I really enjoyed this book, the first novel of, I hope, many by Matthew Sullivan. The author himself worked for many years in a bookstore and he is married to a librarian. The love and power of books and the importance of these two careers in other people's lives comes across very strongly in this novel.. Lydia is a bookseller in Denver, daughter of a librarian, and knows the need for books so encourages people ('Book Frogs') to spend time in the bookshop, getting to know some of them well and caring for them. One night one of her regular Book Frogs kills himself in the bookstore leaving messages for Lydia to find which will lead her back to childhood traumas and friends and family she thought she had left behind. Characters are well written and both the city and mountain landscapes are well described. My only gripe is that I felt the epilogue was a bit trite and perhaps unnecessary.

Lydia Smith, a clerk at a very special bookstore, knows what it's like to be an outsider. She has spent her life living on the edge of things, ever since she was a child. And perhaps that it what makes her a good bookseller, and someone who is valued by her Bookfrogs - men on the edge of society who find solace and company and reading.

However, she is forced to face the horrors of her own past when one of her beloved Bookfrogs commits suicide in her bookstore, leaving a trail of books and clues that only Lydia can decipher. This leads her back to a childhood friend, her semi-estranged father and forces her to face the identity of the mysterious Hammerman.

This book successfully pulls you in from the first chapter, artfully setting the scene of the bookstore and bringing you into Lydia's world. You immediately want to find out more about Lydia's past, as well as Joe, and what links the two together.

The book is emotive, well-paced and drip-feeds you snippets of Lydia's past in a very satisfying way, rather than all exposition at the end. By its conclusion, I could picture two different endings and was pleased that it took the less predictable of the two. Overall I really enjoyed the book, but found the final Epilogue a little bit too sweet, compared to the tone of the rest of the novel.

A thoughtful book exploring memory, family and tragedy. Very well written

Enjoyable little book. Putting aside that this bookshop - with its shower curtain wearing staff & vagrant customers who litter the place without buying anything - would never be able to stay afloat, it was still an enjoyable book. I guessed most of the revelations that happened along the way (probably nearly all in fact), but the many likeable characters - Lydia, Plath, Lyle - made this an easy page turner.

Much as the quirky bookshop with, its socially awkward employees who seem to do very little work, was a bit far fetched, the opening scenes were still fabulous. I want this place to exist so badly!! I'm sure I'm not alone :)

was really pulled into this book until the last 20 pages, where people act out of character and an obvious killer is revealed. This the plot and characters of this were a lot of fun. It reminded me a lot of a darker version of Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore.

I was surprised by this book; it took me a while to get attached to the characters and feel invested in the mystery at the heart of the story. Once I did though, the pages flew by and enjoyed the slow unfurling of the truth. Lydia is something of an enigma-she hides her past from those around her and doesn't get too close to anyone. But when one of her beloved BookFrogs (regulars to the bookshop she works in) commits suicide and leaves her a puzzle to solve, her past and present collide, forcing Lydia to confront a few demons and reconnect with people she has deliberately shunned. A quirky, and often witty, debut that grew on me.

A gripping dark mystery with fantastic build up that'll keep you intrigued from start to finish. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore starts with the catalyst of Joey hanging himself in the beloved bookstore in which our protagonist, Lydia, works. However the plot follows so much more than this. There are quite a few mysteries all masterfully intertwined with clever connections between characters. Great for readers who like to theorise and try and figure things out before the protagonist does as there's just so much going on to keep your mind busy!

A very enjoyable and addictive read. Recommended for all mystery fans.

I should have loved this book. I'm a sucker for a story set in a bookshop, its central character is engaging and there's a mystery to be solved, but something about Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore just didn’t do it for me.

The story is set in the 80s, I think (certainly pre-internet and mobile phones), and centres around Lydia who is 30 years old and working in the eponymous bookstore in Denver, Colorado. In the first few pages she finds that a young man, a regular customer who has become almost a friend, has hanged himself in the store. The events relating to his death and to Lydia's traumatic past emerge as the book progresses. It's a decent set-up, but thesubsequent development all seemed rather pedestrian to me.

I find it hard to put my finger on why the book didn't engage me properly. The prose is perfectly readable and Matthew Sullivan can create a good character – the one time the book came completely alive for me was during the relatively brief appearance of a cynical, reclusive retired cop whom I found a vividly real and gripping character. The rest, though…well, it felt a little obviously constructed, somehow, as if I could see the Creative Writing Manual showing through without really being convinced by much of it. There are some coincidences which are central to the plot which really stretch credibility, for example, and I found the journey of Lydia's heart completely unconvincing.

I don't want to carp too much. It's OK. I did finish it (albeit with some judicious skimming) but I'd hoped for much better. Plainly, other reviewers have enjoyed this far more than I did, but I can only give it a qualified recommendation.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)

Wow!! Blown away by the opening shocker, and from there on ,it was a hectic roller coaster of suspense, mystery and multiple deceptions in this marvellous murder mystery. It is a dark story,not particularly gruesome,but full of dark imaginations,false leads,clues and numerous twists and turns that manage to be moving and sympathetic. It is such a cleverly constructed book with tiny details that tell such a heart breaking story,yet convey horror and weird coincidences to perfection,I was frequently heard muttering' no way'as another fact came into play and upset all my carefully written critic notes.
I loved the idea of a bookshop open til midnight,that caters for readers and homeless alike.Lydia the librarian was so caring and genuinely concerned about her book frogs ,yet had suffered a horrific experience in her younger years,that made the reader side with her throughout this story.
I thought the idea of clues ,being left in cut out windows ,in pairs of carefully chosen books was worthy of Agatha Christie,simple and taxing in equal parts.
In short,this book is a page turner,I was torn between wanting to read quicker,but not wanting the story to end. I throughly recommend this novel and have given it 5 stars. I have left a copy of this review on NetGalley today.

This book is an unexpected treat. Our heroine, Lydia, works in a huge bookshop where she collects Book Frogs – eccentric, lonely customers who pass their days amongst the shelves. When her favourite Book Frog – a sweet but troubled young man named Joey – kills himself in the bookshop he leaves a clue to his reasons for Lydia to find. But as she pieces together Joey’s trail of cunning puzzles she has to face up to a horrifying event from her childhood that she has concealed from everybody now in her life, even going so far as to change her name.
The characters are just wonderful – Lydia is a hugely compassionate woman whose history makes her the perfect person to understand these lost and lonely men. The bookshop is bursting with rich characters, both staff and customers, as is Lydia’s past – the colourful individuals of a life not yet tainted by violence.
I found myself completely sucked in, desperate to know what had happened to Lydia and then to find out who was responsible, and so invested in finding out what had led to Joey’s suicide. This is such a compelling book, I couldn’t put it down. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Matthew Sullivan.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley for an honest review.

Firstly, I must say that I read a lot of murder / thriller books, and I like mine to be meaty and gritty. However, I am currently on holiday and was looking for a few lighter reads for around the pool.

This is a really good 'cosy mystery' book - all of the peril has already passed a LONG time ago, and the only 'current' death is a suicide.

The murder from when Lydia is a child is brutal and bloody and well described, but there is a time disconnect, which would make it more 'acceptable' for some to read.

I loved the writing, the characters were really well drawn, and there were still a few surprises in the story which kept me guessing.

Such a wonderful book! Endless twists and turns, but very well written. Some of the mystery was fairly predictable but still enjoyable to read. The characters were well developed. I enjoyed this a lot and have recommended it to others.

Lydia Smith is working at the Bright Ideas Bookstore when Joey, a young regular hangs himself upstairs. On him, she finds a picture of her when she was 10… Right before her life changed radically.
She then starts to uncover things about Joey’s life which turns out to be more linked to hers than she could have imagined...

I had trouble getting into this book, but after a while I could not put it down. It was captivating and unpredictable. There were many twists I didn’t see coming and especially a major one that left me thunderstruck… But after the twists, I always drew conclusions before the characters… They seemed a bit slow to me...
Speaking of the characters, they were interesting, but I didn’t really fall for any.
Finally, I loved the fact that it was in a book world. Between the bookstore and the libraries, I was complete.
All in all, a great read with many twists and turns and layered characters.

This book starts slowly, ups the tension and gets better and better. I was gripped and had to read it as fast as I could. I loved the picture in words the author creates.

Lydia looses her mother at an early age and is brought up by her father. She makes very good friends with Raj and they spend a lot of time together both at school nd out of it. A girl called Carole comes on the scene and soon Raj is forgotton. One night Carole is supposed to have a sleepover with Lydia but there is a change of plan and Lydia stays with her. In the night someone breaks in and murders Carole and her parents. Lydia and her father move away and Raj is forgotton..
Years later and Lydia returns to Denver and works at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. One night a yound lad called Joey is found hanging in the bookstore with a photo of Lydia in his pocket. Who gave it to him and why?
The story unfolds and every page reveals a new twist. This is a real page turner which keeps you guessing right to the end.

Lydia Smith loves her job in the Bright Ideas Bookstore. When Joey one of the misfits nicknamed by the staff as book frogs commits suicide.and Lydia finds a photograph of her as a little girl in his pocket, she must find out why. Lydia has a secret, she survived a brutal massacre when staying with a friend's family when young. Her father a widower moved them away from Denver and they rarely speak now. Using clues left in Joey's books Lydia attempts to solve two questions. Why did Joey kill himself? What happened the day that the O'Toole family were murdered and Lydia was spared? If you love books you will love this one. Recommended. See my full review on Euro-Crime website.

When she was the sole survivor of a mass murder, Lydia and her father move away. When Joey commits suicide, Lydia is left behind wondering what had happened to him and why did he have a photo of her when she was 10 and with the murdered girl. As she works to find out more about him, she starts to uncover secrets from her own past. 

Of course my main interest for reading this was the mention of a bookstore. Although we start off within Bright Ideas Bookstore, the book takes us to multiple other places in Denver. 

I enjoyed the multiple mysteries within the book. I wanted to know about the murder in Lydias childhood. Who Joey was and why did he kill himself in Bright Ideas? Why does Lydia no  longer speak to her father? And Sullivan managed to answer all of them by the end. 

The book jumps from past to present, and sometimes changes to someone else's narrative apart from Lydia. I really enjoyed the time jumps as we got to see all the key moments with all the details. But some of the moments got repetitive as they were then thought about or discussed later on. Although I really liked the book, there were some parts I could skip over because it wasn't any new information.

There's a lot of suspense in some parts. Sullivan wonderfully wove the darker and grittier mysteries together as we neared the end. It is a slow start though, so if you do read it, remember to keep going because more questions are raised as you go on. Although, I found the ending to be really abrupt. The drama really ramped up nearing the end and then it just stopped. I wish we could have read about the aftermath a bit more.

I felt the book started off a bit slow but I started to enjoy it more by the second half. I liked the multi-layered past and present storyline and the connections between the characters as the story developed was interesting. It would have been nice if the ending had covered the aftermath with a bit more depth.

Nice enough book - 3 stars.

I saw this and I was more intrigued as it was set in a bookstore. This book is not what I expected. It’s different to what I thought the book to be. Lydia is a clerk in the Bright Ideas Bookstore when one of the Book frogs, which are lonely regulars that spend a lot of their time in the bookstore commits suicide in a room at the back of the shop. Lydia is effected as she got to know him and found him at the back of the shop. She found a picture of herself, when she was a little girl in his coat pocket.

The story the goes back to when Lydia was a little girl, her childhood, raised by her father who knew nothing about bringing up a little girl. His job as a prison guard and his love of books. Also the murder of her friend and mother, killed by the ‘Hammerman’ and where Lydia hid under the sink while it was all happening and the links to this and Joey’s death.
As a debut author, I thought this was beautifully written and I like the style of writing. For me personally though I thought that the first half of this book was a bit confusing and I was wondering the direction that this story was heading. Until we meet Raj and we learn of his back ground of his life and his childhood friendship with Lydia it all fell into place. I will be interested to know what else the author has instore in the future.

Lydia works at a bookstore, home to many eccentric characters ("Bookfrogs") - booklovers who like to spend their days there. When one of her favourites, Joey, takes his life upstairs - Lydia is shocked. Joey appears to have left Lydia hidden messages, ones she must decipher in order to find out what happened.

Lydia also becomes subject to some unwanted attention after the incident - when the suicide is reported in the paper, someone recognises her as the only survivor in a brutal unsolved crime several years before. Is Lydia ready to face her demons - and what does it all have to do with Joey?

I wasn't expecting this, I was expecting something quirky and contemporary - instead, I got a sad mystery, a really engaging story about how the past can come back to haunt you when (and where) you least expect it. Lydia was a brilliant character, and I was rooting for tragic Joey's message to be deciphered.

I recommend this one.