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Per the book description, \u201cMidnight in Soap Lake\u201d depicts a town \u201ca town to rival Twin Peaks and Stephen King\u2019s Castle Rock.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Matthew Sullivan)<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve ever roadtripped between Leavenworth and Spokane and gotten lost south of Coulee City, you may have found yourself gazing on the foamy shores of Soap Lake, known as \u201cWashington\u2019s Health Resort\u201d for its healing, nutrient-rich mud and alkaline waters. <\/p>\n
Author Matthew Sullivan\u2019s second novel, \u201cMidnight in Soap Lake,\u201d imagines a remote, slightly sinister rural community, where generations of children have been raised to fear TreeTop, a menacing figure in a hazmat suit who terrorizes the local orchards, feeds on barn kittens and may be responsible for more than one mysterious death.\u00a0Sullivan delivers a satisfying thriller that is loaded with flawed characters, complex motivations and a plot twist or two to keep the pages turning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Per the book description, \u201cMidnight in Soap Lake\u201d depicts a town \u201ca town to rival Twin Peaks and Stephen King\u2019s Castle Rock.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Matthew Sullivan)<\/p>\n
When newlywed Abigail\u2019s husband Eli convinces her to move to Soap Lake so he can do research on the lake\u2019s extremophiles \u2014 microorganisms that live deep below the surface where nothing else can \u2014 she gets excited to see The World\u2019s Largest Lava Lamp but discovers only its base; the lamp itself allegedly held up in the review process.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Then Eli jets off to Poland to study with a prestigious limnologist for six months, leaving Abigail to her own devices.\u00a0Her only social interactions are limited to the newspaper delivery person, the pizza guy and the gas station attendant, so Abigail spends hours walking miles alone along irrigation canals through the surrounding orchards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One day, instead of the usual coyotes or quail, she encounters a young boy in yellow pajamas. He runs straight for her and wraps his arms around her legs.\u00a0He\u2019s covered in crusty blood.\u00a0He brings her back to an abandoned car where there\u2019s a woman behind the wheel, a large screwdriver embedded in her chest.\u00a0The boy\u2019s mom: dead.\u00a0Suddenly, Abigail has a purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Matthew Sullivan\u2019s debut novel, \u201cMidnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore,\u201d was an IndieNext pick and a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick. (Photo courtesy of Heather Young)<\/p>\n
Abigail befriends her neighbor, Sophia, a former junkie turned library clerk, and Officer Krunk, a hunky local cop, who fills her in on the local lore about the boy\u2019s mom, Esme.\u00a0Esme\u2019s high school boyfriend was murdered by Silas, the neanderthal son of Pastor Kurt.\u00a0As she digs further into Esme\u2019s past, Abigail keeps brushing into evidence that TreeTop is afoot \u2014 and that somehow, jars of lake water are at the heart of the disturbance plaguing the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMidnight in Soap Lake\u201d has it all \u2014 ripping dialogue, conspiracy theories, relatable and well-drawn characters, and suspense.\u00a0Despite the subject matter (lava lamps, meromictic lake water with unknown and possibly superpowered organisms), colorful cast and abundant humor, Matthew Sullivan reins things in and delivers a straight-up thriller that\u2019s not over-the-top or farcical.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He introduces us to a part of Washington that\u2019s lesser-known and intriguing \u2014 and could be worth a visit, if you can handle the stench of rotten eggs and the specter of TreeTop lurking amongst the fruit trees.\u00a0<\/p>\n