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Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore: A Novel | Matthew Sullivan

This post contains spoilers

This is the open discussion post for chapters 1-9. Please comment below and let‘s discuss!! I tagged everyone in our previous post, but please discuss here👇🏼 #LitsyBuddyRead

MinDea, Jess7, LitsyBuddyRead

Jess7 I‘m loving this book, but I am completely stumped by the clues Joey left behind. Does anyone have any guesses about what it means or why he left them for Lydia specifically? 7y

Jess7 I didn‘t see the murder of the O‘Tooles coming. I desperately want to know who killed them, but I don‘t have much of any educated guess. Personally I do not think it was Lydia‘s father who did it, because he doesn‘t seem like that kind of person, but I‘m wondering if Lydia thinks he did. 7y

ofbooksandme I forced myselfnto stop at chapter 9 because I like to slowly enjoy the things I like. So fat, @Jess7, I'm just as clueless as Lydia! But I love getting to know her. I think Joey had a connection so deep with books, that it was the only way he found to express himself when he was a loss for words. 7y

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ofbooksandme I'm also veeeeeery intrigued about this friend who just vanished because I sense he will provide us with some answers. 7y

Jess7 I agree @ofbooksandme I just do not understand yet at all what the clues could mean. 7y

Jess7 Were you surprised to learn Joey had been to prison or by the crime he committed? Does this information at all impact the way you look at his character? @ofbooksandme (edited) 7y

Jess7 Personally, I‘m not a fan of Carol or the O‘Tooles. I do not think they deserved to die or anything, but I don‘t like the way they interact or the way they encourage Carol‘s behavior. 7y

BookishMe @Jess7 when I first started, I remember liking David the best... Easy-going and all. I especially enjoyed the pace of the story. I found it mostly consistent and well-paced. I guess that's one main reason I really enjoyed the book. 7y

Jess7 @BookishMe - David definitely seems like a nice guy. He offered to stay home to help Lydia try to figure out the clues and all. (edited) 7y

Bren912 I think the pace of the book is great. Not too slow and not too fast. Carols personality is a tough one. Not someone you would want to influence your child. But for whatever reason, she was drawn to Lydia and Raj at the gas n donut shop. If you forbid a friendship it just makes it more tempting to pursue. And carol seems to be dumped a lot to her dad while he works. 7y

Jess7 @Bren912 I like the pace too, but it‘s definitely making me want to know more so bad 🤗 7y

Jess7 @Bren912 I think your perspective on Lydia being drawn to Carol because it‘s forbidden is probably right. Has anything surprised you so far? 7y

Jess7 @ofbooksandme which friend? 7y

Bren912 The graphic visual of ‘the incident‘. And I‘m quite surprised by her not speaking to her dad. I‘m not surprised by the connection she and Joey had. Lost souls tend to find each other. 7y

ofbooksandme @Jess7 I was caught a bit off guard by Joey's past, but it gave me a bigger picture about who he was or why he got to be where he was. 7y

ofbooksandme @Jess7 It is hinted once it twice that there was a very good friend of Joey's who also went to the bookstore that suddenly vanished the same night he committed suicide. I don't remember his name now. 7y

ofbooksandme @Bren912 while the descriptions of the suicide were already visual, the incident caught me completely off guard. Not only because I wasn't expecting something like that to, but the detail of it... 7y

Jess7 @Bren912 me too. I don‘t understand why she won‘t talk to her dad unless she thinks he committed the murder. Do you think he committed the murder? @ofbooksandme I was surprised by Joey‘s past too and a little surprised by how much it‘s impacted him given that he didn‘t actually kill anyone, but I was also surprised to find out he dropped cinder blocks at cars. What did he think was going to happen? 7y

DanaManiac I love this book so far! I really like Lydia and David together, and I‘m really curious about the link between Joey and Lydia. My guess is that he‘s connected to her past in some way- or at least he knows something, simply because the blurb mentions that the Hammerman never really left her life. 7y

DanaManiac Unlessss that‘s metaphorical, in which case I‘m totally clueless! 😂 7y

Jess7 Ohhh I missed that!!! @ofbooksandme - now I want to re-read that part. I‘m curious who his friend might be 7y

Jess7 Yesss — I agree @Dana1084 I caught that too about he hammerman. Did it ever say how old Joey is? 7y

DanaManiac @Jess7 I think he was in his early twenties. Who knows what he went through in jail...Whatever he wanted Lydia to know, he clearly couldn‘t communicate it to her until now. All of that effort! @ofbooksandme I think the missing friend‘s name is Lyle, right? (edited) 7y

MinDea I enjoyed this book. It is super fast paced. I remember at the end of this wheek's chapters I wanted to know more. More about Joey, Lydia, her father, and more about her past. I knew Joey had to be connected to her past in some way but how? Was he her brother? Did he go to her school? Was he from that little town and had heard about The Hammerman? I mean, how did he end up with her picture and why? I had a lot of questions, a had a few theories. 7y

LazyDays I found myself really just wanting to know about Lydia. 7y

MinDea @Dana1084 @Jess7 @ofbooksandme @Bren912 @BookishMe 7y

LazyDays Poor Joey, I could help but feel deeply for him. 7y

DanaManiac @MinDea I totally agree- it feels like we have all of these facts and incidents, and nothing to connect them together...yet! 7y

LazyDays I couldn't help but finish the book! At first it was slow, but all these questions you guys are asking I was also. I had not self control! 7y

mcipher I love David - he seems so perfect for Lydia, kind of her calming influence. And I was so curious about why Joey latched on to her - she‘s not old enough to be a mom figure and it didn‘t ever feel like a crush. I can see why she doesn‘t talk to her dad but I read ahead so I won‘t say anything in case I‘m off a few chapters. 😬 7y

mcipher @LazyDays so glad I‘m not the only one!! I finished too. 7y

LazyDays @mcipher I had to know! The people that were being accused was just out of the question. I needed answers!😂😎✌ 7y

mcipher @LazyDays Agreed! Answers now!! 😂 7y

Mitch It was a faster paced read, I agree @MinDea With a really strong sense of place. I can visualise it all so vividly. There‘s something though that‘s keeping me at a distance - not sure what it is yet. Everything is slightly “off” reactions I expect people to have don‘t come! 7y

Mitch Was anyone else a bit surprised that Lydia wasn‘t worried at all about cutting holes in books! 7y

Mitch I loved the neighbourhood descriptions. I love a sense of place. I felt like it should have been a used bookstore though 😀 7y

Bren912 @LazyDays I couldn‘t help it either. I finished in 24 hours. 7y

Mitch And - why didn‘t we get a Bright Ideas Store bookmark ( that was described on pg12!) when we bought the book🤣🤣🤣 7y

Bren912 @Mitch i agree. I felt like a vintage book store mixed with new books. 7y

Mitch Yeah - there was something about the bookstore that I just didn‘t believe.... 7y

LazyDays @Mitch I did raise my eyebrows when Lydia had not comment on Joeys destruction of books 7y

LazyDays @Bren912 were you surprised by the end? 7y

Mitch It was weird wasn‘t it @LazyDays she didn‘t blink at it! 7y

LazyDays @Mitch right? Even in grief she's had side comments about lesser things. I think the author had hiccup there? even a quick, "oh no Joey why the books" would have done. 7y

Mitch I liked Carol. I felt she pushed hard to make connections to people. Her boundaries were a bit askew, but I loved her spirit. 7y

LazyDays Oh that poor girl, She had spunk. I liked her also. 7y

AmberWB I‘m not sure what I was expecting of this book, but it has been a lot darker than what I thought it would be. That said, I am enjoying it so far! I agree about the friendship between Carol & Lydia- dad isn‘t a fan, so Lydia will like her that much more. Breaks my ♥️ for Raj! 7y

Mitch Me too @AmberWB I felt so sorry for him loosing his friendship with Lydia. But when they re - met on the bench near the store something about it felt a little sinister. Which was weird- because as a kid in a jumpsuit he was super cute! 7y

MinDea @mcipher @LazyDays I finished the book but kept notes on what I was thinking/feeling at the end of each week'a chappters so as to post no spoilers during the discussion! I had to know what was going on! 7y

MinDea @AmberWB I agree this books was darker than expected but to your point I had no idea what to expect! 7y

LazyDays @MinDea @mcipher @Mitch @AmberWB yea the book took a turn at some point. It had me going from a cozy mystery, to a full time mystery. I did feel really bad for Raj. He is such a sweet soul. 7y

MinDea @LazyDays I agree it was feeling like a cozy mystery but it has some dark elements that definitely aren't cozy! 7y

somebooksaround I‘m enjoying this books so much! It was a little slow at first but when Lydia flashes back to her conversation with Joey about how much a book is ‘worth‘. I really got invested. - I totally agree with @Mitch I too love the sense of place. I love image of the bookstore and Colfax. - I‘m curious as well about the clues! Taking mental notes! 7y

JaclynW I finally have time to respond! I agree with what most of you have said. I'm loving the book. It's not what I was expecting. It has me completely puzzled. I also like David and am not all that fond of Carol and her family. I think she was a bad influence and her parents seem to think of her as a nuisance. I feel bad for Raj too! @Jess7 @ofbooksandme @BookishMe @Bren912 @MinDea @Mitch @AmberWB @LazyDays @mcipher @Dana1084 @josteele 7y

JaclynW I'm trying to figure out why Lydia is so upset with her dad. I thought maybe it was because he took her away from her home and friends. Then after the murder scene I wondered if she thought that he did it. Puzzling. @Jess7 @ofbooksandme @BookishMe @Bren912 @MinDea @Mitch @AmberWB @LazyDays @mcipher @Dana1084 @josteele 7y

ofbooksandme @JaclynW I wonder if we will have some kind of explanation about why Carol was like that, like we had about Joey. Maybe when we learn the reason for what happened... 7y

JaclynW I'm also puzzled as to why Joey had that picture. I wondered if he was Carol's brother - but couldn't remember a sibling being mentioned. He's too young to have gone to school with her. I thought maybe he learned something in prison and he's been getting close to her to tell her. His friend's disappearance after he killed himself is odd. @Jess7 @ofbooksandme @BookishMe @Bren912 @MinDea @Mitch @AmberWB @LazyDays @mcipher @Dana1084 @josteele 7y

LazyDays @JaclynW I can't believe I kinda missed that! I just brushed it off as teen rebellion. That's a great point. Why is she so angry that she refuses to talk with her dad. The author did a good job a "pointing the finger" ?? 7y

JaclynW @ofbooksandme I'm sure we will discover more. I wondered if one of her parents had an affair or her dad was involved in some shady business deal or screwed someone over. It was a brutal murder. 7y

JaclynW I sort of thought Raj's reappearance was bizarre. Did anyone else? Why did he wait until that moment to enter her life again when he is practically RIGHT there the whole time?? One thought I had was Raj's dad killing Carol's family for disrespecting his family and treating Raj so poorly. Didn't it say he was violent? Or anger-prone? Maybe I'm remembering wrong. @jess7 @ofbooksandme @BookishMe @Bren912 @MinDea @Mitch @AmberWB @LazyDays @mcipher 7y

Jess7 I thought it was odd timing as well @JaclynW and I considered the same thing, but I wasn‘t really sure about motive. 7y

Bren912 @JaclynW keep reading!!!! 😶😶😶 7y

BookishMe @Jess7 @ofbooksandme not sure if anyone has replied - it's Lyle, and at the risk of a spoiler - he reappears soon enough 7y

JaclynW @LazyDays Yes, the author did do that. The bit we got from his perspective, he seemed like a really great dad. 7y

BookishMe @MinDea I am puzzled at the label - cozy, for this story. I find cozy mystery formulaic and predictable. This story was anything but predictable! 7y

BookishMe @JaclynW I am impressed with the various theories you shared... While I am/ was similarly puzzled by the various questions the book throws at us, I just read through to get answers, instead of hypothesizing ;D 7y

Sapphire I enjoyed this book well enough, and also read ahead. About a third of the way through, I thought to myself I really need to read somethi g light or uplifting next!. Some of the characters I liked, other characters were really hard on. I think the author touched on the idea that none of us k ow how we will react to trauma or hardship but that never fully developed as a theme or motif. 7y

sparingqueen I‘m really enjoying the story so far. I can‘t wait to find out how all the puzzle pieces fit together...How does Raj‘s reappearance fit in? Why did Joey have Lydia‘s childhood picture? What is Joey trying to say in the books? So many unanswered questions! 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe @MinDea I've wondered what the exact definition of a *cozy mystery* is and if I've ever read one. I agree that this doesn't seem cozy. 7y

LazyDays Keep reading! 7y

LazyDays The story started out slow and predictable for me so I labeled it kinda cozy. But then things got spicy.😎😊✌ 7y

JaclynW @Jess7 @Bren912 @BookishMe @LazyDays Yes, I agree that we just need to read on to find out!! I was patiently waiting to begin again. 😊 I can't help but hypothesize because my brain wants to solve the mysteries! (And I was done with this section days ago....so my brain had time to think.) 7y

JaclynW @sparingqueen That's exactly what I thought! 7y

JaclynW @LazyDays Spicy for sure! 7y

staci.reads I'm really enjoying the array of supporting characters. I love Plath and Wilma. They add nice depth to the book store. 7y

Jess7 I love hypothesizing—that‘s part of the fun of a mystery! 📚🤗 @JaclynW (edited) 7y

BookishMe @JaclynW this series is one the cozy mysteries I know. Female protagonist from a quiet town/ village gets involved in murder mystery, and eventually can be threatened to drop the amateur investigation. They are rarely grisly or with complicated plots, unlike MatBIB

Book, Line, and Sinker

Bren912 @staci.reads I adore Plath!! 7y

MinDea @bookishme I think it started off as cozy for me and then it changed and I changed my opinion of it feeling "cozy". The definition of cozy is "a subgenre of crime fiction in the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community." I felt like this seemed to fit the bill... that is all I meant by that. @LazyDays @JaclynW 7y

LazyDays @MinDea 🙌🙌 7y

staci.reads Joey is a great complex character, but I'm hoping by the end of the book the author makes sense of why Joey would go to such elaborate lengths to communicate with Lydia...cutout pages, swapped book labels, a childhood picture placed where she would find it, leaving her name with his landlord. It's rather contrived. I'm hoping there's a believable reason for all the effort. 7y

JaclynW @Jess7 Yes! So fun! 7y

BookishMe @MinDea yes, the community is the only fit, for me ;)) I wonder if cozy mysteries are evolving cos I don't agree with many titles labeled as cozy ;D 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe Thanks for the suggestion! I will check it out. 7y

JaclynW @MinDea Gotcha! Thanks for the official definition! I will have to reference it with stuff I've read to see if any qualify. 7y

JaclynW @staci.reads They are unique characters definitely. 7y

staci.reads @JaclynW @Jess7 agreed! What's the point of a mystery without hypothesizing?! 7y

DanaManiac @staci.reads I totally agree- that‘s why I‘m convinced that he might be from her past OR maybe his trouble with the law gave him access to someone who knows something wild! 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe There are so many genres now that I can't keep them straight! I'm sure I mislabel often. 🙊🙈 7y

BookishMe @Sapphire I agree... Both Lydia and Joey are afflicted by trauma. We get to see how it affected Joey but not so much for Lydia. She shelves it away and never discussing it with anyone involved with her 7y

JaclynW @staci.reads Exactly! 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe I couldn't believe that Lydia hasn't shared her past with David!!! 😲 7y

staci.reads I am also intrigued by the postcard from Det. Harry Moberg. She says "There was something terrifying about the postcard's arrival, in its verification that [he] was still alive, still secluded in the same snowy cabin where she'd last visited him twenty years before." So, why "terrifying?" Just because it brings back memories?? It seems an odd choice of words. 7y

BookishMe @JaclynW either she's not ready to move on from the past or she believes that secrecy is necessary to maintain the relationship 7y

JaclynW @staci.reads Odd, yes. 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe Ya, I figured that. But they seem so close and if they are that close, it seems natural to share everything. Therapeutic. But I get that severe trauma is tricky. It just makes me feel bad for her that she hasn't had support in working through the trauma. 7y

BookishMe @JaclynW I don't think she had the opportunity to reach for support at all 7y

staci.reads I love the narrative about Tomas as a young single father. My heart really goes out to him as he tries to figure out how to parent this little girl alone. It makes it that much harder to figure out where the breech happened between him and Lydia. He seems so sincere and devoted, even if a little a little lost and confused. 7y

staci.reads @josteele I agree. I loved the conversation about what a book is worth. It made me love Joey. "I guess it just bugs me to be paying so little...something's wrong in the air, you know, when a book costs less than a bullet. Or a Coke. Values-wise." ? 7y

staci.reads @JaclynW @Jess7 Yes, I thought Raj's reappearance seemed awfully coincidental and suspicious, too. 7y

Karkar @staci.reads I agree about the Thomas storyline. I think it would have been super hard to try and raise a girl as a single Dad. 7y

Carolyn11215 Read through comments quickly at work so I‘ll just try to jump in. I got sucked into this book immediately. I found Carol to be an interesting child. Saddened me though that she seemed to create a rift between Raj and Lydia. Also was unclear about why Lydia no longer speaks to her dad...only think I could come up with this far is that perhaps she blamed him for change of plans that led her to be at O‘Toole‘s that night instead of having Carol... 7y

Carolyn11215 ...over for sleepover as originally planned. 7y

Carolyn11215 Fact that Joey had been in prison didn‘t surprise me. So many semi-homeless have experienced prison. I was saddened by what landed him in prison as he struck me as a relatively gentle soul. Horrifying the bad decisions you can make when seriously sleep deprived. When I was in upper elementary school girls would try to hyperventilate until they passed out. Kids do the stupidest most dangerous things on a dare sometimes! 7y

Carolyn11215 Have no clue what Joey‘s connection to Lydia might be at the moment. Found the first message she uncodes from him bone chillingly creepy though! What a place to end the first week‘s reading!! 7y

GatheringBooks this was a fun weekend read and really enjoyed reading everyone‘s thoughts about the characters so far. just like most everyone, not a fan of carol either - but that was a tragic, totally undeserved death. more than anything, though, i am so loving the book love here. and how the bookfrogs found refuge and sanctuary in a bookstore, regardless of what joey did to himself, of course. 7y

mrp27 I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and ideas. I'm very curious about all the possibilities as well. Just going to have to read ahead! It's been a quick entertaining read so far, great pick! 7y

Jennifer3 I am about 60 pages in, been a rough couple of weeks for the husband with chronic pain so I didn‘t get up to our agreed stopping point. I am loving it so far and trying to figure out the Joey-Lydia connection. 7y

JaclynW @BookishMe Ya, you are probably right. Not where her dad moved her to. 7y

JaclynW @staci.reads @josteele I too loved Joey's comment about the worth of books. ❤ 7y

JaclynW @Carolyn11215 Yes, what Joey did to get into prison shocked me. It seems so unlike him. But when you aren't really yourself due to drugs or lack of sleep or whatever, you do uncharacteristic things. So sad. His whole story is making me sad!! 😢 7y

JaclynW @GatheringBooks The book love is strong! 7y

somebooksaround @staci.reads yes! It was so moving and heart breaking and eye opening. Really beautifully written.🙌 7y

Mitch I agree @Carolyn11215 what a point to end on! Great cliffhanger 7y

Bren912 @LazyDays sorry for late reply but no, i wasn‘t surprised! 7y

mcctrish That first chapter was so strong ( I bought this book on impulse based on cover and the word bookstore) then realized I‘d perfectly timed a buddy read 🎉 but really had no idea what I was reading and thought “ is this about magic? oh no, wait a minute, holy smokes!”. I found Carol disconcerting and was unhappy about the Raj rift ( can understand wanting a girlfriend but the meanness made me sad) I am wondering about where the father daughter break 7y

mcctrish Occurs, love Joey‘s thoughts on book value ( something to think about NRA ) and can‘t wait for next section so I can unravel more secrets 7y

MissAimz_55 I'm kinda bummed about joining this convo "late". I didn't get the book until 2 days ago but now I'm caught up to where I'm supposed to be so hopefully I can learn stuff from comments here. My first thoughts before reading others comments is I'm really confused on what joey means by "you found me again Lydia." Is he someone from her childhood? But isn't he younger than her? And I too wonder if she thinks her dad was HammerMan 7y

MissAimz_55 Ok read the comments and now have more to add ?? I was finding myself getting really angry at Lydia for allowing carol to take over her life. She seemed so sweet with raj so it broke my heart that she became a "mean girl" and abandoned her first true friend, Raj 7y

MissAimz_55 @Jess7 With joeys past I was surprised and not surprised at the same time. He wasn't thinking clearly (I've gone 2 days without sleep and was a mess so I can't imagine 4 days without it) and it obviously messed him up and he really came to hate himself for what he did it seems and hence whyi think he liked to hang out in the kid section. Wilma said it was because he liked seeing how families interacted but maybe it was because he almost ruined .. 7y

MissAimz_55 .. that with the cinder block incident . And @JaclynW I like your hypothesis about Joey finding something out in prison or that maybe he was an unmentioned sibling of carol or maybe of another classmate. (edited) 7y

MissAimz_55 Do you think that maybe Thomas thought that Lydia had killed the family and took her away to protect her? Then also was mean and strict to her bc of these beliefs hence why she has a bad relationship with him? The people I thought HammerMan might be were Raj's dad but then how would he have known about change in location of sleepover. Or maybe a scorned lover of Dotties as she seemed to hint that she may have affairs (edited) 7y

MissAimz_55 And I forgot who here questioned why Raj showed up when he did instead of earlier but I got the feeling he didn't know she was there until she showed up in the newspaper article and then it took him 2 weeks to get the nerve up to visit her at the bookstore. 7y

Amaryie I was a little unsure of this read but now I am intrigued. I have sympathy for Tomas and being a single father. Curious to find out what the fall out was between him and his daughter. I am awful at solving mysteries so I‘m ready to continue on! 7y

Jaayimee I‘m past the 9th chapter so will just keep my thoughts general because I don‘t want to let anything out accidentally. I‘m not that far past I just couldn‘t stop reading last night! I really don‘t know about the joey, Lydia connection but I was wondering if maybe he met her dad in a bookstore and learned her story that way. I also think Raj ‘s dad is the hammerman based on Lydia only seeing a white glove. Also her impressions from dinner made it 7y

Jaayimee Seem like the mother was nervous about something with the way she kept playing with her napkin. I also wonder if Raj is the way he is because he knows or suspects what his dad has done. 7y

FantasyChick Finally finished my chapters last night and...sooo many questions! I'm wondering if Joey didn't meet someone in jail who knew about Lydia and the Hammerman and he is trying to warn her about something in the best way he could think of. Or about another one of the BookFrogs? I'm less curious about Lyle and thinking of how strange it is that Raj just shows up out of the blue. It would be interesting if Raj's father WAS Hammerman but I think 👇 7y

FantasyChick That might be a little far fetched. I mean, what would his motive be other than getting rid of the family that took his son's best friend away from him? It's possible but a bit extreme. I don't know!!!! It's driving me crazy! 😨 7y

jbhops @FantasyChick it is curious that Raj shows up out of nowhere! 7y

jbhops I've just finished the first reading. I'm fully engrossed in this book now. I was skeptical at first but as soon as the murders happen, I was hooked. This book is fascinating so far, I can't wait to see how it ends. 7y

Carolyn11215 Did I miss it? Why are the semi-homeless men who hang out at the bookstore called BookFrogs? 7y

Austen_Nerd @jbhops @FantasyChick I think the photo of Lydia in the paper is going to bring more than Raj out of the wood work. I do think it was odd if him just popping by, and to be sooo close not to run into each other before now. 7y

Austen_Nerd @Jaayimee I too thought all the nervous was interesting 7y

DanaManiac @Carolyn11215 Hey! Yes, she mentions it in chapter 2...they reminded her of Mr. Jeremy Fisher- a frog from Beatrix Potter books who was always reading a newspaper, but they read books, so she called them BookFrogs 😊 7y

Jaayimee @Dana1084 Thank you for that. I had forgotten too why they were called book frogs and it was kind of irritating me lol. 7y

Jaayimee @FantasyChick well I don‘t think Raj‘s father did the killings because of the kids. If he did them I think it would be because of something between the adults. Something about the work Carol‘s dad did on the plumbing or an affair with one of the adults but the more that I think about it I‘m wondering if there was some sort of disagreement between the men. 7y

DanaManiac @Jaayimee That‘s a really great point about Raj‘s dad!,If you think about it, since all the kids went to school together, he would‘ve thought that Carol was with Lydia at her house... 🤭 7y

Jaayimee @Dana1084 that‘s true. He wouldn‘t have known about the change. 7y

Carolyn11215 Thanks @Dana1084 ! I figured I must have just forgotten!! 7y

MeganAnn Just finished reading. I definitely think Raj showing up after seeing her picture in the paper is weird. Also, they haven't seen each other since they were kids so it's a little strange to me that he would have recognized her so easily in a newspaper photo where it sounded like she was more in the background and with a different last name. I doubt I would recognize someone I knew in the 4th grade but hadn't seen since very easily. 7y

MeganAnn I'm also wondering how Joey got ahold of the childhood photo of Lydia. As far as she knows, he has no connection with her before meeting in the bookstore, right? So how could he possibly have a photo taken of her as a child? I think she mentioned she doesn't remember ever seeing that particular photo of herself either 🤔 (edited) 7y

MeganAnn @Austen_Nerd I agree that we might be seeing others besides Raj popping up after the photo in the newspaper. 7y

MeganAnn @staci.reads I love Plath and Wilma as well and I hope we'll see more booksellers as we go. 7y

Jennifer3 Really enjoying this one so far!!! 7y

dgingo So this is my first #LitsyBuddyRead and I made the mistake of starting the book too early (and finishing it in only a couple days). I will be careful to avoid spoilers, so don‘t worry, but it would have been fun to discuss it as I read it (but also too difficult to wait to finish). #LiveAndLearn #RookieMistake 7y

Jess7 I will be posting the week 2 discussion post tomorrow sometime between 1-2 PM EST so be on the lookout for that on this page :-) 7y

akfreeborn Just got caught up. Will get going on next chapters tonight. Really enjoying this one and I like Lydia. Wasn‘t too concerned about Joey‘s death but the murders from the past got those page turning much quicker. On to the next part. 7y

LitsyBuddyRead Hi all! The open discussion post for week 2 is live now. Please go there to discuss chapters 10-16! Thanks! 7y

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