Felt as if I was reading a librarian or library assistant's description of daily events in a library !! You see and experienceso much so was smiling and nodding my way through this. Obviously hits dark moments as character's back stories emerge. Loved the intrigue.

Still not sire what to make of this book. I forgot the blurb and expected a light hearted book.
Was a nice break to a normal bookshop book but had a feel of gillian Flynn dark places to jt

My Rating: Stars

This book is like of those that shouldn’t be judged by its cover. I was expecting an adventure and instead, I was taken of a roller coaster of emotions and genres that brought this book on my top reads for this year. The perfect mix: mystery, drama, suspense and a bit horror great an almost-perfect novel.

Lydia Smith has a past marked by horrors that she wishes to forget completely. Years later, she lives quietly, unseen, working in the Bright Ideas Bookstore, towns away from her childhood home. Having cut any relation with her father, Lydia lives for her books, her close friends and energetic colleagues. Until her friend, Joey commits suicide by hanging, in her bookstore. He leaves Lydia clues and notes with information that will lead her to find a connection between him, her dark past and a killer that never truly left her life. When Raj, a childhood, reappears in her life, they have to work together to discover the truth of the event that changed their lives forever. However, the truth comes with a cost and it can be very, very, unexpected.

The novel is addictive and very well organised. The plots are engaging and they both fit perfectly, bringing an intriguing challenge for the reader. There are quite a number of characters and all of them fit the story perfectly until the end. The first plot is the search for the murderer that killed Lydia’s friend, when she was younger, and her family. The second plot is to discover the history of Joey and the search for his biological family. The story is told in the third person, jumping between the past and the present of Lydia. The main question the reader faces is if both plots are connected and why. Why would Joey leave clues? How did he know about Lydia’s past?

The style of writing flows perfectly with the story and the descriptions are just enough to give the reader an idea of their surroundings. All the given details, however, are important to the plot and they give away pieces of crucial information from time to time. Even when the story switches between the past and the present, it’s very easy to follow the story and connect with the character in both timelines.

The characters are special in their own way and the author thought very well of how they are all connected. They felt real; the reader gets glimpses of their childhoods and how their relationships develop over time. Even with the little descriptions, I felt as if I truly connected with the characters and through their actions understand them better.

A mystery novel full of suspense that I highly recommend to the fans of the genre looking for a more complex story.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Scribner and the author for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book.

This is a very clever take on the survivor crime thriller.
There are several "survivors" in one way or another of the a brutal historic crime and through this mystery of why a young troubled man hung himself the central survivor is drawn back to that brutal scene and through her we learn about the impact on the other people around her at that time.
An intelligent story that doesn't give too much away too early and even as you begin to unravel both the mystery or the young man and the motives for the historic brutal murders it is a while before you completely piece it together along with the messages left for our central character by the damaged young man.
I will look for more by this author

I am very grateful to Netgalley for sending me this in return for an honest review.

So, I somehow picked this up not really having a clue what it was about, but I saw bookstore and wanted it. This book was thrilling and creepy and gripped me in a way I wasn't expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. The only reason this book wasn't a 5/5 for me was because of its ending, I just didn't agree with or like. I didn't feel like it was a fair or just ending for some of the characters.
My favourite aspect of this book was its puzzle like parts, the parts where Lydia must piece things together within the books. I think the subtle connections and ties to people was done really well. I was left shocked in many areas and although I had figured out who the killer was it wasn't until near the end and rather than be disappointed I'd solved it I was more keen to see them come to justice.

The writing was a little hit and miss with me. I felt like parts of the book I read very smoothly and others I was skimming, mostly near the beginning. Overall a good enjoyable book and one that happily took me by surprise. This kept me up late into the night desperate to finish.

4/5 Stars

I was drawn to Midnight at the Bright Idea Bookstore due to its name to be honest, as Bibliophile I can not say no to a book that revolves around a bookstore.



Midnight at the Bright Idea Bookstore follows Lydia Smith, a clerk at the Bright Idea Bookstore, she lives a quiet life hoping not to be noticed. This changes when one of the regular customer of Bright Idea Joey kills himself in the store and Lydia finds his body.  Lydia has careful crafted life surround by books, her eccentric colleagues and the lonely regular customers, but when Joey leaves all his meagre worldly possessions he leaves Lydia clues to why he killed himself. As Lydia unravels his last messages to her, she find herself unearthing secrets from a tragedy from her own childhood. Now Lydia as to figure out how Joey death connects to the murder the Hammerman. 



This book took me by surprise, I didn't expect the twist and turns that happened, the book went into a direction that I would never of guessed.

I really liked Lydia as a character, she is shy caring bookworm, whose life revolves around the Bright Ideas Bookstore (A Bookstore I would love to visit) Lydia would be someone I would like to be friends with.

This book is wonderfully written, its intertwined Lydia past and present into a story that you wont want to put down. The book has a good amount of mystery and a little bit of heart breaking to make it a great read.

I did like idea of hidden messages left in a book, it was a very inventive way of leaving secret messages, although I don't think I could that to a book myself.

In conclusion.

I would recommend this book if you like;

Mystery books
Books that are about bookstores
Not a standard mystery book
This book may not be for everyone but I enjoyed reading about another Bibliophile, and  how important books can to a person.

I give this book, 4.1 out of 5.

I absolutely love this book. I'm not sure why I put off reading it for so long!

The character's, the story, everything are just wow! A real page turner!

I’ve just finished Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan and boy was it a good read. It tells the story of Lydia who works in a bookstore where all the misfits, waifs and strays congregate - she lovingly names them the Book Frogs. One night at closing time, a favourite book frog called Joey commits suicide, inside his pocket is a photograph of Lydia as a child. How and why does he have this photo? Lydia is subsequently left all his meagre, worldly possessions to try and piece together his last days from a series of clues he’s left in amongst the books. The story weaves backwards and forwards between Lydia’s past and the present and it appears that there is a connection which has bought the two together, which unfolds throughout the book, introducing us to a whole host of interesting characters. I loved this story and the characters a lot and was sad to finish it, but satisfied with the ending and that the many ends were tied up nicely. If you’re looking for a decent mystery to get your teeth into on these winter nights, go read this.

Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the type of story where the further you read, the more interesting it becomes. Rather than being a bookish book as I was hoping, the main focus surrounds two mysteries and our main protagonist Lydia.
I didn’t really like Lydia all that much, I found her cold and felt that she was unfair to her boyfriend, keeping secrets that were eating her up and not opening up to him after being together for years. To be fair the poor girl did go through a lot of grief but I just didn’t like her.
I have worked in a bookstore and it is seriously unrealistic to have homeless people (frogs) as they are named in the book, hanging around for hours and reading the books and making it their second home.
The mysteries themselves were very well done, they kept me guessing and I couldn’t put the book down after being halfway through. Worth the read? Yes I would say so for sure, it just wasn’t amazing or that different from what you read on a regular basis. I did enjoy it though so do pick it up.

Imaginative

This book was wildly imaginative, there were so many wacky twists that I couldn't possibly have foreseen. A seriously profound and touching read. Matthew J. Sullivan writes impressively, creating characters with back stories that feel like truth. I was immersed.

Joey Molina was a victim to the unfairness of the world, he was denied a family and somewhere to belong. He commits suicide in a bookstore. Lydia, one of the clerks there, is first to discover him. With his death, comes a series of clues that were meant for her eyes only- to decode. She becomes enlightened of the secrets those around her held close, of lives she was oblivious to while having to confront her own horrifying past.

I received this book through NetGalley.

This book is not what I expected at all. I expected a fluffy rom-com type story. To be honest I couldn't remember the blurb so I only had the title to go with. Anyway that said, I really enjoyed this thriller/mystery-type story. It kept me entertained and wanting to know what was going on. The plot unravelled through a series of flashbacks and changing view points. Thoroughly entertaining!

From the title wasn't what I expected. Lydia is running from something in her past and it takes the suicide of one of book people to start it all unravelling.

I started reading "Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore" by Matthew J. Sullivan with Robin Sloan's "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" in mind. Let's just say that I was in for a surprise.

Lydia Smith, a bookseller at Bright Ideas, has a traumatizing past she would like to forget. Joey Molina, one of the lost and lonely souls that meanders through the bookstore on a daily basis, is living a traumatizing present. He hangs himself, she finds him, it all unravels.

I had to put "Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore" down once - not because I wanted to, but because my eyes could no longer focus on the words due to exhaustion. I didn't sleep, at all.

There's something haunting about Matthew J. Sullivan's writing. It's not particularly beautiful, but it seems to be <I>self-aware</I>, <I>alive</I>. There's no safety net, nowhere for the reader to hide from the overcharged narrative. The tone is set from the start, preparing the reader for the intensity of what is to follow, but I must say that the level of darkness caught me by surprise.

Cleverly and carefully thought-out, "Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore" is much more than a mystery novel. It's incredible just how much it achieves, little windows hiding words with full, heavy bodies.

Couldn't be more grateful for the ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

Sorry, gave up after 100 pages - did neither like the characters nor the plot, nor the writing style.

I could not put this down. From the first chapter it had an easy but captivating story. I did work it out early on which is my only negative fault on this story.

I would like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.

This is another book I actually read late last year, but am only now getting a chance to write a review on… as life got a little insane back then for a bit. But I have been thinking over it ever since I read it… definitely one of those books that gives you a book hangover and stays with you for sometime.

For some reason, I had been expecting this to be one of those kooky, supernatural cosy crime stories. I have NO IDEA where I took that from… and so the beginning of the book threw me a bit as I went “wow! This is a very serious thriller!” but not in a tone that meant I was put off, in a tone that can be translated into “go away, I am reading something amazing!” ;-)

Now, I don’t want to do ‘Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore’ any injustice by saying it was a thriller and then have people tell me it’s nothing like one. To me, it was! Maybe I just don’t read enough thrillers? Meh. People who read my reviews will by now have noticed I mainly read cookbooks or cosy crimes… or cosy crimes that include cooking!

But I did find it indeed a thriller read. Suspenseful, intriguing and that red raw real life type of crime that Ruth Rendell used to write (and I am a huge fan of her books). The characters were modern and relatable, as well as being isolated and diverse from the norm due to their connected past.

The book is sort of told in two time – the past and the present. But it entwines together and leads the to reader to discover how it is all connected in such a sad, thrilling, bemusing and… well, emotional way. Gee, I really do feel like I am underselling ‘Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore’ rather than promoting it here. Can I just say – I loved it, a riveting read and you all just believe me?

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes I would. If you are a fan of the broad spectrum of crime fiction, this is a brilliant read and I would be surprised if you didn’t get a book hangover once done. If you are a more selective crime fiction reader and only read certain sub-genres, if you’re into thrillers, mysteries, modern day crime and the like – you will enjoy this. As said, it has that gritty realism that I enjoy in books by people like Ruth Rendell, Ann Cleeves, Elizabeth Haynes and so on.

Would I buy this book for myself?

Yes I would. Any book that gives me a book hangover I still feel touches of months later is a book worth owning. I would happily add it to my eBook shelves and can see myself reading it again every now and then.

In summary: Lovers of the True Crime sub-genre into gritty realism, this book is for you. Highly enjoyable.

I honestly read this book quite a few months ago so this is going to be a pretty brief review!!
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title and the cover. I love stories set in bookstores (who wouldn't?) so this was an obvious request on Net Galley and I was super excited to see I had been approved!!
This novel is quite a mix of genres; it's literary fiction, it's mystery and it's a thriller. It isn't a detective novel however, there are no police involved, which was a refreshing change for me. I enjoyed reading a novel where all the detecting was done by normal members of the public.
This novel has a brilliantly dark murder scene in it, which is so well described by the author, and elevated this novel in my mind from just any old mystery novel. If you are a little squeamish perhaps this isn't the novel for you, but apart from this murder scene, and a suicide scene there isn't much graphic violence.
This novel balances both the present day, and Lydia's childhood as two narrative threads, which it soon becomes apparent are tightly intertwined. The author cleverly built this narrative structure to keep the reader as engaged as possible, and it worked perfectly with me, I found this novel very difficult to put down.
I was also completely enthralled with trying to solve the cryptic puzzles that Joey left behind in the novels. I thought this was a ingenious idea for a puzzle and was very cleverly used by the author.
I thought the characters in this novel were excellent. Lydia was very interesting to read about, and once we learn more about her childhood, her adult personality makes much more sense. I also really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Lydia and her father. They both experienced such a trauma in their past, it was fascinating to see how that had affected them in the present. There was an eclectic mix of supporting characters in the novel, all of which were well developed and well written by the author.
Overall I really enjoyed this novel and gave it 4/5 stars. It was an interesting, and at times dark take on a mix of genres which made for a moving and exciting novel.

Received a free copy for NetGalley

Who can resist a book based in a bookstore ? I definitely couldn’t.
I was so happy to received a copy of this book because I absolutely loved it .
This beautifully written book that draws you in from the get go and only gets better with each page !
It ticks all the boxes of a mystery and more.
The character are well developed and fully realised.
A great debut novel and I cant wait to read more from Matthew !

This was s story about a multiple murder and its' eventual solution. Very detailed story, some interesting, well described characters band a very convoluted storyline. The conclusion was a total surprise.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a debut novel about a young woman Lydia, who works in an independent bookshop populated by quirky colleagues and regular customers the Book Frogs. When one of the book frogs commits suicide in the shop Lydia is left with his few worldly possessions and is forced to solve the mystery about the young man's short life and also about a tragedy that happened to her when she was a child and that she has been running from ever since. Filled with interesting characters, lyrical writing and a story that captivates the reader, I loved this novel and look forward to reading more from the author in future.