Behind the scenes at my publisher, St. Martin’s Press, Danielle Prielipp and Sarah Bonamino as well as others in the marketing, sales, and public relations departments, have done everything possible to make sure The Perfect Daughter finds its readership, and have done so with the added challenge of a global pandemic. I wrote this novel before the pandemic struck, and I believe the book is going to be read long after we’ve returned to more familiar ways of living. To that end, I intentionally did not modify the story to reflect the current times.
One thing that won’t change with the years is the struggle many people have with mental illness. Dissociative identity disorder, which features prominently in this novel, is a very complex and multifaceted condition that is often incorrectly dramatized in books, TV, and the movies. I did a substantial amount of research on the disorder and prioritized portraying the character with DID as true to life as possible. Where I took too many liberties, I did so for the sake of the story, and to anyone who feels I fell short of my goal, I offer my apologies.
A heartfelt thank you goes to Jessica, for taking care of everything else as I was busy writing, as she’s done for many years, and to my children, for being constant sources of joy and inspiration. For me, the satisfaction comes when I hear from delighted readers. It is a privilege that people take time out of their busy lives for my story, and they do so with the expectation that I will take them on a journey that will be thrilling, surprising, and a blast to read. I hope I have wildly exceeded your expectations.
—D. J. Palmer, New Hampshire, 2021