Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

I read this book as part of a book club, and really enjoyed it! It's been a while since I read a good mystery and this one kept me guessing. The author's writing and storytelling made this a quick read and I liked the diversity of the characters, in background and personality and socioeconomic situation. This novel does a nice job of presenting a Denver that is on the cusp of gentrification of part of the city in the early 90s maybe? I would love to spend some more time there. The mystery, however, is what makes this book so good. There are plot twists and things I didn't see coming. The other thing worth mentioning is the ending. Sometimes a story will have a long and intricate build up to an ending that is lacking - almost as if an editor said, “wrap it up this week” or “chop out 100 pages” to the author. This book is very well done in that respect. There is a mystery. It is brought to a resolution but in a complete manner that leaves the reader satisfied but without whiplash or questions remaining.

My complaint is... I'm team David. Great pacing. Great way of explaining just enough to keep the pages turning.

4.25
Oh wow. I am flabbergasted. Didn't expect to love this book so much.
I picked it up on a whim from the library because the synopsis sounded so interesting. But I didn't expect to love the book so much and connect to the characters.

It started off as a slow burn mystery and somewhere along the halfway point it turned into smthg else entirely. When I mean slow burn I mean SLOWW (it took me a week to read the 1st half, but I read the 2nd half in less than a day lol) but after the halfway point secrets started getting revealed and it became so much more interesting.

I loved the characters so much(except for that one person) and the setting of the book is amazing, specially if you are a book lover(our mc is a bookseller) coz its filled with books,talks about loving books,how books impact our lives,etc

Highly recommend this if you want a good book that will keep you guessing till d very end!

This was such a good book. Start to finish it probably took me maybe three hours to read. And the first things i said as i finished the last page was ‘mm that was such a good book'. A little mystery. A little thriller. A little drama. In an interesting conclusion with nicely paced perspectives from multiple different characters.
The only complaint i have in some punctuation inconsistencies. They appear to be purposeful but they make dialogue somewhat difficult to read for about a third of the book.
Not enough for me to knock the book down a start but still something other readers should be aware of.

What? What happens right away in this book with a lovely bookstore setting? No. It can't be. Someone commits suicide in this bookstore? Oh no! But, yes, that's what happened. And there are horrible, grisly murders to come...

I don't like scary stories. I will just be upfront about that. Murder of a child? With a hammer? And a suicide in a bookstore?

I would have never read this book on my own. But it was my book club's choice.

My rating is based on (1) my lack of love for the gory, (2) the awful suicide in a bookstore, and (3) my disappointment with the ending

Frankly, I cannot understand the slew of 3-, 4-, and 5- star reviews for Matthew Sullivan's “Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore.” What I can understand is how many people might be drawn to read this book about a woman who must solve a suicide in the upper floor of her bookstore. I am one of those fools who likes to read books about books, bookstores, libraries, authors, etc. Luckily, I picked this title up from the library and did not waste a dime on purchasing it.

Book nerds, do not be tricked!! Stay away!

The pace of the action drags and drags, which is an achievement for such a short title. Should a second star be awarded for making such a mess in a minimum of pages? I am a fan of efficiency, but not in this case! The mystery isn't all that interesting and, by the time we learn of the horrible event from Lydia's childhood, I wished the Hammerman had gotten her! The two, intertwined mysteries are forced.

Generally, the characterization is incredibly poor; I found myself not caring what happened to any of them almost immediately. The romantic relationship between Lydia and David? Bleh. Her “blossoming” relationship with Raj? Meeehhh. DON'T CARE. Dullsville.

One of the most irritating tics of Matthew Sullivan's writing is the constant use of a character's name when another character is addressing him or her. “Lydia, would you like to go to the store? I know you are hungry, Lydia. Lydia always liked lunchmeat!” The first word of the book is...you guessed it...Lydia! I cannot even provide an annoying enough quote of how Lydia's name is used OVER and OVER throughout every piece of dialogue. Even more annoying is the author's propensity for inner monologue's to use the “she, Lydia” construction. WE KNOW WHO IS SPEAKING, MATTHEW! Good gravy.

Also, if you're still thinking, “Hey, let me listen instead of reading this boring-ass book that supposed to be interesting so I can hit my annual Goodreads ,” definitely avoid the audiobook. The narrator should consider another profession and, in a very odd interpretation, voices every man at an extremely slow speed.