Deliberately unnerving and impressively intricate.
Devon and Gavin DiMasi may look like the mirror image of one another, but looks are only skin deep. Though they’re twins, these two boys couldn’t be more different in the ways that count most. ‘Devious Devon’ lives up to his nickname through his narcissistic personality and an obvious disdain for everyone he comes into contact with. Despite his arrogance and implacable nature, Devon is his father’s pride and joy, a born winner. ‘Goodie Gavin’ is the opposite in almost every way. He can’t help his selfless disposition and prefers to spend his time honing his skills in the kitchen. In his father’s eyes, Gavin’s purpose in life is to look out for his brother, to take care of Devon at all costs. To say that Devon and Gavin’s relationship is dysfunctional is to trivialize an undercurrent of abuse and manipulation that has gone on for years. Gavin is clearly a victim to his family’s lack of self-awareness, but he is not ignorant of where he stands. Despite his father’s constant disparagement and his brother’s torment, Gavin loves his family and considers Devon to be his closest friend. But the mistreatment can’t continue if Gavin hopes to ever move on from being the second-rate son, the inferior twin, the lesser man.
Leslie Kain delivers a suspensefully entertaining story about the relentless drive to preserve a family, no matter how troubled it may be, in Secrets In The Mirror. The tension begins cascading through the DiMasi home from their first harsh interactions and doesn’t relent until the final electrifying moments. Siblings often manifest discord, but Devon’s behavior toward his twin is downright disturbing, portending only bad things for their future. Even though his character is wretched and despicable, the loathing that readers feel cools to a version of pity when considering Devon’s condition to be a mental illness more so than a deliberate choice. But his erratic, reckless behavior becomes a huge liability as the siblings grow up, and it isn’t the only thing Gavin has to protect his brother from. Bad decisions reopen old wounds and put the entire DiMasi clan in danger. All Gavin wants is peace, but the struggle is endless for a man whose conscience won’t allow him to sit idly by while his family implodes. Deliberately unnerving and impressively intricate, Secrets In The Mirror is a successful psychological thriller that toes the fine line between sympathetic and terrifying.
