MIDNIGHT AT THE BRIGHT IDEAS BOOKSTORE by William J. Sullivan

Release Date: 13 June 2017

My Rating: 4.5/5

Lydia works at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, surrounded by her contingent of quirky bookfrogs, the name she’s given to the homeless population that spend their days in the shelves. As she is ringing up her last customers, she hears strange noises from the upper floors. When she goes to investigate, she finds Joey, her youngest and favorite bookfrog, dangling from a makeshift noose. She is too late but, as she holds his body in her arms, she finds a photograph in his pocket–a photograph of her, 10 years old, right before everything changed. Lydia has a violent past, wrapped up in a evening of horror. There are two many connections for Joey’s death to be a coincidence, and she finds herself struggling to maintain her new life as her past rears its ugly head.

An exceptionally well-written thriller, I highly recommend this to mystery fans. Every character is beautifully rendered and the tale is expertly told. A suspenseful triumph. This is Sullivan’s debut novel, and I cannot wait for his next.