Books

Saving Meghan

"Smart, chilling, and full of hairpin turnsSaving Meghan is highwire suspense of the first order.” ―Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Under My Skin

Some would say Becky Gerard is a devoted mother and would do anything for her only child. Others, including her husband, Carl, claim she’s obsessed with her daughter and fixated on finding a cure of the girl’s mysterious health problems.
 
Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of hospitals with a plague of unexplained illnesses. But when the ailments take a sharp turn, clashing medical opinions begin to raise questions about the puzzling nature of the Meghan’s illness. Doctors suspect Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioral disorder where the primary caretaker seeks medical help for their child’s health problems—conditions the adult has actually made up or caused. Is this what’s going on? Or is there something even more sinister at hand?
 
As the Gerards grow more and more suspicious of each other and their medical team, Becky must race against time to prove her daughter has a deadly disease. But first she must confront her darkest fears and family secrets that threaten not only to upendher once-ordered life…but to destroy it.

Praise for Saving Meghan

"Page-turning...Palmer’s take on a dark and fascinating topic will keep the reader wondering to the very end." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Mother doesn't always know best in this thrill ride of a novel...gripping and twisted." ―Karin Slaughter, bestselling author of The Good Daughter

"Plenty of twists...will keep you turning the pages as you guess...and guess again." ―Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of After Anna

"An acute, sensitive portrayal of family love under extreme stress...[with] a touch of Hitchcock." ―William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

"Smart and taut...Moves at a lighting pace." ―Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife

“DJ Palmer captivates readers with the fine line between a mother on a mission and a mother who’s gone way too far...the stakes couldn’t be higher in this pulse-pounding winner of a thriller.”―Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

 
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, BAM!, Powell's, Apple Books


The New Husband

D.J. Palmer’s second novel, THE NEW HUSBAND, now out in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Press asks the question: can lightning strike twice when it comes to making a terrible choice in man?

Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you know them. Nina Garrity learned this lesson the hard way after discovering that her missing husband, Glen, had been leading a double life with another woman. But Glen's gone—presumably drowned while fishing on his boat—so she can't confront him about the affair or any of his other misdeeds. A year-and-a-half after the accident, Nina considers herself a widow, even though the police never found a body. Following a chance encounter with Simon Fitch, a social studies teacher from her daughter Maggie's middle school, Nina finds love again and has hopes of putting her shattered life back together. Simon, a widower still grieving the suicide of his first wife, has found his dream girl in Nina. His charm and affections help break through to a heart hardened by betrayal. Nina's sixteen-year-old son, Connor, embraces Simon as the father he wishes his dad could have been, but Maggie thinks she sees another side to this new man in their lives—a far darker side. Even Nina’s good friends wonder if Simon is supremely devoted—or dangerously possessive. But Nina is committed, not only to her soon-to-be new husband but also to resuming her former career as a social worker. Before she can move forward, however, Nina must first clear her conscience that she's not making another terrible choice in a man. In doing so, she will uncover the shocking truth: the greatest danger to her, and her children, are the lies people tell themselves.
 
Purchase in trade paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and now at Target!
macmillan.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, IndieBound, Powells


The Perfect Daughter

Penny Francone, age sixteen, is a murderer. Her guilt is beyond doubt: she was found alone in the victim’s apartment, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon. The victim’s identity and her secret relationship to Penny give her the perfect motive, sealing the deal. All the jury needs to decide now is where Penny will serve out her sentence. Will she be found not guilty by reason of insanity, as her lawyer intends to argue? Or will she get a life sentence in a maximum-security prison?

Already reeling from tragedy after the sudden passing of her beloved husband a few years before, now Grace is on her knees, grateful that Massachusetts doesn't allow the death penalty.

As Penny awaits trial in a state mental hospital, she is treated by Dr. Mitchell McHugh, a psychiatrist battling demons of his own. Grace’s determination to understand the why behind her daughter’s terrible crime fuels Mitch’s resolve to help the Francone family. Together, they set out in search of the truth about Penny, but discover instead a shocking hidden history of secrets, lies, and betrayals that threatens to consume them all.

The perfect daughter.  Is she fooling them all?  

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, BAM!, Powell’s, iBooks


PDF icon PERFECT DAUGHTER - Discussion Guide.pdf

My Wife Is Missing

When a woman disappears with her two children, one husband will do anything to find them--even confront the secrets of his own past--in D. J. Palmer's My Wife Is Missing, a twisty thriller from the author of The New Husband...

Availble also in audiobook. 

FIRST CLUE Starred Review Of MY WIFE IS MISSING

(Un?)reliable Narrator(s)

Palmer, D.J. My Wife is Missing. May 2022. 384p. St. Martin’s.

On a family trip to New York City, Michael Hart returns to their hotel from a pizza run only to find his wife and children gone, with only a left-behind teddy bear showing they were ever there. Readers will viscerally feel Michael’s panic and incredulity as he frantically searches the hotel and realizes they are …nowhere. Soon we switch to his wife, Natalie’s, point of view. She and Michael see these events very differently, but readers can’t be sure whether her story is accurate or a product of the terrible insomnia she’s endured for months. What if Natalie’s narrative is all a delusion? What if Michael’s is all a lie? Maybe they’re both lying, or maybe neither is and someone else is behind the terrible events that unfold in the present—a coworker of Natalie’s is murdered—and are revealed as part of one partner’s past. Palmer deftly combines perhaps-unreliable narratives with twists and a heart-tugging chase with children in tow; the explosive ending is both unexpected and satisfying. The author is the son of the late medical-thriller author Michael Palmer, and their work has the same just-one-more-chapter-even-though-it’s-2 am quality. This is a great read for any thriller fan, but is especially recommended to those who enjoyed Alice LaPlante’s Turn of Mind, in which a murder may have been committed by a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.—Henrietta Verma

Readers Are Buzzing About MY WIFE IS MISSING!

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724990-my-wife-is-missing

NetGalley https://www.netgalley.com/book/238592/reviews

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound, Powell’s , Fantastic Fiction, Target, Apple Books