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Mirror Mirror
When evil and beauty collide
Helmand campaign veteran Virgil Bliss is used to earning a living under fire, in dirt, heat and cold. So when he is offered a lucrative job in London as close protection officer to one of the world’s most beautiful women, he can hardly believe his luck. How hard can it be?
Twenty-three-year-old Mira Roskova is admired, envied and desired. With a world-famous footballer for a boyfriend, her rise to celebrity and wealth comes with what her millions of Facebook and Instagram followers imagine to be a perfect life.
But celebrity extracts a price. Mira is assailed on all sides. Trailed by those who adore her, threatened and stalked by strangers online, and beaten up by a man she trusted. Virgil finds this isn’t the cushy number he imagined. Her home isn’t safe, her friends can’t be trusted, and her freedoms melt away. Then there is the enigma of the woman herself: where does the image end and the person begin?
As the threats multiply, the biggest danger is overlooked. In Broadmoor, Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospital, one man has long been obsessed with Mira. His crimes are so awful that a judge ruled they must never been revealed to the public. But his plans to possess a unique beauty are well advanced, and he has the charm and the cunning to make them work.
As Mira’s agent remarks, fame has a habit of devouring its most perfect children.
Helmand campaign veteran Virgil Bliss is used to earning a living under fire, in dirt, heat and cold. So when he is offered a lucrative job in London as close protection officer to one of the world’s most beautiful women, he can hardly believe his luck. How hard can it be?
Twenty-three-year-old Mira Roskova is admired, envied and desired. With a world-famous footballer for a boyfriend, her rise to celebrity and wealth comes with what her millions of Facebook and Instagram followers imagine to be a perfect life.
But celebrity extracts a price. Mira is assailed on all sides. Trailed by those who adore her, threatened and stalked by strangers online, and beaten up by a man she trusted. Virgil finds this isn’t the cushy number he imagined. Her home isn’t safe, her friends can’t be trusted, and her freedoms melt away. Then there is the enigma of the woman herself: where does the image end and the person begin?
As the threats multiply, the biggest danger is overlooked. In Broadmoor, Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospital, one man has long been obsessed with Mira. His crimes are so awful that a judge ruled they must never been revealed to the public. But his plans to possess a unique beauty are well advanced, and he has the charm and the cunning to make them work.
As Mira’s agent remarks, fame has a habit of devouring its most perfect children.
- GenresThriller
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2016
177 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Nick Louth
41 books282 followersNick Louth is a freelance journalist and author, based in Lincolnshire UK.
Before beginning writing fiction, he was a foreign correspondent for Reuters news agency, and a regular contributor to the Financial Times, MSN, and many financial magazines.
Before beginning writing fiction, he was a foreign correspondent for Reuters news agency, and a regular contributor to the Financial Times, MSN, and many financial magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 9, 2020
(4.5 rounded up!) Virgil, will you marry me??😍😍😍 & that’s really all I have to say about that!
But seriously.. I’m surprised more of my GR friends haven’t read this book! It’s really good. & different from a lot of the same old thing we run into over & over again in psychological thrillers. I’d absolutely recommend it, just not the audio version! Something about the narrators voice made it impossible for me to hear him if I was doing anything else at the same time. It wasn’t the volume, just that his voice was very soft. It was extremely frustrating because that’s obviously the reason I enjoy audiobooks, is so I can multitask. But that’s how you know I was truly invested.. I found myself finding chunks of time where I could do nothing but stare in to space & listen!😂 & it was worth it! Definitely a good 1, & an exciting “new” author for me!
But seriously.. I’m surprised more of my GR friends haven’t read this book! It’s really good. & different from a lot of the same old thing we run into over & over again in psychological thrillers. I’d absolutely recommend it, just not the audio version! Something about the narrators voice made it impossible for me to hear him if I was doing anything else at the same time. It wasn’t the volume, just that his voice was very soft. It was extremely frustrating because that’s obviously the reason I enjoy audiobooks, is so I can multitask. But that’s how you know I was truly invested.. I found myself finding chunks of time where I could do nothing but stare in to space & listen!😂 & it was worth it! Definitely a good 1, & an exciting “new” author for me!
August 18, 2016
If you are a thriller person you MUST read this book. It is just as thrilling as promised. Also, without any spoilers, even if you hated every page of the book (which I HIGHLY doubt), what happens on the last page makes it all worth it. It is SHOCKING. That is all I will say on that.
Mirror Mirror’s characters are just fabulous. Most excitingly, the entire novel keeps us guessing about who the bad guy really is. One who is rarely in question, however, is our protagonist, Virgil Bliss. We learn a lot about him throughout the book, but generally, he’s a reader’s beacon of trust and sanity while a sea of crazy swirls around him.
Don’t forget the delightfully frightening Leonard Lucifer Smith (nicknamed “Lucy”), who has the book of Revelations, Chapter 20, tattooed across his face. I got shivers every time he appeared in the story.
And of course, there is the deliciously enigmatic Mira. Is this what our idolised supermodels are like behind closed doors?
But the best, the best, is William Mordant, a character who is as charming as he is skin-tinglingly creepy. He will either haunt your nightmares or your fantasies. Or both.
As always with Nick Louth’s books, this one is clearly thoroughly researched. What Bite was to the world of malaria science, and Heartbreaker was to the technology and machinations of terrorism, Mirror Mirror is to the British mental health system and the world of celebrity and elite model management. For a glimpse into worlds that we would otherwise rarely get to experience, I highly recommend Nick Louth’s books, especially Mirror Mirror.
Mirror Mirror’s characters are just fabulous. Most excitingly, the entire novel keeps us guessing about who the bad guy really is. One who is rarely in question, however, is our protagonist, Virgil Bliss. We learn a lot about him throughout the book, but generally, he’s a reader’s beacon of trust and sanity while a sea of crazy swirls around him.
Don’t forget the delightfully frightening Leonard Lucifer Smith (nicknamed “Lucy”), who has the book of Revelations, Chapter 20, tattooed across his face. I got shivers every time he appeared in the story.
And of course, there is the deliciously enigmatic Mira. Is this what our idolised supermodels are like behind closed doors?
But the best, the best, is William Mordant, a character who is as charming as he is skin-tinglingly creepy. He will either haunt your nightmares or your fantasies. Or both.
As always with Nick Louth’s books, this one is clearly thoroughly researched. What Bite was to the world of malaria science, and Heartbreaker was to the technology and machinations of terrorism, Mirror Mirror is to the British mental health system and the world of celebrity and elite model management. For a glimpse into worlds that we would otherwise rarely get to experience, I highly recommend Nick Louth’s books, especially Mirror Mirror.
September 14, 2018
*SPOILERS* So, read it afterwards! Personally I'm over the super-able murderer villain. I almost couldn't finish this book because these sorts of characters seem to defy all human limitations, so the realm of plausibility is removed. I find Louth to be an interesting read, but I find 2 parts of his writing let him down. 1 is the lack of affection for characters. I just can't seem to like any of them, or want to dig any deeper. and 2 is possibly a contributing factor: his lack of plot integrity/consistency. His characters seem to be pawns in a spiralling plot line forever at the whims of the writer. In one of his other books, a character who was a 'love interest' turned out to be a cold psychopath without apparently displaying a single action or clue to their inner behaviour until far later. A similar event occurs in this book, and well its just not consistent with the rest of the character through the book. Any book that wraps most of the plot up in the epilogue has missed a fair bit of story telling along the way. Why not throw in an affair on the moon in a jetboat, just to spice up the ending? This is the 2nd Louth book I have read, and I don't mean to be overly critical, but bring in a bit of rock hard reality, some unbendable laws of the human condition and you could be onto a good thing. My opinion is the girl running through the night to be found by an innkeeper was perfect. Right up until she was the world's greatest supermodel, beaten by Beckham with a super-spy-acid-murdering stalker. Get my point?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2020
Evil comes in many forms
Nick Louth has written another thrilling murder mystery. The action begins in the first sentence and keeps the tension spinning until the final word. It is difficult to say which character is the most sinister... And I will not spoil the story by suggesting the one whom I consider the epitome of evil. There are enough choices: an inmate nicknamed Lucy (aka Lucifer), Mordant ( also not his original name), any of the other inmates of the institution for the criminally insane, a group of the beautiful model, Mira's, zombie-like followers, or any other woman driven to uncharacteristic sexual appetites by Mordant.
There are, again, grammatical errors that I have found prevalent in Louth's work. His proof reader needs to pay more attention to predicate objective being used where nominative is correct!
Nick Louth has written another thrilling murder mystery. The action begins in the first sentence and keeps the tension spinning until the final word. It is difficult to say which character is the most sinister... And I will not spoil the story by suggesting the one whom I consider the epitome of evil. There are enough choices: an inmate nicknamed Lucy (aka Lucifer), Mordant ( also not his original name), any of the other inmates of the institution for the criminally insane, a group of the beautiful model, Mira's, zombie-like followers, or any other woman driven to uncharacteristic sexual appetites by Mordant.
There are, again, grammatical errors that I have found prevalent in Louth's work. His proof reader needs to pay more attention to predicate objective being used where nominative is correct!
September 22, 2016
Started well... and it did keep me reading.. but felt it did get a little silly and far-fetched
July 7, 2022
I’d read quite a few other books by Nick Louth before tackling this one. It’s not part of the Gillard series I’ve always enjoyed but that didn’t matter. It started out very well and I was really looking forward to the second half of the book in which a veteran soldier takes on the job of protecting an up and coming beauty being managed and marketed as a brand by a prominent London firm of PR gurus. The remuneration is generous; the task seems simple; the actual threats seem minor and so Virgil Bliss thinks to himself: how hard can it be?
The introduction features twenty-three-year-old Mira Roskova fleeing in fear from her famous footballer boyfriend, who is as aggressive off the field as he is on it. Mira appears to be a victim on other fronts as well since a man in Broadmoor (Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospital) is watching her closely as well. Up to this point the book promised to be gripping but, somehow it fell apart and turned into a disappointment as Mira wasn’t what she seemed to be and the agency has nothing but brand success in mind and the bad guys are increasingly seen as not all that bad compared to the other players.
It is an interesting take on fame and fortune and how people who want to do better can get caught in the trap. I was disappointed with the book because I think it had a lot of promise left unfulfilled in the execution.
The introduction features twenty-three-year-old Mira Roskova fleeing in fear from her famous footballer boyfriend, who is as aggressive off the field as he is on it. Mira appears to be a victim on other fronts as well since a man in Broadmoor (Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospital) is watching her closely as well. Up to this point the book promised to be gripping but, somehow it fell apart and turned into a disappointment as Mira wasn’t what she seemed to be and the agency has nothing but brand success in mind and the bad guys are increasingly seen as not all that bad compared to the other players.
It is an interesting take on fame and fortune and how people who want to do better can get caught in the trap. I was disappointed with the book because I think it had a lot of promise left unfulfilled in the execution.
July 27, 2024
(The audiobook edition is not included here so I am placing this review under eBook)
I have been enjoying Nick Louth's work with the Craig Gillard series, it is top notch. So I was looking forward to reading one of his earlier stand alone books.
I am an audiobook "reader". One issue with audiobooks is that the narrator can effect the experience. I have read hundreds of audiobooks, and for me, narrators come in four categories. Category 1, really good, adding significantly to the experience. Category 2, good but not really a factor, it is all down to the text. Category 3, not great but you can live with it. Category 4, bad, including possibly bad enough to abandon the book because of the narrator.
The narrator reading Mirror Mirror was a Cat 4. Mostly because of the timing, it sounds like his first attempt at narration, and the producer was missing in action. There were also mispronounciation issues (for example "asked" was pronounced "arksed"). The book itself was OK, but I gave up after a couple of hours because the narration was so bad. A shame. DNF
I have been enjoying Nick Louth's work with the Craig Gillard series, it is top notch. So I was looking forward to reading one of his earlier stand alone books.
I am an audiobook "reader". One issue with audiobooks is that the narrator can effect the experience. I have read hundreds of audiobooks, and for me, narrators come in four categories. Category 1, really good, adding significantly to the experience. Category 2, good but not really a factor, it is all down to the text. Category 3, not great but you can live with it. Category 4, bad, including possibly bad enough to abandon the book because of the narrator.
The narrator reading Mirror Mirror was a Cat 4. Mostly because of the timing, it sounds like his first attempt at narration, and the producer was missing in action. There were also mispronounciation issues (for example "asked" was pronounced "arksed"). The book itself was OK, but I gave up after a couple of hours because the narration was so bad. A shame. DNF
April 24, 2018
A beginning, a middle & an end! Superb!
So good to read a book which keeps you engrossed from start to finish.
No padding it out with superfluous characters, needless anecdotes & details.
The author respects the readers ability to follow the storyline without undue prompting & repetition. So refreshing to have a kick in the tail on the last pages - what a kick it is.
Many novels seem to end abruptly, leaving the reader disappointed, as if the author is desperate for the bathroom & cannot be bothered to finish it completely after needs are satisfied! Not Nick Louth.
The book was a joy to read from start to finish. I am looking forward to further reads by this talented writer
So good to read a book which keeps you engrossed from start to finish.
No padding it out with superfluous characters, needless anecdotes & details.
The author respects the readers ability to follow the storyline without undue prompting & repetition. So refreshing to have a kick in the tail on the last pages - what a kick it is.
Many novels seem to end abruptly, leaving the reader disappointed, as if the author is desperate for the bathroom & cannot be bothered to finish it completely after needs are satisfied! Not Nick Louth.
The book was a joy to read from start to finish. I am looking forward to further reads by this talented writer
May 21, 2023
I only recently discovered Nick Louth and, having read the first 8 Criag Gillard stories, decided to read this. Louth does an excellent job of conveying the modern obsession with celebrity culture which has now become so pervasive and insidious thanks largely, to the advent of social media. There are several threads which of course gradually combine to bring about the conclusion. An engaging read.
August 3, 2020
I feel like parts of the story are familiar but can’t place where from - A dangerous patient in a high security psychiatric hospital, excellent artist, grooming staff to enable his escape. Maybe a film? It’s a pretty good read once it gets going but took a bit to get into it. Much prefer the DCI Gillard series by this author though
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2019
Twisted
A rollercoaster ride through the worlds of beauty and crime as they collide in a great Big Bang. You won’t see the end coming, which is the magic of storytelling. This one will keep you up at night.
A rollercoaster ride through the worlds of beauty and crime as they collide in a great Big Bang. You won’t see the end coming, which is the magic of storytelling. This one will keep you up at night.
May 2, 2024
I've never read a book by this author but I sure will read more now. It was a bit slow to start but as you get into the book you can't turn the pages quickly enough. What an ending........ Highly recommend this author and eagerly look forward to more. AAA+++
May 18, 2018
A new author to me - and a cracking read!
November 10, 2018
A good read
Well written
A very good plot
Good characterisation
I have found a new author that will replace
My current list that includes John lecarry
Well written
A very good plot
Good characterisation
I have found a new author that will replace
My current list that includes John lecarry
November 19, 2018
Good read
I liked this book, it was a good read and a different type of story. The characters were interesting and the way the story unfolded kept me reading.
I liked this book, it was a good read and a different type of story. The characters were interesting and the way the story unfolded kept me reading.
February 10, 2020
Started well... and it did keep me reading..
August 6, 2020
Great thriller to keep you intrigued!
June 13, 2021
To be honest, maybe I'm too old to read this kind of story. After reading this book, I wonder if maybe my age is unsuitable for reading about celebrities, masculine bodyguard and lunatic romance. I saw most reviewers of this book on Goodreads were so enthralled by Virgil. I really couldn't grasp that excitement as I felt most of the characters are lacking depth.
There were too many descriptions about Mira's beauty and every person that Mira meets. More than half of the story is not related to the storyline but about Mira's fame or celebrity life. If Mira is a real person, I guess I had just finished reading her biography.
In summary, this story is about Mira's past crime catching her up and everyone around her trying to protect their goddess from falling into the devastation that will reveal the truth of the crime.
Book Review: Mirror Mirror by Nick Louth.
There were too many descriptions about Mira's beauty and every person that Mira meets. More than half of the story is not related to the storyline but about Mira's fame or celebrity life. If Mira is a real person, I guess I had just finished reading her biography.
In summary, this story is about Mira's past crime catching her up and everyone around her trying to protect their goddess from falling into the devastation that will reveal the truth of the crime.
Book Review: Mirror Mirror by Nick Louth.
January 2, 2017
Just finished Mirror Mirror.
It's very much a made-for-ITV-thriller. Poor Virgil, our war damaged hero, gets saddled with protecting an implausibly Northern / Russian supermodel on the brink of mega stardom via The Biggest Multi-Million Dollar Skin-cream Deal of the Century. Our supermodel-ova also manages to collect an army of zombie-dressed teenage fans who chase her through the not so mean streets of Battersea and St John's Wood. Meanwhile our erstwhile PR types attempt to protect our by-hec-model-ova from reputational damage potentially caused by her rather violent and ruinous relationship with England's thug of a central defender, Lawrence Wall. The aptly named Mr Wall being the hero of the national Sun-reading white van man.
Even more thrillingly we flit between the inner monologues of the psychotic patients of Broadmoor Prison and their guardians. They all seem to have their own mysterious, yet convenient, links to our central characters. One of whom seems to be a direct literary cousin of none other than Hannibal Lecter himself.
We race through the action scenes which features bodies in suitcases, Indian billionaires, parcel bombs, old lady mugging football hooligans, flashbacks to Afghanistan, illicit sex in disabled toilets, zombie clad roof top stalkers and helicopter chases through London.
Most of which would be more than enough for anybody, let alone our poor hero Virgil or, in fact, any of you readers.
I can't be sure that this wasn't a satire of the modern celebrity world and, if it is, then it's actually rather clever........but I'm not sure it is.
It's very much a made-for-ITV-thriller. Poor Virgil, our war damaged hero, gets saddled with protecting an implausibly Northern / Russian supermodel on the brink of mega stardom via The Biggest Multi-Million Dollar Skin-cream Deal of the Century. Our supermodel-ova also manages to collect an army of zombie-dressed teenage fans who chase her through the not so mean streets of Battersea and St John's Wood. Meanwhile our erstwhile PR types attempt to protect our by-hec-model-ova from reputational damage potentially caused by her rather violent and ruinous relationship with England's thug of a central defender, Lawrence Wall. The aptly named Mr Wall being the hero of the national Sun-reading white van man.
Even more thrillingly we flit between the inner monologues of the psychotic patients of Broadmoor Prison and their guardians. They all seem to have their own mysterious, yet convenient, links to our central characters. One of whom seems to be a direct literary cousin of none other than Hannibal Lecter himself.
We race through the action scenes which features bodies in suitcases, Indian billionaires, parcel bombs, old lady mugging football hooligans, flashbacks to Afghanistan, illicit sex in disabled toilets, zombie clad roof top stalkers and helicopter chases through London.
Most of which would be more than enough for anybody, let alone our poor hero Virgil or, in fact, any of you readers.
I can't be sure that this wasn't a satire of the modern celebrity world and, if it is, then it's actually rather clever........but I'm not sure it is.
June 11, 2016
I’ve just finished this book, and wow, I loved it! Mirror Mirror is an astounding book, utterly contemporary, covering topics that are in the news today and could happen to anyone.
It had me hooked from the start with the opening chase – my heart was pounding. Then the book settles in to establish the characters and their lives. Some scenes were set in Broadmoor, which for every Brit is a chilling place! The main character, Mira, is a celebrity who is rising to stardom, but much of her life is managed by others. Clearly Nick Louth has researched these subjects well, as he did in Heartbreaker and Bite.
Some of the interaction of characters was surprising and some connections I just didn’t see coming. The characters changed and grew during the book. Being honest, some characters I loved, some I didn’t and some were downright scary – but I guess that’s what the author wanted.
This is a book that occupied my brain, even when I had to put it down for things like work, sleep.
Simply tremendous.
It had me hooked from the start with the opening chase – my heart was pounding. Then the book settles in to establish the characters and their lives. Some scenes were set in Broadmoor, which for every Brit is a chilling place! The main character, Mira, is a celebrity who is rising to stardom, but much of her life is managed by others. Clearly Nick Louth has researched these subjects well, as he did in Heartbreaker and Bite.
Some of the interaction of characters was surprising and some connections I just didn’t see coming. The characters changed and grew during the book. Being honest, some characters I loved, some I didn’t and some were downright scary – but I guess that’s what the author wanted.
This is a book that occupied my brain, even when I had to put it down for things like work, sleep.
Simply tremendous.
June 25, 2016
Nick's earlier book, Bite was recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and I loved every page so I was very pleased when Nick sent me a message saying Mirror Mirror was being released.
This book is gripping from the very first page. A major character is Virgil who has recently left the army after tours in Afganistan and is very traumatised by events there. He is asked to protect Mira from an abusive boyfriend and puts his heart and soul into the task despite his concerns about her past and the secrets she keeps.
There are many very unique and interesting characters in this book and all develop effectively throughout the book as the reader is taken down many dead ends and around twists and turns with suspense all the way through.
The ending is a real curve ball but then comes the Epilogue!!!
This is a long interesting book that keeps the reader gripped all the way through and will appeal to readers of many genres but mainly readers of thrillers and suspense.
I am hoping to read more from this author.
This book is gripping from the very first page. A major character is Virgil who has recently left the army after tours in Afganistan and is very traumatised by events there. He is asked to protect Mira from an abusive boyfriend and puts his heart and soul into the task despite his concerns about her past and the secrets she keeps.
There are many very unique and interesting characters in this book and all develop effectively throughout the book as the reader is taken down many dead ends and around twists and turns with suspense all the way through.
The ending is a real curve ball but then comes the Epilogue!!!
This is a long interesting book that keeps the reader gripped all the way through and will appeal to readers of many genres but mainly readers of thrillers and suspense.
I am hoping to read more from this author.
August 27, 2016
I enjoyed this book but think it had such a great storyline that it could have potentially been even better and scarier if it had been written by someone else like M J Arlidge, Mark Edwards or Angela Marsons.
The thing that lured me to the book is it was partly based in Broadmoor so I was expecting gruesome or scary so was a little disappointed when it wasn't.
I am going to give it 3.75 stars as it had potential to be better but was still a good read and kept me wanting to pick it up to find out what was going to happen.
The thing that lured me to the book is it was partly based in Broadmoor so I was expecting gruesome or scary so was a little disappointed when it wasn't.
I am going to give it 3.75 stars as it had potential to be better but was still a good read and kept me wanting to pick it up to find out what was going to happen.
October 23, 2016
On kindle
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June 3, 2018Another brilliant book by this author
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews