What Liv Constantine does best is misdirection--the reader believes that she has figured out the plot or the characters and then BAM the book does a 180 degree turn around. The Stranger in the Mirror follows this template very well. First you like Addison and Gabriel and think that Blythe is the "bad guy". But then enter Julian and the reader likes him too. Then in the end, (spoiler alert) Julian turns out to have clay feet and Blythe is actually the character to save the day. Phew!! You will have to read the book to figure it all out!

I enjoyed this thriller, although towards the middle I really couldn't figure out where the author was going with it. Then it clicked, and I predicted some of the ending/twists, but not all! It was an interesting topic (amnesia) and I like reading novels told from multiple character point of views. Some of it was a little far fetched but overall it was suspenseful and intriguing. I also read this book very quickly and was happy with the ending!

Addison Hope should be looking forward to her wedding to a wonderful man. Instead, she’s dealing with amnesia and the flashes of memory that leave her scared and confused. Meanwhile, a successful doctor living in Boston with his seven-year-old daughter still holds out hope that he’ll find his wife, who suddenly disappeared two years ago.

The Stranger in the Mirror is a twisty tale that is difficult to put down. The characters are interesting and the plot is clever, with two storylines that move at a nice pace. Overall, there were a few times the story took a bit of a nosedive, with elements that seemed far-fetched and maybe even a little silly. But, it was still a good read that I enjoyed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Great psychological thriller about a man going to any lengths to insure his daughter grows up with the mother he never had.

Great plot, good characters and enough thrills and suspense to make this page turner a fast read. I just could not put it down!

The twists just keep coming and coming! The beginning was a little slow but I read the 2bd half of this book in 1 sitting! I couldn't put it down every page left me wanting more!

The Constantine sisters have done it again! Every other book I’ve read by them has had some sort of jaw dropping twist and this one was no exception. Despite their books having this commonality, each one has been very different from the last. The plot of this one sounds like your typical domestic thriller, but it is so much more. It’s hard to say too much without giving spoilers but I promise that you haven’t read anything like this one. I literally binged this one in a day.

Thank you @harperbooks for the gifted copy of The Stranger in the Mirror {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Trope: Amnesia
Pub Date: 7.6.21
Star Rating: ☆☆

Ooookay, let me begin by saying that I love Liv Constantine — I always look forward to their books and will continue to read what they write, but The Stranger in the Mirror was not for me.

The entire book left me rolling my eyes at the predictable, cheesy nature of the storyline. For some reason, the dialogue throughout the novel did not feel genuine – it was almost disjointed. Then I was constantly confused if the characters were referring to the past or present, there were flashbacks nestled in every chapter, and I ended up feeling lost on several occasions. The entire book felt unbelievable, and, in my opinion, none of the characters were that likable.

The ONLY reason I gave this two stars instead of 1 is that there was a single twist at the end that I did not predict, AND I did finish the book instead of DNFing it.

🤔 Present and past confusion
👎🏼 Unlikeable characters
🤪 Unbelievable storyline
🗣 Disjointed dialogue
🔀 Twisty ending

Again, this is just MY opinion, and I will continue to read Liv Constantine’s books in the future — this one wasn’t for me.

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The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv Constantine is a recommended psychological thriller.

Addison Hope, not her real name, doesn't know who she really is. Two years ago she was found at the side of a highway in New Jersey by trucker Ed. She was obviously hurt, had no ID and no memory. Ed took her home to Philadelphia and his wife Gigi. The two get her into a doctor and then help her try to start her life again. Now she is engaged to Gabriel and about to have an exhibit of her photos at his family gallery. She loves Gabriel and should be happy, but she is still having occasional flashbacks to horrible memories, but she has no context to place them in, so she is staying quiet, afraid she did something awful in her past. At the same time Julian, a doctor in Boston, has been searching for his wife, Cassandra, for two years. Their daughter, Valentina, now 7, misses and needs her mother.

The chapters flip back and forth between several different character's points-of-view in short chapters that will propel you to keep reading. The sisters who are Liv Constantine know how to keep you reading and build suspense. There is no question that the plot will keep you reading, however you will also have to very firmly set your logic and disbelief aside to stay with the plot. I had several eye-rolling moments and scenes that had me muttering early on - and it just got worse as the plot continued. I had my suspicions the direction the plot was going to take, but hoped I was wrong. When we got to the last section I knew exactly where the plot was going and wasn't pleased to be correct. The opening was what kept me reading but the increasingly absurd plot elements left me wondering why I stuck it out when I reached the ending. I'm recommending because I did finish it, and some of the characters were well-written and interesting.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
The review is published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and submitted to Amazon.

A majorly anticipated read for 2021 and girl, did it tick a the boxes. I absolutely loved it. Diabolically twisty, creeptastically unputdownable and dare I say fun? Liv Constantine are on my MUST READ LIST!

Addison Hope is engaged and should be looking forward to married life but she can't as she has no past. She doesn't even know what her real name is let alone if this is her first marriage. Her fiance is understanding and hopes that he can help her make new memories and forget worrying about the past. Her future mother in law is not so happy with who her son is marrying and intends on finding something, anything that can ease her fears or confirm them.

Whenever amnesia is involved in a storyline it is not just the main character that can be unreliable it can also be those around them. So while Addison's story burns away slowly I am doubting everyone. My mind was constantly whirring with theories and accusations revolving around all the characters. Unsurprisingly none of my ideas turned out to be right and Liv Constantine has to be applauded for always managing to come up with jaw dropping plots. Once all was revealed it did remind me of a Dean Koontz book I had read (I know they are big fans of the author too) but they kept the story fresh and twisty beyond belief. At one point I was as muddled as poor Addison with exactly what was going on but I relished in piecing it all together bit by bit. The Last Mrs Parrish is still my favourite book by these authors as its twists and shocks can't be beaten, but this one is a strong second. If you haven't discovered Liv Constantine yet you are missing out.

Addison has lost her memory and was found, bleeding by the road. A very interesting and strange tale with lots of twists and turns. As Addison tries to regain her memory, details seem off. Why would she have left her 7 year old daughter? What happened to her?

Okay, I have to say, I love a good missing memory book. The narrator is always so unreliable and leaves me wondering what I can believe and what I can't.

This book have more than just Addison as a narrator though. We have Addison's soon to be mother-in-law, who wants to believe that Addison will be good for her son, but who worries what will happen when Addison's memory comes back. And then we have a man named Julian, who is searching for his wife Cassandra.

What do Addison and Cassandra have in common?

The first part of this book was good for me, although Addison was kind of boring. She was very sweet and docile, but almost seemed scared of her own shadow.

In the second part, when Addison begins to regain her memory and we find out more about Julian and Cassandra, things started to fall apart. The second part of the book jumps between the past and the present, but there were a couple of time where I wasn't sure which time frame I was in, which left me confused.

I will say I enjoyed this book quite a lot, but there were a few things that could have been cleared up to knock this book out of the park. Still, it would be a great read for anyone that'll looking to ride a crazy rollercoaster!

Do you remember that soap opera Passions from the early 2000s? It had the strangest craziest plots that were just super odd, but at the same time you couldn’t stop watching it. When I was reading/listening to this one it totally reminded me of Passions and would have totally fit in as one of their crazy story lines.

This book isn’t very realistic, is kind of predictable, but is also hella entertaining. I finished it with audio in about 24 hours during a busy work week. I just couldn’t stop listening to it. I really liked the audio portion it was super easy to follow and the narrator did a great job of keeping my attention.

This one won’t be for everyone, but if you are a fan of unique domestic thrillers that don’t take themselves too seriously, and are just looking to be entertained I think you will like this one.

Thank you @harperaudio and @harperbooks for my digital copies.

If you are no stranger to Liv Constantine's suspense novels, then you already know that they usually contain a jaw-dropping twist in the middle of the story. Her new novel The Stranger in the Mirror is no exception, and although seasoned Constantine readers will be on high alert looking for all of the clues and red herrings that will lead them to the twist, many won't see this one coming. I personally had a couple scenarios that I thought might play out, but was delightfully proven wrong when all was revealed.

The Stranger in the Mirror focuses on Addison Hope, a woman suffering from amnesia who has started a new life for herself since she can't remember her old one. Engaged to be married to a wonderful man from a wealthy family, Addison finds herself struggling to acclimate to her new life because she can't shake the feeling that there is something very dark lurking in her past.

Meanwhile, a man named Julian spends his days searching for his wife Cassandra, who disappeared without a trace two years ago, leaving him to raise their young daughter on his own. Just what happened to Cassandra and will Julian ever be able to find her and bring her home?

The Stranger in the Mirror is a book best gone into with as few details as possible, so don't check up on this one until after you have read it! Fast-paced and engrossing, The Stranger in the Mirror will leave you terrified of what awaits Addison on the other side of her memory ... if only she could actually tap into her past and discover what is hidden there. Told in alternating viewpoints from Addison, Julian, and Addison's fiancé's mother Blythe, this novel slowly reveals more and more about Addison's former life through each person's perspective. It is often said that the past is best left in the past ... will this be the case for Addison Hope?

Addition was found on the side of the road with no memory and an uncanny feeling something wasn’t right about herself and her past. I loved the dive into the intricacy of the human mind and memories (real or believed to be real). As I read this plot, there were many areas I wasn’t sure what was real and the storyline provides a number of twists and turns that don’t totally unfold until the end. As I was reading this, and another character (Julian) enters the storyline, I did feel like it was a bit predictable. While it was somewhat predicable, I loved the book and the story - easy and fast read that I didn’t want to put down. I actually would have given it five stars if it had a little more unpredictable circumstances.

Addison has no memory of who she is, a fact that overshadows what should be a happy event. Her marriage. Uncertainty sets the stage for a novel so wily it will take hold and never let you go. Two lives one she left and the other she’s about to begin collide in an ending that will leave you gasping. Through it all the pieces of her life begin to emerge in distinct and unsettling ways. A new triumph for this writing duo. A fan from the beginning.

I was excited about the premise of this book, a woman has no memory and now has to find the truth between two different lives. However, from the way the book is narrated, I feel like the plot is given away pretty early on - or at least too heavily foreshadowed. I also felt like huge jumps were made with few bridges bringing them together. A huge "plot twist" would be revealed and instead of showing us it, we are just told and so the momentum felt lost. It all just moved a bit too quickly, so the overall plausibility was too low. However, the story was unique, so if you want a quick read with some fun twists this will work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is another great book by an author that I really enjoy. I think she/they really outdid themselves this time. This book was a page turner.

This is a very complex story that will keep you turning pages. It will have you wondering what is going on. You will like most of the characters, even one that you will most likely end up despising. At first I liked that one but quickly learned I was being fooled. Taken for a ride. Being lied too if you will. What happened to Cassandra? Where could she have possibly gone? Is she dead or did something awful happen to her? This book answers all of that and much more. Even though you know right from the start almost that Addie and Cassandra are one and the same it will come as a shock what happened that caused all of the turmoil in their life. Caused her to run.

This book is so very good. It makes you feel like you are in the town with the characters. In their homes. Sitting at their table and laughing along with them. I really liked Gabriel. I really liked his family. I was a bit aggravated at his mother at first but begin to see her point too. Who wouldn't in this case. I loved Ed and Gigi. They were the best. They took Addie in and helped her. They stood by her.

What could possibly have happened in Cassandra's life to cause her so much pain. The nightmares. The almost memories. Did she do something so horrific that she lost her whole life. Her memories of everything. As bits and pieces start to emerge she wants to remember. She's also very afraid to remember. She has no idea where she came from or what she may have done. But she's about to find out everything.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #LivConstantine, #Harper for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book. I loved it!

5/5 big stars. I recommend you read this one. It will give you all the feels too. All of them.

The Stranger in the Mirror
A Novel
by Liv Constantine
Harper
You Like Them You Are Auto-Approved
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 06 Jul 2021 | Archive Date 31 Aug 2021

I was excited to read this great book by this sister duo!! What a story! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this outstanding book! I highly recommend it.
5 star

My book slump is OVER! 😍 I know I can ALWAYS count on @livconstantine2 for a wild, gripping story and The Stranger in the Mirror did not disappoint! Out now, you’ll want to add this to your tbr! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

Addison’s about to get married, but she’s not looking forward to the big day. It’s not her fiancé; he’s a wonderful man. It’s because Addison doesn't know who she really is. A few years ago, a kind driver found her bleeding next to a New Jersey highway and rescued her. While her physical wounds healed, Addison’s memory never returned. She doesn’t know her real name. Or how she ended up injured on the side of a road. Or why she can’t shake the notion that she may have done something very, very bad . . .

In a posh home in the Boston suburbs, Julian tries to figure out what happened to his loving, caring wife, Cassandra, who disappeared without a trace two years ago. She would never have left him and their seven-year-old daughter Valentina of her own free will—or would she?

Thank you @harperbooks and @livconstantine2 for my copy!