Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Madeleine Maby
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By:
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Matthew Sullivan
About this listen
When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this fiendishly clever debut novel from an award-winning short story writer.
Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, her eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs - the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store's overwhelmed shelves.
But when Joey McGinty, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore's back room, Lydia's life comes unglued. Always Joey's favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books - the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books, she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?
As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey's suicide, she unearths a long-buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold along with an obsessive local cop and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia's life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left.
Bedazzling, addictive, and wildly clever, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a heart-pounding mystery that perfectly captures the intellect and eccentricity of the bookstore milieu and will keep you guessing until the very end.
©2017 Matthew Sullivan. All rights reserved. (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Someone is knocking at the door to Grace Adams' house, and he won't stop. Grace thinks she knows who it is, but when she goes to her second floor window for a look she sees a woman she doesn't recognize. The woman isn't alone for long before a man emerges from the dark of the surrounding woods, stabs her, and leaves her for dead. Trying to help, Grace goes to the woman and is shocked to find that it's her mother Leanne - a woman who abandoned her 11 years before.
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at times hard to follow
- By cindy on 03-03-15
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Brighton
- A Novel
- By: Michael Harvey
- Narrated by: Stephen Mendel
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Kevin Pearce - baseball star, honor student, the pride of Brighton - was 15 when he left town in the back of his uncle's cab. He and his buddy, Bobby Scales, had just committed heinous violence for what they thought were the best of reasons. Kevin didn't want a pass, but he was getting it anyway. Bobby would stay and face the music; Kevin's future would remain as bright as ever. At least that was the way things were supposed to work, except in Brighton things never work the way they're supposed to.
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Mystery gets no better.
- By William H. Harrington on 10-27-18
By: Michael Harvey
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Little Girl Lost
- A Foundlings Novel
- By: Wendy Corsi Staub
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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May 1968 - On a murky pre-dawn Mother’s Day, sinister secrets play out miles apart in New York City. In Harlem, a church janitor finds a newborn in a basket. In Brooklyn, an elusive serial killer prowls slumbering families, leaving a trail of blood. These seemingly unrelated lives - and deaths - are destined to intersect on a distant, blood-soaked day. October, 1987 - Reeling from shocking personal discoveries, two strangers navigate a world where nothing is as it seems.
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Not Up To Staub's Standards
- By Gracie on 12-29-18
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Lie Still
- A Novel
- By: Julia Heaberlin
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Nursing the faded scars of a long-held trauma, Emily Page and her husband, awaiting the arrival of their first child, move from New York City to the uber-wealthy Clairmont, Texas. There, Emily is swept into a world of opulent privilege and shifting loyalties. But the secrets she keeps follow her south, and with them comes the danger that her new friends can't protect her from, and her new enemies will not hesitate to use to destroy her once and for all.
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Lie Still
- By Mary K on 06-27-17
By: Julia Heaberlin
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The Arsonist
- By: Stephanie Oakes
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Morgan Hallett, Rachel Botchan
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In this offering from Morris Award finalist Stephanie Oakes, three riveting points of view are woven together in a story that's part historical mystery, part contemporary coming-of-age, and completely unputdownable. When Molly gets a package leading her to Pepper, they're tasked with solving a decades-old mystery: find out who killed Ava back in 1989. Using Ava's diary for clues, Molly and Pepper realize there's more to her life - and death - than meets the eye. Someone is lying to them. And someone out there is guiding them along, desperate for answers.
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Thrilling with wonderful characters
- By Emily Schneider on 11-29-20
By: Stephanie Oakes
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Black & White
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Clara Brodeur has spent her entire adult life pulling herself away from her famous mother, the renowned and controversial photographer Ruth Dunne, whose towering reputation rests on the unsettling nude portraits she took of her young daughter from the ages of three to 14. As Clara charts a path connecting her childhood with her adult life, Shapiro's novel weaves together past and present in images as stark and intense as the photographs that tore the Dunnes apart.
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It was okay
- By Lucy7 on 02-13-19
By: Dani Shapiro
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Make Your Home Among Strangers
- By: Jennine Capó Crucet
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Lizet, a daughter of Cuban immigrants and the first in her family to graduate from high school, secretly applies and is accepted to an ultra-elite college. Her parents are furious at her decision to leave Miami, and amid a painful divorce, her father sells her childhood home, leaving Lizet, her mother, and older sister, a newly single mom, without a steady income and scrambling for a place to live.
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Tremendous Insight on 1st Gen College Students
- By RelizzScholar27 on 11-16-19
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Forty Words for Sorrow
- By: Giles Blunt
- Narrated by: James Daniels
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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When the badly decomposed body of 13-year-old Katie Pine is found, John Cardinal is vindicated. It was Cardinal who'd kept the Pine case open and Cardinal had been demoted to the burglary squad for his excessive zeal. But Katie Pine isn't the only youngster to have gone missing and Cardinal is now given the go-ahead to reopen the files on three other lost kids. When another youth is reported missing, he begins to see a pattern that screams "serial killer."
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even better than the TV show
- By Allison Payne on 04-21-20
By: Giles Blunt
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The Last Place You Look
- By: Kristen Lepionka
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Nobody knows what happened to Sarah Cook. The beautiful blonde teenager disappeared 15 years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend, Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and is now on death row. Though he's maintained his innocence all along, the clock is running out. His execution is only weeks away when his devoted sister insists she spied Sarah at an area gas station.
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Alcoholic PI
- By Karwyn on 05-17-18
By: Kristen Lepionka
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Truly Devious
- A Mystery
- By: Maureen Johnson
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early 20th century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. "A place", he said, "where learning is a game." Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious".
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I enjoyed it, but I’m pissed about the ending
- By Laura on 04-08-19
By: Maureen Johnson
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Playing Dead
- A Novel
- By: Julia Heaberlin
- Narrated by: Madeleine Lambert
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The perfume-scented letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter—and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago. Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself inextricably linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana.
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I tried but I just couldn't
- By Kathryn on 09-17-12
By: Julia Heaberlin
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A Good Idea
- By: Cristina Moracho
- Narrated by: Alex McKenna
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Finley and Betty's close friendship survived Fin's ninth-grade move from their coastal Maine town to Manhattan. Calls, letters, and summer visits continued to bind them together, and in the fall of their senior year, they both applied to NYU, planning to reunite for good as roommates. Then Betty disappears.
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An absolute must listen/read!
- By Mel on 03-05-17
By: Cristina Moracho
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The Cleanup
- By: Sean Doolittle
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Matthew Worth is a mess. Somewhere between a good cop and a bad screwup, he botched a marriage and a career. His fellow officers think he’s a joke. His commanders are tired of cutting him breaks. Even his wife has left him for a flashy homicide detective. Busted to night patrol at a robbery-prone Omaha supermarket, Worth is doing time, wearing his uniform and asking shoppers if they want paper or plastic. If that isn’t enough, he suspects he might be falling for Gwen, the shy checkout girl who may be an even bigger mess than he is. It couldn’t get any worse. Until it does.
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A Really Good Modern American Noir Crime Novel
- By Frank Donnelly on 04-23-20
By: Sean Doolittle
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Our Little Secret
- By: Roz Nay
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Angela is being held in a police interrogation room. Her ex's wife has gone missing, and Detective Novak is sure Angela knows something, despite her claim that she's not involved. At Novak's prodding, Angela tells a story going back 10 years, explaining how she met and fell in love with her high school friend HP. But as her past unfolds, she reveals a disconcerting love triangle and a dark, tangled web of betrayals. Is Angela a scorned ex-lover with criminal intent? Or a pawn in someone else's revenge scheme?
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Amazing
- By lisa on 12-31-19
By: Roz Nay
What listeners say about Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Claudine
- 07-01-17
Keeps you guessing
This book had many twists and mysterious subplots which kept me interested, entertained and thinking. I'm glad it wasn't simple and easy to figure out because so many stories are. I really enjoyed the book and my only complaint was the narration. The narrator trying to do men's voices was a bit painful. Most of the time she spoke so slowly as the male characters that they come off sounding mentally challenged. I just wish they would hire a man and woman together to do narration.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Marla
- 12-04-18
Horrific Narrator
The worst narrator I have ever heard. I will never buy another book she narrates.
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1 person found this helpful
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- J Eastman
- 07-08-23
Great story
Lots of emotions on the parts of all the characters in this book. Mystery, betrayal, abuse and love all are in this book.
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- Tillienedeau
- 08-22-18
No shopping at the Bright Ideas Bookstore for me!
The story was compelling at first. But the more I listened the more horrified I became. These characters lives were without hope or love. I do not like murder mystery but needed to read a book set in a bookstore. If you are a fan of this genre I would recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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- B.Jay
- 03-15-19
Wonderful use of words, plot a bit clunky
basically a good book with entertaining choices of words but the plot is a little clunky the reader can figure out who done it well before the protagonist
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- Jennifer
- 09-04-18
Clever Storyline, ho-hum narration
Matthew Sullivan, the author, does a skillful job of leading the reader down a path that has the reader only asking why the heinous crime was committed not who committed it when suddenly things go a different direction, and the pace of the story picks up the momentum leading to a not so expected resolution. There are a few parts of the story I thought dragged a bit, but the book kept my attention until the end. Some of narrator Madeleine Mabby’s male voices are too emotionless and bland to the extent of being a distraction from the story. Overall I enjoyed the storyline and would recommend the book. A print version may be a better option if you are particular about narration quality.
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- Heather Garrison
- 07-20-17
Fantastic Story - Wonderful Narrator
Where does Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I don't really rank books, I judge them individually and this book falls into the "Would read again" category.
What did you like best about this story?
The characters were "real", believable and they grew as the story progressed. Some grew for the better, others for the worse, but they all grew, one way or the other.
Have you listened to any of Madeleine Maby’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have not, but I absolutely LOVED her and am looking to her other narrations to see if she has done anything else that I would like to read.
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- Ray Stewart
- 12-12-18
Watch Out for the Quiet One
This mystery story takes place in Colorado, mostly on Colfax Avenue in Denver. Lots of odd characters practically live at the Bright Ideas book store. A bit gruesome in spots but overall an entertaining novel.
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- Mystery Fan
- 07-27-17
This author's talent is in detail
The plot is strong enough but the authors eye for physical details carries this novel. He's only going to get better with time. I'm in.
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- Starla S. Bench
- 12-25-17
Abandon the audiobook
I loved the book, but the narration drove me crazy. Every voice besides the main character’s was tortuously slow and odd-sounding. It took everything I had not to turn it off and just download it to my kindle so I could read it with my eyes.
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1 person found this helpful