Matthew J. Sullivan, the author of the critically acclaimed Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, returns with Midnight in Soap Lake, a haunting psychological mystery drenched in sorrow, folklore, and the murky boundaries between truth and urban legend. This book plunges readers into the eerie, liminal world of Soap Lake, Washington—a town steeped in whispers and shaped by the secrets it keeps. For those who appreciate literary thrillers that unfold slowly, like mist rolling in from a haunted shore, this novel offers a deeply atmospheric and rewarding experience.
While his debut featured cerebral clues within the cozy confines of a bookstore, Midnight in Soap Lake veers into stranger territory, combining character-driven storytelling with mystical dread. Think Twin Peaks meets Tana French—with a dash of Stephen King’s Castle Rock. Sullivan creates not just a mystery but a living, breathing town that feels unsettlingly real.
Plot Summary: A Boy Emerges, a Mother Disappears, and a Town Watches
Abigail moves to Soap Lake, hoping for a change of pace as her husband embarks on a research mission overseas. What she finds is a town more desert than forest, more desolate than quaint. She expects peace; what she gets is dread.
One day, a frightened young boy—Tommy—runs into her arms in the middle of the barren landscape. She soon discovers that his mother, Esme, is dead. Abigail’s life becomes bound to this child, his trauma, and the unsolved mystery surrounding his mother’s death. As she seeks answers, she encounters a cast of townspeople each marked by loss, addiction, or mental fracture. The mystery deepens as the legend of TreeTop—a rubber-suited local specter—enters the story like a ghost walking through the town’s memory.
The deeper Abigail delves into Esme’s past and the strange history of the town, the more she uncovers about herself. The novel’s emotional arc fuses with the thriller elements, creating a slow-burn narrative where every clue matters and every silence hides meaning.
Character Analysis: Haunted Souls, Tangled Paths
Sullivan excels in crafting emotionally complex, deeply human characters. Every person in Soap Lake is broken in their own way, carrying baggage that binds them to the town’s haunted soil. These characters don’t serve the plot—they are the plot.
Main Characters:
- Abigail – The protagonist is relatable, flawed, and empathetic. Her slow unraveling—and reweaving—is one of the novel’s most compelling threads. Her grief, though not always stated, simmers beneath every decision she makes.
- Tommy – Vulnerable yet alert, Tommy is not just a narrative device. His presence adds a sharp emotional contrast to the foggy ambiance. His silence speaks volumes.
- Esme – The dead woman at the center of the mystery, Esme lives through memories, journals, and testimonies. The slow reveal of her life is heartbreaking and honest.
- Gretchen – A librarian and recovering addict, Gretchen brings humor, pain, and perspective. She is one of the book’s moral centers, helping both Abigail and the reader navigate the town’s complexities.
- TreeTop – The town’s folklore figure, TreeTop is part menace, part metaphor. Sullivan keeps him just ambiguous enough to be terrifying. Is he real? Is he madness? Or is he the town’s guilt made visible?
Each character is given interiority and motivation. Their connections to each other, and to the town itself, create an emotional resonance that lingers.
Themes Explored: More Than Just a Mystery
Midnight in Soap Lake is rich in thematic depth, balancing suspense with emotional insight. Here are the standout themes Sullivan explores with deft precision:
Motherhood and Loss
At its heart, this is a story about mothers—their love, their absences, their traumas. Abigail and Esme represent different shades of maternal experience, and the novel never romanticizes motherhood but instead examines its fragility and force.
Trauma and Recovery
Whether it’s addiction, grief, abandonment, or guilt, everyone in Soap Lake is running from something. The novel asks: What do we do with our pain? Do we bury it, drink it away, mythologize it?
The Power of Folklore
TreeTop and the magical lake serve as symbols of how communities process fear and violence. By turning pain into myth, the town distances itself from its culpability. But myths don’t absolve—they haunt.
Isolation and Connection
Abigail’s journey is fundamentally about connection—reaching through silence and fear to bond with a boy, a community, and a forgotten truth. The novel’s quietest moments are often its most powerful.
Writing Style: Poetic Dread and Literary Precision
Sullivan writes with a poetic subtlety that never overwhelms. His prose evokes mood masterfully, using sparse yet vivid imagery. The atmosphere is thick with emotional texture—quiet dread, sudden beauty, and melancholic reflection. He does not rely on big twists or jump scares but instead builds unease through silence, shadow, and suggestion.
Highlights of Sullivan’s Style:
- Lyrical language without purple prose
- Psychological depth that feels authentic, not contrived
- Use of setting as mood (the lake, the motel, the dusty roadways)
- Sharp dialogue that reveals rather than tells
Sullivan’s writing feels lived-in. You don’t just read Midnight in Soap Lake—you sink into it like a warm bath that turns gradually cold.
Structure and Pacing: A Jigsaw of Grief
The book’s structure mirrors the fragmented nature of memory. It alternates between present-day investigation and past recollections, slowly assembling a picture that is as much about emotional truth as it is about factual accuracy.
While the pacing is deliberate—perhaps too slow for readers expecting a conventional crime thriller—it suits the story’s meditative tone. Every pause matters. Every withheld piece of information adds to the suspense.
Strengths of the Novel
- Atmospheric World-Building – Soap Lake feels real enough to smell. The setting enhances the story’s psychological weight.
- Character Complexity – No caricatures here; every person is messy and believable.
- Thematic Resonance – From addiction to abandonment, the themes resonate deeply with modern anxieties.
- Emotional Intelligence – Sullivan writes with empathy, never reducing trauma to a plot point.
- Folklore Integration – The blending of myth and reality adds layers of meaning.
Weaknesses Worth Mentioning
- Pacing Slumps – The middle chapters slow down considerably, with a few repetitive emotional beats.
- Unresolved Threads – Some subplots are left open-ended, which can frustrate readers who prefer neat resolutions.
- Ambiguity Overload – While ambiguity works well for mood, too much can blur narrative focus.
Similar Titles and Influences
If Midnight in Soap Lake resonated with you, consider reading:
- Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
- The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
- The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
- The Night Window by Dean Koontz (for folklore meets thriller elements)
These titles share Sullivan’s talent for mixing human drama with suspenseful storytelling.
Final Verdict: A Deep Dive into the Dark
Midnight in Soap Lake is not a casual read—it’s a slow immersion into grief, myth, and the strange alchemy of place and memory. Sullivan proves once again that he is not just writing mysteries—he’s crafting emotional excavations disguised as fiction. The novel may not satisfy every reader’s thirst for action or resolution, but for those willing to wade into its depths, it offers something far rarer: a haunting, human story that lingers like fog on still water.
