Mystique in the mirror

by Patrick Rangsimant

Alan was once just an ordinary young man struggling with memory problems. But his life took a strange turn when he began seeing the ghost of an unfamiliar old man whenever he looked in the mirror. His father, believing Alan was experiencing hallucinations, sent him to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

There, Alan met Darwin, the charming young man in the next room. What began as a connection between strangers gradually blossomed into friendship, and eventually, love. For a while, Alan’s seemingly withered life felt vibrant again.

Yet even with treatment and a newfound relationship, the ghostly old man in the mirror never left. He kept trying to communicate something. Alan began to connect the dots—what if the old man wasn’t a hallucination, but a haunting? A message from a forgotten past?

Determined to uncover the truth, Alan set out to recover the memories he had lost, with Darwin by his side. But as they dug deeper, Alan stumbled upon documents revealing that his father had died long ago. He also discovered that the past he had forgotten might be linked not only to the ghost in the mirror, but also to the dark origin of the hospital itself.

389 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 2025

About the author

Associated Names:
* รังสิมันต์
* Patrick Rangsimant
* หมอตุ๊ด
* อุเทน บุญอรณะ

Reviews

[Max Molina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 / 5

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers for the plot and themes of the book.

As a native Spanish speaker who read the translated English version of this Thai novel, I was pleasantly surprised by the reading experience. The translation felt like a light read, which made it easy to follow and understand, even for someone who might not have complete fluency in English. I particularly appreciated that the translator included helpful notes defining some key vocabulary and terms—a thoughtful touch that improved comprehension.

I went into Mystique in the Mirror with no prior expectations, and as this is my first work by Patrick Rangsimant, I was genuinely impressed.

What struck me most was how beautifully the author wove together elements of horror using the point-of-view (POV) of a character experiencing dementia, the Capgras delusion, and Alzheimer's disease. The narrative cleverly utilizes the confusion and altered reality associated with these conditions to build a genuinely terrifying and suspenseful atmosphere. However, the book doesn't just use these elements for shock value. By the end, the story sensitively addresses and sensitizes readers to these serious medical conditions/illnesses.

Furthermore, the integration of the Boys' Love (BL) relationship is excellently handled. The author expertly normalizes the same-sex couple within the plot, allowing their relationship to be a natural part of the story's fabric. This approach is incredibly refreshing; it shows that stories can feature same-sex partners and still offer a deep, complex narrative without relying on clichés or making the characters' sexual orientation the sole focus of the plot.

Overall, I was surprised in the best possible way by the depth and emotional resonance of this thriller. I will definitely be seeking out more works by Patrick Rangsimant.

[Hoong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find the BL content extremely unconvincing and unrelatable for gay readers, but it likely does wonders for the BL readers who have their own valid agenda for consuming this genre. I struggled to finish it because Ransimant's BL, "My Ride," impressed me beforehand. As a psychological thriller, the protagonist's descriptive narration has some illogical thinking, and it bored me. There is too much fantasy for me to relate to in my life when meeting cisgender Thai gay men, but I am impressed that BL tropes abound to draw in the intended audience. The epilogue explains what the author intended to do, but without it, it has loopholes as a psychological thriller. Watching just one episode of the series adapted from this work, I noticed that there were more intense BL tropes to lure in BL viewers, but they did not resonate with me, who held it up to gay genre standards. I am curious to see how well this gay author can produce this BL genre content compared to Sammon, whose semi-fantasy novels are good without the BL content being irritating to a gay reader like me. If he can break into this genre with this writing, then good for him, as it'll be more lucrative than the gay genre.