One evening Lydia finds her favourite customer hanged between the shelves of the bookstore where she works. Stranger still he has a photo of her as a child in his pocket. Finding out that he has also left her his belongings leads to Lydia uncovering a series of complex clues that5 she must uncover to find the truth behind his death. In doing so, long buried secrets are revealed and a traumatic experience from her own past must be revisited.

This story started off with great promise, a crime mystery set in and around a bookstore seemed right up my alley. However, this didn’t really turn out to be the case. Although wholly readable, I felt the main protagonist Lydia to be somewhat irritating, always being very secretive and aloof. I assume this was the case to keep the reader guessing, but it was just frustrating and didn’t hinder me working out much of the plotline early on anyway.

I didn’t feel any empathy towards the characters and their situations, which I considered to be due to the lack of character development. I don’t think any of their emotions were clear therefore making them all seem rather wooden. None of the friendships or relationships were convincing, even those that were fraught.

While it may seem like I have just slated this novel from the off, it was a well-paced read and easy to follow. I felt no inclination at any time to give up on it, it just wasn’t what I have come to expect from this genre.

BookFrogs…… what a fascinating and interesting concept.
As fascinating and interesting as the rest of the book.

The story was very well constructed with multiple mysteries being unravelled at the same time, all centered around Lydia, who we quickly learn is a great mystery herself. Great, clever read.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House UK for a review copy.

Being the 'book-cover-judger' that I am, I dived into this thinking I'd be devouring its bookishness with relish. After all, what bibliophile could resist that cover?! The premise of an Indie Bookstore that opens until midnight, and a 'BookFrog' who has committed suicide amongst the books.

"Lydia's skills as a bookseller came mainly, she believed, from her ability to listen. A raging case of bibliophilia certainly helped, as did limited financial needs, but it was her capacity to be politely trapped by others that really sealed her professional fate".

I really wanted to love this. I so did. But I just felt so detached from it a lot of the time. I knew it wasn't going to be a barrel of laughs, but there was absolutely no escape from the morbid scenarios at any point, and it started to drag me down.

This is wavering between 3 stars and 3.5 stars. It gets an average three, based on the fact that this was one of the most depressing books I've ever read and I was glad when it was over. But I have to squeeze in that extra half a star because it was a cleverly written book that had an intensity to keep me interested. Not gripped or excited. Just interested.

As I headed to the quarter of the way mark, intriguing little cryptic bookish clues started to really pique my interest. But I still felt a niggling distance from it that I just couldn't shake off.

The story was engulfed with a dark sadness, the characters felt a tad unfinished, and I thought there were some holes that needed to be filled with things other than bleak and slushy weather visuals and people's grotty clothing descriptions.

It was hard work at times, but I trudged through, because it was no way a DNF. It wasn't anywhere near bad enough for that.

I enjoyed the way the two narratives combined, Lydia as a thirty-something and Lydia as a ten year old. Her younger self was very well portrayed, the child perspective being very believable and well written.

To conclude, I'd shelve this book 'on the fence', because that's exactly where I'm sat regarding my opinions and thoughts. I can't say much more about it other than it's upsetting and violent. It was not at all what I expected.

An enjoyable read which kept me guessing, but ultimately I didn’t feel that invested in the characters and was a little disappointed by the end of the book. Just not for me unfortunately.

This is a moving, multilayered, imaginative, brilliant, literary mystery novel set amidst the background of a bookstore, book lovers and books, set in Denver, Colorado. The compassionate and sensitive Lydia is a book clerk at the Bright Ideas Bookstore inhabited by her beloved bookfrogs. One night, one of her favourite bookfrogs, Joey, hangs himself in the history section. A shell shocked Lydia is bewildered when she finds a photograph of a birthday party when she was 10 years old with her friends, the steadfast Raj and the wild whirlwind that was Carol. How is it Joey has it? Bequeathed Joey's meager belongings, Lydia finds books with cut out windows that link with other books providing cryptic clues. She deciphers the code with the help of her friends, and they turn out to be messages from beyond the grave for her and provide heartbreaking insights into who Joey is and his tormented life. This is a story of relationships, loss, trauma, family, a search for a place to belong, identity, grief and secrets.

A photograph of joey's suicide in the national media has Lydia in it, it is seen by those from her haunted past. This includes her estranged father, Tomas, retired Detective Moberg, and her childhood friend, Raj, all of whom re-enter her life. A famous photograph of a desperately traumatised Lydia at 10 years old shows her at the scene of the macabre murders of an entire family. Lydia has been silencing her past with a determination that borders on obsession, her boyfriend, David has no idea of her notorious history. Joey's death begins to slowly open the door to break the silence on what happened all those years, the terrifying nightmares of The Hammerman, and the younger Lydia's penchant for seeking the cupboard under the sink. The narrative takes us back to the past, Lydia's history as a child and her friendships, and the repercussions of the terrible events that take place which lead to relocation, the shock of her father becoming a corrections officer and the consequent change in his personality. In the present, Lydia is forced to confront the pain of her past in her search for Joey, and to face up to her demons in the closet.

As I reflect on my experience of reading this novel, I am struck by just how ingenious Matthew Sullivan is in his intricate and complex plotting, and in his atmospherically bleak narrative. His love of books is unmistakable, as he uses them as the medium to define characters, to provide clues and mystery, and give a focal bookstore background for Lydia and her eccentric array of eccentric bookfrogs. There is real expertise in the character development and the slow reveals of exactly who these people are and the connections between them. This is one of those books that I cannot recommend highly enough! Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore was one of those books that you had to devour in one sitting, I honestly tried to put it down but I just needed to know what happened next. Sullivan makes the reader become invested in the characters that you feel you are right there with them. A book full of twists, turns and mystery and surprisingly comfort. I would highly recommend Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore for anyone.

Lydia is a clerk at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. She loves her job and is always welcoming to the regulars; including the ‘BookFrogs,’ who spend their time loitering in the bookstore all day. One of her favourites is a young man named Joey Molina and, in the opening of this novel Joey is found hanging in the shop. Lydia later finds that Joey has left his small collection of books for her and she becomes fascinated by the coded message that has to try to unravel.

We are also aware that Lydia herself is a mystery. Living with boyfriend, David, she is estranged from her father. As a child, Lydia was involved in a tragedy, involving the ‘Hammerman,’ and this event has, understandably, affected her life. The book veers between the present and the past, as Lydia tries to understand the part she played in Joey’s life, why he needed to contact her and to come to terms with the trauma of her childhood and the links between her past and her present.

Although I picked this book up knowing that I should love it – a mystery set around a bookstore – it was a relief to find that I really did enjoy it. It is much more than a typical crime novel, built around a bookshop. It is full of secrets, intrigue and has, not only a good setting, but a great cast of characters. I can hardly believe this is a debut – it is so assured and well written. I look forward to reading more from Matthew J. Sullivan and recommend this happily to all bibliophiles. I received a copy from this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

The was a page turner for me. I loved it. A suicide in the here and now and murders in the past. It had me hooked and desperate to know the outcome. I wasn't disappointed and kept me turning the pages in anticipation to the very end. Beautifully written and a superb read.

This was not the book I was expecting , but I am very much richer for the experience. This is the story of Lydia a bookseller with a nice boyfriend, with a reasonable apartment in an up and coming part of town. A bibliophile, respected and adored at work, but secretly a piece of human flotsam. Running from a childhood trauma she hides in plain sight with the “book frogs”, the disenfranchised homeless and friendless who make the bookshop a home away from home.

The death of Joey one of her young regulars by his own hand, there in the shop where he and Lydia both had found succour and solace,sets off a chain of events that will leave Lydia reeling. Joey’s Sudden and rash act whilst in possession of something he had no earthly business having and the resulting mysterious messages seemingly from the grave that he has left for Lydia embedded in books, bring the vivid and terrifying events of another winter night so many years before into vivid relief for Lydia again.

Lydia and everyone she has sought to avoid or protect are forced into an unavoidable collision, where truths can bring nothing but heartbreak.

I loved this book for its gritty but sympathetic treatment of people kept on the periphery of society. Lydia’s youth was tainted by tragedy, her future is even now foreshadowed because of that and ultimately no-one truly escapes this story unscathed. The cleverly twisty plot provides a satisfying mystery but also asks the reader to examine the true nature of cause and effect. The innocent and the guilty are all scalded by the revelations found within.

I was gripped by this story, where nothing is quite what it appears, It is a quest for a catharsis for Lydia. This journey piecing together the tattered remnants of another person’s trauma so intrinsically linked with her own means she is ends up no longer a helpless child in an adult’s body, but is ultimately a stronger and more emotionally rounded person, ready to embark on life unencumbered by the ominous weight of the past but changed indelibly.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House and author Matthew Sullivan for the privilege of reading this book prior to realease on August the 24th 2017.

"To the inexperienced, many BookFrogs appeared as derelict or homeless, but to the seasoned eye it was clear that they'd shed themselves of the world, rejecting its costumes and rules in favour of paper and words."

This book really surprised me. I thought it would be a cosy murder mystery with a quaint book shop at the centre. But not at all, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore unravels two mysteries with the perfect balance between a cutesy mystery and a goreish shock-fest.

I really enjoyed Sullivan's writing, I found it vastly different from a lot of mysteries out there at the moment. As I said, I was expecting a cosy mystery, which it isn't, but neither is it in your face, blood and gore. Sullivan deals with violence, but manages to get just the right balance, revealing enough to horrify the reader but not so much that it's overkill (no pun intended).

There are two mysteries, why 'BookFrog' Joey commits suicide and who committed the atrocity that Lydia is hiding in her past. Of course, the mysteries interweave and I felt Sullivan revealed the vital plot points at just the right time, not dragging it out until it becomes boring.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Book Store has a lot more depth than your average thriller, it is a very layered book and every time you think you're at the bottom of it another element crops up.

The characters are wonderfully explored, with realistic yet quirky personalities which make them engaging. I especially liked Sullivan's descriptions of people which are incredibly unique.

"David was truly a pure-hearted guy, an upbeat mama's boy with wavy hair and beautiful eyes who just wanted to split breakfast burritos with Lydia until death."

However, I did find that a couple of the secondary characters sort of fizzled out, having fulfilled their purpose in the plot we don't hear anything else from them, and I wanted things tied up a bit.

One of my favourite things about Midnight at the Bright Ideas Book Store is that it is a book that will appeal to book lovers. It's almost an ode to books and the way they can save a life. I'm sure all bibliophiles will recognise elements of themselves in the BookFrogs.

There were a couple of elements though that stuck out for me; mainly that I still had a lot of questions at the end, and I also sometimes found Lydia a little pretentious. But then, you don't have to love a character to love a book. And I did love this book.

My Rating: 4/5

I received a copy of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore via NetGalley in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan starts of by lulling the reader into a false sense of security describing a cosy book store every bookworm would want to visit. I don’t often read the blurb again before starting the book so I went in blind not knowing what the story was about. Big Mistake.
Within the first few pages there is a horrifying scene which will rid the reader of the notion that this is going to be a comfortable read. Having said that, I really enjoyed reading this.
It is around midnight and Lydia is closing up the 'Bright Ideas Book Store' for the night when she hears strange noises coming from the upper store, the sounds of books falling to the floor. Her colleague is pre-occupied with a couple who have descended on the store in order to use the toilets but he suspects they are having sex in there.
Lydia is wondering where he favourite patron Joey is. He comes in most days and she tries to speak to him whenever he is in but today she has been too busy to track him down. Joey is normally accompanied by his friend Lyle but he is alone today and that is an unusual occurrence.
Joey is one of a group of customers that Lydia calls ‘Book Frogs’ because they remind her of a character of Beatrix Potters. A group of mostly unemployed men who spend a large proportion of their time in the aisles of the bookshelves surrounding themselves by books as a barrier against others.
“Joey was the youngest of the Book Frogs, and by far Lydia’s favourite. This wouldn’t be the first time that she or one of her bookselling comrades had done a final sweep at closing and found Joey knocking books off the shelves, searching for a title that may or may not have actually existed.”
Joey is “haunted but harmless – a dust bunny blowing through the corners of the store.” Lydia enjoys his presence in the store and his company so she is devastated when she finds the source of the noise. Joey has hung himself from a ceiling beam in the shop.
Just as horrifying for Lydia is the item he is clutching in his hand; a photo of her taken on her 10th birthday, a photo she hasn’t seen for years. A time in her life Lydia doesn’t like to reflect on. The photo was taken shortly before she and her father fled a hospital in Denver and sought refuge in the mountains.
Lydia arrives home to her partner David and tells him about Joey but despite having been with him for so long she doesn’t tell him everything.
“Her gut was swimming. She leaned against the sink to steady herself and told David all about Joey. Except for the part about the photo. She shared almost everything with David – her bizarro sci-fi dreams, her fears about the future, her shifting rotation of phobias and anxieties – but not the ruins of her childhood. Some things were off – limits, even for the guy she loved. “
As the days pass since Joey’s death Lydia feels old memories and fears from her childhood begin to overtake her.
“A hairy wrist tucked into a white latex glove. A white latex glove gripping a claw hammer. A claw hammer spun through with a girl’s hair. And blood.”
What happened to Lydia when she was younger? And why did Joey have the photo of her?
When Lydia is bequeathed some of Joey’s possessions she finds he has left her a message hidden among the books he owned, a message with clues to what was happening in his life prior to his decision to kill himself.
I felt that Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore deals with some difficult topics in a sensitive manner. Despite dealing with some horrific things I can’t say the book was particularly depressing.
It was a really enjoyable read and I read it within a few hours.

When I saw the title of this book and it's cover I immediately thought it would be a good holiday read, something I could dip in and out of. The first few pages made me realise how wrong I was and after that I was hooked.

Lydia finds her favourite "customer", a young man has committed suicide in the bookstore where she works. He leaves her a photo and a series of clues to uncover the truth behind his life and death. In doing so she must also face her own past with its horrifying dark secrets. The plot twists and turns and kept me enthralled until the very end.


Matthew J Sullivan is a brilliant story teller with a keen eye for character description. The main characters draw you in to their story and despite there being horror, fear and sadness there is also humour.
A great read. I look forward to his next book!

An ingenious story line. A wealth of interesting characters. Not exactly a whodunit or psychological thriller but the novel holds the attention to the end. Thoroughly recommended and a writer to look out for in the future.

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This is a very enjoyable read, a mystery thriller with a plot that moves at a good pace and at times is gripping..

The story is told really well with flashbacks and plot twists, some of which you might see developing but most are quite unexpected. It's a very believable story which also has a well paced ending, all too often the outcome can feel rushed or contrived but that's certainly not the case with this book. There are some rather sad elements to the story, it's difficult to say much more without giving too much away. .

There's a good range of characters with depth that develops through the story. These too are believable and you can really relate to them, they evoke emotions through their behaviour or the situations they find themselves in.

This is a really enjoyable easy read. There is a lot Lydia does not remember about her past and as the story is told we learn it piece by piece. Lydia tries to find out what drove Joey to commit suicide and also who his mother was. The answer is far closer to home than she could have imagined. I was totally caught up in the emotions of the characters. This book is definitely worth reading.

3.5

Nefariously deceptive and thriving with mystery, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a book that keeps you guessing. This is a journey of loss and regret, facing the past and finding answers.

At the age of 30 and working right where she belongs, in a bokstore, Lydia leads a quiet, simple life. But when one of her favourite BookFrogs commits suicide in the store, Lydia's life spirals downward. Desperate for answers and to understand why Joey left her his possessions, she tries to uncode his messages and thus, reveals secrets buried so deeply that even when she thinks she has the answers, there's more to find. Struggling with the loss of him and the past she can't escape from, Lydia faces many trials in the novel.

Lydia has had a tough childhood. After an encounter with the Hammerman, her father took her and they fled town to live in an isolated cabin far from any prying eyes. Little by little he became distant, cold, and otherwise unattached. Suffice to say that Lydia has some issues concerning commitment, family, and speaking of her past since her father refused to let her talk about that night. Brave and strong however, Lydia survived and now she will survive Joey's death too, even when it brings up those horrid memories and has people from her past running to catch up with her.

This book is full of mystery. There's so many questions, such as why Joey left everything to Lydia, and why he left her such complex and devious messages to figure out. To discover why Joey took his left, Lydia has to scramble around to try and find answers of his adoption and the her he keeps referring to in his messages. But can she handle the truth when it connects back to her childhood, back to that horrible day? I enjoyed reading this book as the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a journey that I couldn't stop reading about.

What was unfortunate however, is that the narrative was rather distant so I couldn't connect to anything or anyone at all. It made it easier to put the book down and harder to stay utterly immersed in the story. The pace was very slow as well and thus rendered some chapters as fillers and rather a bit boring, and the characters well they were all very similar. We never really get a true insight into any of the characters except Lydia. Even when they offer up their past, it's all about actions and not emotions or personality.

Overall, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a thrilling mystery that will make you cringe, shudder, and flip the next page until the end. While I had some issues, it was still an enjoyable read.

I LOVED this book! I couldn't read it fast enough and then felt lost when I'd finished it!

I fabulously quirky mix of book seller and crime thriller amateur detective Lydia is a character that I want as a friend.

Believable with fabulous flashback writing that maintained pace and consistency a brilliant read for people who love a crime book but not the gore.

I really couldn't recommend it enough a fantastic book.

I found this an intriguing and interesting read. It had a unusual plot that held my interest. I loved the idea of the bookshop, it sounded great.

Bookshop employee Lydia has a secret she does not want to share, but after finding customer Joey’s body in the bookshop, some secrets become too big to bury.
An outcast all of his life, all Joey wants is to belong to his family. Rejected by them again, he takes his own life in the bookstore where he had found some sense of belonging. But why does he have a picture of Lydia’s 10th birthday party in his pocket? What connects them?
This story had me gripped from the beginning, it is very well constructed with many secrets tangled, hidden and just waiting to be discovered.