When a beloved bookstore patron dies by suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this award-winning debut novel that is at once “shocking, charming, [and] thrilling” (Associated Press).

Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she leads a meticulously ordered existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs—the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day browsing the overwhelmed stacks.

But when a young BookFrog, Joey Molina, hangs himself in one of the upper rooms of the store, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Inside one of Joey’s pockets is a photograph of Lydia as a little girl. And when she flips through some of 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. The more she goes over them, the more they seem to contain a hidden message for her about his final days. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia? As she follows the trail of puzzles Joey left behind, she uncovers long-buried secrets about her dark childhood, estranged family, and a violent crime that still casts shadows decades later.

With “ddball characters and [a] layered plot” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review), Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is literary mystery and psychological thriller perfect for book lovers, book clubs, and fans of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, and Jess Walter.