Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore Matthew Sullivan

The Bright Ideas Bookstore is more than a book shop. This independent book seller is the home for an eclectic bunch of people, The staff that work there, the customers and the bookfrogs.

Bookfrogs?

It was a new word for me as well, but I think it’s a great name.

What are they? They are the people who populate the store, day-in-day-out, reading books in the comfort of the store, sometimes even buying a book, but only when they’re on special offer. They remind me of the coffee shop Bedouins who populate tables with their laptops making a small coffee last for hours. Some of the Bookfrogs are homeless people looking for shelter, some are lonely singletons who prefer the shop to their empty homes, some are just book lovers.

Each Bookfrog has a story and Joey is no exception. Unfortunately Joey’s story comes to an end when he hangs himself in the store.

But why hang himself there, and why now.

The main protagonist of the book is a 30 year old bookish, bookstore worker Lydia. Lydia is one of the last staff in the store and discovers Joey hanging in a secluded section of the shop just before a late close. Whilst she holds his legs and calls for help she notices a photo sticking out of his pocket. The photo is of Lydia, and her two school friends, at Lydias 10th birthday party.

But Lydia has only known Joey from his visits to the shop, and she has never seen this photo before.

Not many people have known Lydia since she was that 10 year old. In fact there is a very good reason why nobody in her life knows anything about her childhood or her family. Just after the photo was taken Lydia was the only survivor of a gruesome crime and went into hiding with her Dad. The man who committed the crime was never found and has haunted Lydia ever since.

So why has Joey got her picture?

As she starts to look into Joeys life she is astonished to find out that she has “inherited” his belongings. Amongst the belongings are some books which have been cut up. Why would Joey cut up books, they were the only thing that seemed to mean anything to him?

Lydia goes on a journey into her own past and starts to piece together Joeys history. It’s a great journey and makes for a really good story.

I’ve read some of the reviews for this book on Amazon. I have to say they are either neutral or negative. I have to disagree. This is a great book to just pass away the summer afternoon and long evenings.

If you are looking for sex and violence then this book won’t be for you.

If you want to read a book that makes you engage with the characters; that has a slightly socially awkward main protagonist; that has a simple but engaging storyline; this book is for you.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept was a good one and without spoiling the book it does have a nice build up atmosphere with lots of literary influences thrown in which I really enjoyed, this is recommended if you like a Mystery/Who-Dunnit, the only thing I would have wanted more of is gore lol but that's my own preference.

I'm sorry I'm not feeling this at the moment will try again in the future

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is an intricate mystery story featuring books, an unsolved murder case, and some eccentric characters. Lydia Smith works in a bookshop and tries to avoid her past, but when one of the shop’s regular patrons—one of the lonely types who spend all their days in the place—kills himself there and leaves a collection of defaced books for Lydia, she finds herself drawn into a new mystery. The more she looks into Joey’s life and the messages he’s left for her, however, the more she is forced to confront her past and the horrific murder that was a part of it.

The narrative is in a classic mystery style with a large number of twists and turns, some predictable and some less so due to withheld information. Despite the shocking opening—it is worth being aware that the novel opens with a character discovering a suicide victim—it starts quite slowly, setting out the quirks of the bookshop that is really just the backdrop and catalyst for the plot. Nevertheless, the pace does pick up once Lydia is on the trail of Joey’s story and has reconnected with an old friend with a link to her past. Lydia is a purposefully closed off character and throughout the novel never feels fully there, making Joey is more intriguing and engaging as a messed up young man with a difficult life. The way he had impacted those he met and who tried to help him is well-presented in the novel too, and ultimately he can feel more crucial than Lydia.

Sullivan’s novel is clever mystery that fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy, particularly with its bookish links. The unravelling is satisfying if at times too easy guessable and the tense pace later on makes it gripping once the pieces are all there to be put together.

With many thanks to Random House/Cornerstone for the opportunity to read this.

The title almost deterred me from opening these pages - it conjured up something fluffy along the lines of a little Paris bookshop or a little Breton bistro - but the synopsis tempted me and as I read I discovered to my amusement that the Bright Ideas Bookstore is named after the lightbulb factory that used to be in the same building. By no means a fluffy tale, it is dark indeed and has a sad, sad story at its heart. The main themes of damaged childhood, social exclusion and loneliness are sensitively handled and very moving. An impressively constructed plot, featuring strong, engaging characters (even those at the remotest edge of the action are interesting), paced well and an entirely satisfactory ending - perfect ingredients for me. I was particularly taken with Joey’s book code and the author’s playfulness with some of the titles. A debut novel that I’ll be recommending to everyone I know.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK - Cornerstone for an advance copy of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, a mystery where the past and present collide, set in Denver.

Lydia Smith is horrified when she finds Joey Molina, one of her regular customers at the Bright Ideas bookshop, hanging from the rafters and mystified that he has a picture of her from her 10th birthday party in his hand. She is even more mystified when she discovers he has left his meagre possessions to her and that they mostly consist of a box of books with letters cut out of the pages. Lydia, however, is a woman with a past and Joey's death seems to awaken it.

I enjoyed Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. It is in some ways a whimsical tale with a slew of alternative characters as befits the bookshop background but the crimes and emotions involved are anything but and are emotionally hard hitting. Much of the "action" revolves around Lydia and Joey's childhoods, both had separate, difficult childhoods. Joey's story is heart rending and gets worse the more Lydia uncovers. Lydia's childhood terror is well explained and understandable but her adult life doesn't make much sense to me and seems contrived to suit the plot. She's a strange one.

The novel is fairly well paced with various reveals evenly spaced to keep you turning the pages. The idea of secret messages cut out of books is unusual although the desecration of books appalled me and somehow seems out of character for a bibliophile like Joey. In the end I feel the messages when deciphered add nothing to the plot and end up being a bit of a useless conceit. I did however like the solution. It is nothing like I expected but it makes a lot of sense and is ingenious. It makes the novel worth reading.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This book is a compelling read from start to finish. With well-drawn characters, this is a thought-provoking novel on the (often ruinous) impact our words and actions can have on the fates and lives of others.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. How could I not? A book about booklovers is likely to appeal to anyone who is a self-confessed book addict, particularly when it is well written and has an intriguing story line.
Somehow it was a peaceful book to read; the plot unfolded gradually and gently, with none of the unexpected twists and turns that have become so popular in modern day “thrillers”. I wanted to read on, I wanted the clues and signs to develop gradually and logically. I didn’t want any sudden unwelcome surprises, and I was not disappointed.
Although the subject matter included violence, unhappiness and despair, the tone was kind. The main characters were caring and compassionate. I liked them.
Despite the sadness of the theme, and the almost classical inevitability to the denouement, it was a book of hope. The ending was pleasingly touching and optimistic.
I would certainly hunt out further books by this author.

It's a lovely story about friends, love, murder and suicide.I find that at first was slow to develop the story, but then you won't be able to stop it. The book tells the story about Lydia, her life, her father and how he learned as a single father to rises her. Her child friends and how after time she reconnect with them and their past together. Of course there is a suicide and murders and how you can pull and pull a rope, that when you less expected it breaks because it's tired.

I enjoyed this book which I was expecting would have more of a psychological feel to it. In reality it was more like an old fashioned detective story. There are a large number of coincidences in the book, which feel a little contrived but having said that the characters were well developed, the landscapes seemed genuine and the plot itself was well drawn. I did suspect who the Hammerman was and certain aspects of the story every so often led me to believe I was right. I did expect there to be a confrontation at the end but the ending itself in some ways was better.

I would certainly read another book by the same author.

This is a really unique read - not sure what genre you would call it since it’s a mystery, a poignant read, a hunt for the truth, a lesson of friendship and more. The love of books filters through but the title is a bit deceptive as to me as it suggest something more fluffy and whimsical yet this is has a serious issue of suicide and hidden secrets from the get go.

This is a book for book lovers everywhere mind - you can smell the books, the shop, feel the joy of being in the store. I loved learning about the nooks and crannies of the shop, the book frogs who perch to browse -and I felt I’d found my people ;)

And finding clues in books to follow - well that has to be the ultimate dream. Beats shopping lists and discarded ikea tape measures anyday. Or maybe they were clues and I missed them?

The book deals with some heartbreaking issues so it’s not a bookish love fest - it’s much more with hidden secrets, running from your past, and suicide to name but three. I found it really moving in parts, really surprising and I felt I’d been in the Bright Ideas bookshop, browsing, thinking, revelling in the pleasure of reading but also having spent time realising about other people’s hidden lives, their secrets and friendships. You see a person everyday yet don’t know the first thing about them. There were some sad moments but it will make you think.

Oh but for the love of books, this is a very special read.

First of all, thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the advanced copy.

This book really pulls you in from the first chapter. That's because Lydia (who works in the Bright Ideas Bookstore) finds a customer, Joey, who has hanged himself in the upper floor of the bookstore. With a picture of her in his pocket.
From here we have chapters from Lydia at the present time and chapters from the past, as Lydia tries to delve into Joey's life and tries to decipher why he decided to kill himself in the bookstore with her picture.
I really enjoyed this book, it flows easily and keeps you hooked.
However, I did guess the whodunnit about 2/3 of the way through and I never guess right!

Lydia quite happily lives her life hiding among the novels at the bookstore at which she works. But after a well loved customer, Joey, commits suicide in the history section, Lydia's life slowly starts to unravel.

I admit that this book isn't the kind of book I normally read, but I was intrigued by the blurb. I have always enjoyed thriller movies, so I thought I would try a book.

Although I think the idea and execution of this book was great, it just wasn't my cup of tea.I would recommend to all the thriller lovers out there.