Save the BookFrogs

By Ande Jacobson

Matthew Sullivan, previously known for his short stories, burst onto the book scene in June 2017 with his debut novel, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. With shades of O. Henry in its twists and turns and a surprise ending, Sullivan gives readers puzzles within puzzles to solve as he leads them through parallel mysteries from the present and a harrowing past. Lydia is a bookseller who is more comfortable with the books she sells than with people, and yet she’s a favorite of the BookFrogs, the dejected loners from multiple walks of life who find solace in the Bright Ideas Bookstore. One young BookFrog, Joey Molina, a troubled fellow with a past and a secret takes a shine to Lydia. She’s his favorite bookseller, and she’s kind to him. One night when she finds Joey in the store’s upper room hanging from a self-fashioned noose, her life changes forever. She too has a past seeping with violence that she’d rather forget but can’t, and now she is caught in the present with a mystery she must solve. Why did Joey kill himself? And, after finding out that he’d left her all of his earthly possessions, she discovers a disturbing yet tantalizing puzzle going beyond that single event.

Sullivan starts slowly, setting the scene so that readers can see the store, smell the pages of the books and the clientele, and get to know the quirky staff. He modeled the store after one he knew well in Denver, Colorado, and the touch of realism comes through. Readers don’t learn all about Lydia’s past at first. That only comes to light as she struggles to understand what happened to her favorite BookFrog.

Lydia’s boyfriend, David, seems a bit of a mismatch for her, and he hides a secret from her that has explosive consequences. Her childhood friend Raj returns after she’s consumed by the mysteries surrounding Joey. Lydia’s estranged father, Tomas, also comes back into her life, somewhat against her will, but his presence, while disturbing, is necessary and enlightening. A grizzled retired detective from Lydia’s childhood also plays a part, both helpful and hurtful. Lyle, Joey’s friend, confides in Lydia and helps her with her investigation. And finally, her friend and colleague Plath lends her an ear, a car, and some sage advice when Lydia needs them most.

Sullivan doles out small bits of Lydia’s childhood along the way, centering on the events leading up to a traumatic night that haunts Lydia – the night the Hammerman killed her friend Carol and her parents. Sullivan explores how such a tragedy affects a young child, especially when that child barely escapes becoming a victim of a vicious crime the way that Lydia did. After that traumatic event, Lydia and her father, a local librarian, leave town to escape the memories and prying eyes. Tomas’ life changes though not for the better after the move. Lydia too cannot escape the trauma of that horrible night. The Hammerman remained at large for decades, becoming something of an urban legend, but Lydia, Tomas, and even Raj knew it was real even though they didn’t know who the Hammerman was.

Lydia’s childhood trauma colors everything, but she still makes a life for herself. And despite her falling out with her father, her love of books is ingrained and in itself offers her solace from a dangerous world. The new puzzles that Joey left behind are therapeutic for her. They involve books in a way she would never have considered. Joey, though damaged himself, was a clever young man, and Lydia becomes consumed in solving the parallel mysteries that have found her.

Late in the story as Lydia decodes Joey’s messages, multiple parts of her life come into clearer focus. What she discovers is both startling and life-changing. As she puts the pieces of the puzzles together, the story accelerates giving readers quite a thrill ride. The latter half of the book is difficult to put down because there’s really no good stopping point until the final turn plays out.

Sullivan rewards readers with a satisfying resolution to the harrowing events, and he uses the very end to give readers some well-deserved comfort and peace.

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