Matthew Sullivan
3/5 stars
Lydia, only survivor of a gruesome tragedy as a child, lives a quiet life, working at the Bright Ideas bookstore, living with a solid boyfriend, and trying to act like she is as normal as anyone else. One midnight at closing, she finds the body of Joey, a young and lonely ex-con, hanging from the ceiling with a childhood photo of her in his pocket. Left with his books, Lydia finds the puzzle Joey left for her to solve, the solution of which leads her reluctantly back into her past.
This book, Sullivan's first, has a good premise and intrigues the reader from the beginning, but isn't able to keep up momentum. Once it is discovered that the answer hangs on one unbelievable coincidence, the book looses it's force all together. It moves quickly, though, and the prose is good. It's not that this is a bad novel, it's just not fully credible.
