Liv Constantine | The Stranger in the Mirror

stranger in the mirror liv constantine

The Book: 

The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv Constantine, 2021

The Characters: 

Addison/Cassandra
Her fiance Gideon
Her husband in her past life, Julian

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Get it on Amazon | Bookshop.org


Thank you to Harper for providing me with a free advanced copy of The Stranger in the Mirror in exchange for an honest review. 

The Plot (from Goodreads):

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?

As these two lives intersect, The Stranger in the Mirror hooks readers with riveting drama, told with Liv Constantine’s hallmark blend of glamour, tense psychological thrills, and jaw-dropping twists.

Click here for book spoilers for The Stranger in the Mirror
Book spoilers ahead–if you haven’t yet read The Stranger in the Mirror , I suggest you turn back now.

The Twist:

Addison wasn’t the original Cassandra. Julian had killed his first wife (Cassandra), and was so distraught over her death that he kidnapped another woman (Amelia) and hypnotized her to think she was Cassandra. He told everyone that Cassandra got in a very bad car accident, to explain the plastic surgery and why she disappeared from her friends’ lives. Julian also hypnotized Valentina to think Amelia was her mother. He thought he was doing Amelia a favor by making her forget her traumatic childhood.

Addison was Amelia, which was why she was having traumatic memories. Amelia had been abused as a child. Her twin sister was a stripper in Florida, which is why Addison was recognized there with Gideon.

The Ending:

Julian is convicted for the murder of Cassandra and goes to jail. Amelia agrees to continue to be Valentina’s mother, and gets all of Julian’s money to help raise her. Gideon wants to get back together, but she isn’t sure she wants to. Ed and Gigi remain a part of Amelia and Valentina’s life.

The Review: 

Another knockout by sister duo Liv Constantine!

I don’t know about you, but I have read a whole bunch of thrillers with this amnesia trope lately. I was a bit worried that this one would be another variation on the same theme, and that I’d be bored by a story I’ve read before. That was not the case with The Stranger in the Mirror! This might be my favorite of all the amnesia books I’ve read. I suspected the right person was the “bad guy”, but I never could have guessed the extent of the twist.

If you’re a fan of these authors’ jaw-dropping twists, you won’t be disappointed by The Stranger in the Mirror.  The book is fast-paced and entertaining cover-to-cover, and I read it mostly in one evening.

I docked a star because I had a hard time relating to Addison/Cassandra. This could have been due to her amnesia, but her thoughts felt stilted and disjointed at times. There was quite a quick jump from her one life to the other, and it felt a little too convenient.

I did come across a timeline error in my review copy and got a little too hung up on it–I thought I had missed something and spent easily an hour flipping back through the book to try to get the timeline straight. Once I finished the book, however, it was clear that it was just an editing error. I sent a message to Lynne and Valerie’s Instagram about it, and they confirmed the error had already been corrected! Next time I come across a timeline issue in an ARC, I’ll flag it and keep reading instead of stopping to try to figure it out.

stranger in the mirror liv constantine

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