The Stranger in the Mirror: A Novel

The Stranger in the Mirror starts off as a very intense and interesting story about a woman found on the highway who doesn’t know who she is or where she came from. As she starts a new life living under the new name of Addison Hope, her “adoptive” parents Ed and Gigi treat her like she is their own. Addison, or Addy, meets Gabriel and they start a whirlwind romance. Addy is happy with her new life but often has flashbacks, violent flashbacks, of what she can only assume is her past life and possibly why she was running from it. Then, one day, a man named Julian who claims to be her husband shows up after seeing her picture at a gallery exhibit. He tells her that her name is really Cassandra and that they have a daughter named Valentina.

The story is written from the alternating perspectives of Addison, Julian, Cassandra, and Blythe, Gabriel’s mother. The story becomes very unbelievable as we learn that Julian may not be who he seems and perhaps Cassandra/Addison may not be who she seems as well. The plot twist is a bit confusing, as the writing floats between the past and the present. It was a good premise that was unnecessarily complicated.