While I did find the mystery intriguing, which kept me reading to the end, I was frequently frustrated with the way it was written - very repetitive, and way too much time was spent on the characters discussing and theorising based on no evidence. I really struggle to enjoy a book when characters are making presumptions that lead them down the wrong path - I felt quite powerless as a reader, having to follow the plot constantly thinking "why are they doing this?" "why haven't they thought of that?" The reveals at the end took quite a leap of faith, and there had been no clues leading up to it, so it felt out-of-left-field and convenient; characters revealed they were hiding or 'hadn't thought of' relevant information that we were only given right at the end.

Additional small gripes - when Penny's British alter Ruby was speaking, she used words and phrases that didn't sound right, which was pretty disappointing as a British reader. There were also multiple spelling and grammar mistakes throughout the book, but hopefully these will be corrected for the final published copies. 

I can see why a lot of people would enjoy it, and I probably would still reccomend it to friends who would enjoy this specific kind of story. Overall, just not for me! 


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