I expected this to be a lot like Behind Closed Doors by BA Parris and it sort of was. The adoring husband who may not be all that he seems, a suspicion that everything isn’t as straightforward as it seems to be… It didn’t have quite the gut-wrenching “is she going to get away?” feeling that “Doors” that had me eyeing my husband warily for the next week, but it was still a great read. I did get a little confused with some of the time jumps since not all of the chapters have time periods expressed, so in one place it was awkward since the three sequential chapters went: 4 years ago, current day, 2 years ago; but gave no time markings so I was just like “wait, what? Who are we talking about? When are they going apple picking?” And it still surprised me what was actually going on, so that was cool. I had a theory about halfway through the second part, but I was totally wrong. I like being surprised.

I received an ARC but my opinions are all mine.

Thank you Heather Drucker, NetGalley, Harper books and Liv Constantine for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Synopsis: Addison has a wonderful fiancé but she’s unsure of her upcoming wedding. It has everything to do with her- she’s a stranger to herself. Two years ago, she was found on a highway bleeding with no recollection of her name or anything from her past. But, she has this sinking feeling she’s running from something she did.

Rating: 4.5/5

This book hooked me from the first page! I really like an amnesia trope especially since I’m so interested in memory. The characters in the first part of the book were so easy to love and connect with. There were a few good twists near the end! I was definitely caught off guard by one!

I didn’t love: that Addison went to just live with Julian after he showed proof. Seemed very unrealistic to me. I would have liked it better if Gigi and Ed went to give her some support at first.

I will definitely be wanting to read more from this duo as it was my first of their books!

I have reviewed this novel for New York Journal of Books where it will be posted the evening prior to the release date.

"The Stranger in the Mirror" by Liv Constantine
Harper
July 6, 2021
Mystery/Thriller

Addison Hope is living a new life in Pennsylvania. Two years prior she was found confused, disheveled, and wandering down a lonely country road. Middle-aged cross-country trucker Ed stops and offers her a ride.

Though hesitant, Addison is exhausted and climbs aboard. She requests water after Ed assures her he is not going to harm her. Her pants are ripped, and she has dried blood on her hands. They travel a while before Ed asks why she is hitchhiking and, seeing her condition, suggests taking her to the hospital.

"I find myself drifting off when Ed's deep voice startled me.

"'What's your name? You from around here?'

"My name? I had no idea. I scrunched my eyes shut and tried to concentrate, but my brain felt muddled and hazy. Taking a deep breath, I decided to tell him the truth. It was going to come out sooner or later anyway. 'I don't know. The thing
is . . .' I stopped and inhaled deeply again. 'The thing is, I don’t remember anything that happened before I was walking along the road, holding my head.'

"'You mean you can't remember how you got hurt?'

"'I mean I don't know who I am. I have no memory of anything except walking and getting into your truck.'

"Ed let out a low whistle. 'You have amnesia?'"

Concerned about the frightened and exhausted young woman, he decides to take her home. His wife Gigi is a nurse, and he believes she can care for her wounds since she refuses to go to a hospital.

Ed and Gigi take pity on her as they help her regain her memories. She recuperates from her injuries while living with them; they love and treat her like a daughter. Hoping to acquire an identity for her, Ed peruses cemeteries while on the road and finds a grave with the name Addison Hope—that of a child born in 1994, who died soon after birth. Ed manages, illegally, of course, to procure a birth certificate as well as a social security number so she can get a license and find a job. She accepts the name Addison, stating she likes the last name "Hope."

Time passes, and Addison considers Ed and Gigi like parents, but her memory is still a blur. Every so often she will have flashbacks and/or nightmares but she cannot understand what they are about.

To occupy her time, Addison enjoys taking photos then gains employment in a photography store. One day a striking man comes in asking advice about a camera. He glances around the store noticing Addison's photos posted on the walls. He introduces himself as Gabriel Oliver and states he is impressed by her work. When he invites her to lunch, he proposes showing her photos in his family’s gallery.

The attraction between them is instantaneous and before long they are engaged and planning their wedding. Addison, still unsure of her identity, is ecstatic, but Gabriel's mother wonders about her past so she hires a detective to search her past.

After two years Addison is no closer to discovering who she is. When she is in Philadelphia displaying her work at Gabriel's gallery, Julian Hunter, a prominent Boston psychiatrist, in the city for a medical conference visits the showing. When he spots Addison, he is shocked to realize she is Cassandra, his wife—the wife missing and away from him and their daughter Valentina for two years!

He hands Addison a photo telling her to look at it.

"She stared into the picture, her brows knitting as she held it up for a closer look. When she looked back at Julian, her eyes were clouded. 'That's me.' She glances at the photograph again. 'Who are you?'

"He had to tread lightly. 'Addison. That's not your real name, is it?'

"She took a small step back from him, and he saw fear in her eyes.

"'I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you.' He hoped his tone was reassuring. 'You don't remember anything about your past, do you?'

"'Do you know me?' she asked, and Julian thought he saw a flicker of something like hope in her eyes.

"'I do.' He looked past her to see the curly-haired man approaching.

"'Everything all right here?' he asked, looking from Cassandra to Julian.

"'This man knows me.' Cassandra's voice shook. 'He knows who I am. He has a picture of me. From before.'

"'Let me see,' the man said, and Julian handed the picture to him. Then he brought out his phone and pulled up all the photos of Cassandra.

"'Take a look at these, too,' he said, giving the phone to Cassandra.

"'Oh my God,' she whispered, leaning against the wall as she scrolled through.

"The man next to her stared at Julian. "Just who are you?' he asked.

"'Her husband. I'm her husband.'"

Addison/Cassandra finds her world crumbling around her. How can she be married and not remember? Furthermore, how can she be a mother and forget having a child?

Distressed, she does not know this man who calls himself her husband, and besides, she is in love with Gabriel. How can she go back to a life she cannot remember, especially when she fled from it? What if this man is an abuser? A liar? A fake?

Each character offers their own voice in this moving storyline, giving credence to each disturbing scenario. Beautifully written and articulate, the only puzzling portion of this novel is in Part III, (Four Years Earlier) before Addison/Cassandra fled Julian's home in Boston. As Julian works with her through hypnosis, he discovers she has a Facebook page where she sends pictures of Valentina to Ed and Gigi. But she does not meet Ed and Gigi until two years later after fleeing from Julian with no recollection of him. An uncaught glitch? If so, the completely unexpected and shocking conclusion more than makes up for this error.

It must be difficult to lose everything one remembers of their life, and there should be a legitimate reason for this after medical explanations are ruled out. Did Addison/Cassandra commit a crime? Did she witness a crime? "The Stranger in the Mirror "is a nail-biting, page-turner with several subplots. The suspense and terror prove to be horrifying, making this a powerful read.

Liv Constantine are an auto buy duo for me as well. I have read all of their books and this ranked this on the lower end of their work. For me, it was too far fetched, too unbelievable, and too many used twists we have already seen. There is one thriller trope that is used that I don't love when it's revealed - message me if you want to chat more! I will still read anything these two write but for me, this one was a miss. This book publishes 7/16 - thank you to @harperbooks for my advanced copy!⁣

The Stranger in the Mirror sets Liv Constantine right in there with all the great psychological thriller novelists. Wow! Who would have ever guessed with all the twists and turns how this book would end. The book was mind boggling while I empathized with Addison throughout as the plot dug deeper. Greatly enjoyed it.

I love books by this author and I was just as please with The Stranger in the Mirror. The best part was I never expected the ending. The characters were rich and believable. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

I feel like I may have read the story before... but that's not possible. Overall, I enjoyed the suspense and drama

The book is too far fetched for me, so many different plot ideas rolled into one. The entire book seemed so cliched with ideas taken from other suspense books.

Psychological Thriller

While I know there are a lot of books about someone losing their memory, for some reason I can't get enough of them. I also feel that Liv Constantine wrote about this topic from a unique angle. I didn't feel like this plot was stale or old. I was genuinely interested in finding out what was going to happen. A word of warning: DO NOT read the inner flap before reading this book. Less is more in this case!

Fast read with several twists and turns. I didn’t like it as much as the other book I read of hers but it was overall enjoyable and a fun read. 3.5 stars

I am a fan of The Last Mrs. Parrish, also written by the two sisters who make up the author, Liv Constantine. Based on that I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed. I almost felt like I was reading two separate books. The timelines kept jumping around and there were so many characters that I couldn’t keep the names straight. I also felt the book barely scratched the surface on developing some of the characters.
I know this book has some fans out there, but it wasn’t for me.

The Constantine sisters have another hit on their hands in this psychological mystery. Parallel stories alternate chapters until the stories merge into a greater mystery. I could go into more detail, but really, the less you know before reading this book, the better. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that some actions are a little hard to accept. But the writing flows smoothly, the characters are strong and well-drawn, and the plot is intriguing. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for providing an ARC.

Fans of this sister writing duo will be thrilled to have another Liv Constantine novel to gobble up in a sitting or two! The classic unreliable narrator, a woman with amnesia, who is certain of only one thing-she has a dark past-sets out to start a new life with an adoring fiancée and a burgeoning photography career. A few states over, a husband and daughter are mourning the unexpected disappearance of their beloved mother. A twisty tale ensues that will leave readers wondering until the last moment. Great book!

Liv Constantine delivered a good thriller, with great unreliable narrators, but I feel that this was not as good as their previous book, The Wife Stalker. I love books that change narrators and use that to tie a story together. This book did a great job of that, but sometimes it felt like their were too many different narrators taking over the story. A great read for those looking for thriller with twists and turns.

So at first I was hesitant about this book because the plot has been over done-amnesia, a husband who can't remember, etc. However, the plot twist is so out there that it makes this book stand out from the other amnesia plots. I was impressed by the storyline and invested in the story. This book has so many twists and turns that are clever and keep you reading! I read this in one sitting and didn't want to put it down. The writing style, action packed, suspenseful plot and relatable characters make this a great read.

The Stranger in the Mirror reads like it was written by two different people. Oh, wait, it was…Liv Constantine, the pseudonym for a sister writing team. The first half of the book had one steady tone throughout but when the story picked up in the middle, the tone was completely different. I admit being a bit lost with the timelines, and I hope it was just because I was reading an uncorrected proof.

Amnesia produces an unreliable narrator, and this has been done before. Then there is the diabolic doctor, also done before. Usually Liv Constantine has fresh, dynamic plots and characters, but this volume does not seem to measure up to their previous work.

The amnesiac Addison is engaged to be married but she has no idea who she is or what her story is. Her about-to-be mother-in-law is skeptical of Addison and plots to put off the marriage. Addison has been lucky enough to be “adopted” by a caring truck driver and his nurse wife, who try to nurture her for two years. Coincidentally, a wife and mother named Cassandra has been missing from her home for two years. Clearly Addison is Cassandra but unwinding the whole, messy plot will take some time.

The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Wife Stalker were both deliciously wicked and clever, while their latest thriller is just lackluster. Sorry, sisters.

Liv Constantine is the pseudonym of sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine. Some of their books are in development for both TV and film.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 18, 2021.

I would like to thank Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Ok. I’m confused. I really loved this book but I think there is a big flaw that needs to be fixed - In Part 3, 4 Years Earlier, “Cassandra” posts a picture of Valentina on Facebook and when Julian tells her not to do anything on social media she tells him “Only Ed, Gigi, and Hailey, and a few friends from the camera store are on there.” This is supposed to be 4 years earlier. The timeline doesn’t add up. She wouldn’t have known them then (Ed, Gigi, etc...). Unless I missed something or it wasn’t made clear. This is messing with my quarantine brain. I want to give this 5 stars but I can’t not knowing what’s going on. Help!!!

"The Stranger in the Mirror" was just too far out there with its ridiculous plot, but I can't really reveal much of why without spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that. I definitely prefer Constanine's previous novels to this one.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph!

I can more or less live with the main character's backstory making her a little...wobbly, but the villain? Who actually has that kind of time on their hands? What law enforcement agencies are that unobservant? Okay, maybe nevermind about that last part...