Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

Lydia Smith has spent her life escaping a hugely traumatic event from her childhood. She works at The Bright Ideas Bookstore where she is loved by colleagues and BookFrogs (lost and lonely regulars who frequent the store). Her carefully constructed world comes crumbling down when she discovers Joey Molina, a BookFrog, has committed suicide in the store. Joey has left all his limited worldly possessions to Lydia. Included in his possessions are books that appear to be ruined, but as Lydia looks more closely, she realizes they might contain hidden messages.

As Lydia investigates Joey’s life and attempts to decipher the messages, she is confronted with her own past. The one violent, bloody night that changed her life can no longer be hidden. She must confront it, her estranged father and others she knew many years ago.

I loved this book for MANY reasons! I always like books about books because let’s face it, I’m a book lover and like to read about fellow book lovers! I loved the mystery element of the story as Lydia sorts through Joey’s past and her own. I also loved the relationships Lydia examines from her past and her present throughout the story. Her relationship with her father is a key part of the story and is quite complicated.

This book is a fun, not-so-scary, but certainly mysterious, book to kickoff October. If you haven’t read it, and like quirky suspense, I highly recommend it.

Check out Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan at the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…).