Staff Pick
Why did Joey Molina commit suicide in the bookstore he loved? Bookseller Lydia finds clues in his book collection, and they lead her into the darkness of her own childhood. This is an excellent mystery complete with a fabulous bookstore setting. Recommended By Kathi K., Powells.com
Matthew Sullivan's debut novel is plotted brilliantly. Joey, a bookstore regular, hangs himself on the top floor of the store. His favorite bookseller, Lydia, finds him; and then all hell breaks loose for her. Joey leaves his books to her, but they are full of holes cut out of the pages. As Lydia begins to unravel the mystery Joey left for her, she becomes more and more disturbed by a trauma from her past that insistently requires her attention. Skillfully done, with solid characters, a wonderful bookstore setting, and an ingenious plot, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore satisfied all my literary requirements. More please! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
When a bookshop patron commits suicide, it s his favorite store clerk who must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this fiendishly clever debut novel from an award-winning short story writer.
Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store s overwhelmed shelves.
But when Joey McGinty, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore s back room, Lydia s life comes unglued. Always Joey s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?
As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left. Bedazzling, addictive, and wildly clever, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a heart-pounding mystery that perfectly captures the intellect and eccentricity of the bookstore milieu and will keep you guessing until the very last page. "
Synopsis
Goodreads Debut Author of the Month and an Indie Next Pick "Sullivan's debut is a page-turner featuring a heroine bookseller who solves a cold case with clues from books--what is not to love?" --Nina George, author of The Little French Bistro, and the New York Times bestselling The Little Paris Bookshop
When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this fiendishly clever debut novel from an award-winning short story writer.
Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs--the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store's overwhelmed shelves.
But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore's upper room, Lydia's life comes unglued. Always Joey's favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?
As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey's suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia's life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left. Bedazzling, addictive, and wildly clever, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a heart-pounding mystery that perfectly captures the intellect and eccentricity of the bookstore milieu and will keep you guessing until the very last page.