I loved parts of the story and other parts fell very flat. I really enjoyed the background story of Esme and Silas and Kevin. I wasn’t a fan of Eli and his work. I understand the point of his character and his work. But I found it a boring. The tree top urban legend idea was great I wish they played more into it. Honestly tho I felt this story was all over the place. The ending fell so flat as well. Not a book that I will really be talking about I’m sure.

Right of the bat this one locked me in. However it was a bit all over the place in terms of what actually was happening. While I was still wanting to know what would happen next, the ideas and premise were not consistent to keep me engaged throughout. Once you hit the end - it felt like there was no point as nothing really got resolved. I’d love to read future books from Matthew Sullivan.

Thank you NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the arc!

When I saw this title I couldn't click request fast enough. I'm from the town next to Soap Lake and my husband is from Soap Lake.

The premise of the book was really interesting. A woman moves to Soap Lake, with her husband who is a scientist studying the lake. She find a little boy and his mother who has been killed in her car. The book is all about unraveling why the mother was killer and her back story, and how it connects to the scientist and his wife.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. There are a lot of different characters and they are all interwoven, which really is just like small-town life. I liked how the author kept most of the town as it really is, although the author note does say that it's a fictionalized version. I was fairly worried that he hadn't ever been to Soap Lake at the beginning of the book.

I really like the science that was there to explain the properties of the lake and why people flock to the shores or laying in the water all day. I'm not sure about the conspiracy side of things but it added to suspense I guess.

The ending was a bit anti-climactic and left me with a lot of questions.

The setting in this book was so intriguing to me. The story takes place in Soap Lake, Washington. This book has mystery, conspiracies, urban legends. It’s addicting and I couldn’t put it down.

The audiobook is narrated by Kristen Sieh. She does such a good job voicing the role. I felt all the emotions while listening to this story.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This novel takes place in small town Soap Lake, Washington. The town’s lake plays a significant role in the narrative blending mystery and drama.
The characters are well-developed and the intricate dual timeline plot weaves them all together, creating a rich tapestry of life in this unique and intriguing setting.
The conclusion took me by surprise!
I highly recommend reading the author’s note - very interesting and informative.
I both read and listened to this story and felt like I grasped the complex concepts easier with the e-book.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book wasn’t quite for me. While the writing was strong, and I found myself invested in the story, I struggled to follow it at times and often lost focus. It definitely keeps you guessing, but the heavy focus on lakes and science wasn’t to my taste and made it hard to stay engaged. That said, The tree top kills part really spooked me! I think many readers will enjoy it though.

Nope. Sorry, but if you don’t know how to end a story then don’t write the damn story. This book has two timelines and countless mysteries connecting them both. Good character development but I didn’t like any of them. Even little George didn’t escape my annoyance. Too much science, too much urban legend, too many questions unanswered. The cover art is pretty fantastic though. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Wish it didn't take me so long to get to reading this book because I really enjoyed it! I saw some reviews say it was a weird read, but I am very much into "Weird." I actually thought it was a unique story and I thought it was so cool that Soap Lake actually does exist and is ecologically and culturally significant to the people who live around it as well as visitors. It's even considered to be "healing waters" with it's healing properties of alkaline water, oil and mud to the Moses-Colombia tribe. So, knowing you are reading a story based on a magical/mysterious lake that is real makes it all that more interesting!! I love a story with a mystery, and Soap Lake provided that. Abigail and her husband Eli, move to this town primarily so he can research this mysterious lake but shortly after arriving, he ends up moving away to Poland after being offered another job while Abigail stays behind. Abigail stumbles upon a crime scene and is thrust into trying to figure out what is going on-not only with the murder of the woman Esme, but also just the mysteries behind this town, lake and legends in general. The chapters read in alternate voices between Abigail and Esme and there are some great supporting characters. If you feel the book starts off slow, just keep with it because it really does end up being a good one!

“A lake with mysterious properties. A town haunted by urban legend. Two women whose lives intersect in terrifying ways. Welcome to Soap Lake, a town to rival Twin Peaks and Stephen King’s Castle Rock.”

After a world win romance, Abigail agrees to move with her new husband Eli to a tiny town called Soap Lake for Eli to work his dream job studying the mysterious lake. Before they can even get settled in, Eli ships off to Poland for a different research project. This leaves Abigail all alone in a new town with new people. Out one day for her daily walk, she finds George, 4 year old boy that runs out of the desert. After finding the car with George’s dead mother, Esme, seated in the front seat, Abigail is thrown into trying to solve the mystery of Esme’s death and the town’s creepy mascot, TreeTop.

This book is very well written in two different timelines. The author takes his time to build both timelines in such a way that you truly feel for each of the characters. The book kept me guessing the entire time and actually surprised me several times I highly recommend this book!

Ok, this one was, well, weird. And not good-fit-for-me weird, just odd and disconnected and strange to follow. I was intrigued by the blurb (Twin Peaks by way of Castle Rock? Sign me up!), but just couldn't find my way into this one no matter how hard I tried. It was a bizarre mix of oddities (TreeTop, I'm talking to you) and banalities (a female lead who basically just follows her husband around, surprised but not really shocked by everything). It made for a somewhat disjointed read that I just could not get into. This one wasn't for me...

Midnight in Soap Lake was so good. While I enjoyed the characters and the plot, it was the setting that most intrigued me. Of course I also needed to go and read about Soap Lake. And I would suggest you also fall down that rabbit hole. So while the mystery was entertaining (dark), I liked the undercurrents of our eco system, what we are doing to it. And what the powers that be will do to stop us asking questions.

When Abigail marries a scientist and moves to the small town of Soap Lake, Washington for his research on the lake, she is excited about experiencing newlywed life against the backdrop of the town’s tourist attractions. But she’s disappointed, not only because the famous “biggest lava lamp in the world” doesn’t exist, but also because her husband is offered another research opportunity in Poland and chooses to leave her alone in their new, unfamiliar town. One day, while taking a walk in the desert, Abigail becomes witness to a strange crime scene. A four-year-old boy has fled the scene of his mother’s murder; the mother was stabbed with a screwdriver and left to bleed out in her car.

The murdered woman is Esme Calderon, who grew up in Soap Lake but left town suddenly after a string of tragedies culminating in the death of her boyfriend Kevin right before the two were supposed to graduate from high school. Police assume that her death was the result of a drug deal gone wrong. The child, George, is sent to live with his Uncle Daniel, who had no idea that his sister was coming back to Soap Lake or that she had a child.

Disturbed by the crime scene and bored without her husband or a job, Abigail becomes George’s babysitter and continues looking into the details of Esme’s death herself. She gleans information about Esme and the town’s recent history from Daniel, from an attractive police officer named Abe Krunk, and from Sophia, a recovering addict who works at the local library. Sophia even accompanies her back to the site of Esme’s death, where they find further evidence. Abigail isn’t convinced by the police’s assumption that Esme was dealing drugs. In fact, after meeting Preston, the local “crazy” conspiracy theorist who also happens to be the ex-husband of another scientist who had come to town to study the lake, she comes to the conclusion that all the local mysteries are connected. It all has something to do with the lake and something to do with the creepy local legend known as Treetop.

The chapters from Abigail’s perspective alternate with chapters giving Esme’s backstory from her own perspective years earlier. Despite that backstory, the final revelations about who the real bad guys are doesn’t come until the very end. The atmospheric setting and the several unexpected twists late in the book make it well worth pushing through the slow, uninteresting start. Likewise, the lack of defining, memorable character traits in Abigail herself is easy to overlook given this book’s other redeeming qualities, including fascinating secondary characters. Well worth reading despite those minor imperfections. Interestingly enough, the town of Soap Lake is very much a real place, and the lake’s unique biome, (which seemed like the most unbelievable aspect of this story) is factual.

I really really enjoyed this book. You can tell from the get go how much effort, research and planning was involved in creating such a complex plot. The characters were never flat and the ‘thrillerness’ of it all kept me hooked. I also enjoyed how it was still able to offer important social commentary on life under capitalism/protecting the environment, without stating it outright in an artless way.
My only critique would be that if it’s important to the story, perhaps fleshing out the main characters’ identities would be a good idea. For example, we know Esme is not necessarily seen as a golden child and people are constantly judging her based off of her poverty level, but all of a sudden in the last chapters she’s described as a “brown” woman, something that if introduced earlier may help readers better understand the trials and tribulations she goes through in Soap Lake.

Really enjoyed it overall though and am highly anticipating its release!

I loved this and I hate that it took me so long to get to! I was completely captivated. And Matthew Sullivan’s writing is so refreshing and crisp.

A recent newlywed on her own while her husband is out of the country gets caught up in drama after finding a child covered in his mother's blood. Myth and murder combine to create a just-right experience for fans of traditional mysteries.

Midnight in Soap Lake is a haunting, atmospheric thriller that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Abigail moves to the small, desolate town of Soap Lake, Washington, hoping for a fresh start. But when she finds a bloodied, catatonic boy in the desert and discovers his mother’s murder, Abigail is drawn into the town’s dark past—one filled with secrets, conspiracies, and a chilling urban legend.

Matthew Sullivan masterfully builds tension as Abigail unravels the mystery behind these deaths, with every twist pulling her deeper into a web of danger. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers set in eerie, isolated towns, this one is a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Midnight in Soap Lake.

Abigail has moved to the small town of Soap Lake, WA for her husband's research. When he leaves for Poland for a temporary assignment, she finds herself alone haunted by its local legends and secrets. When a young boy stumbles into her life, Abigail discovers a long simmering mystery that goes back decades. But will it jeopardize her safety?

The premise was intriguing and yes, it takes some time for the pacing to ramp up.

There were parts I liked, the restorative properties of the lake, the varied cast of characters, and the descriptions of the small town, but the narrative got too bogged down in the 'science' of it.

Second, Abigail is not a compelling main character. She's a typical trope; not ambitious or interesting individual who is just tagging along with her husband because she's got nothing else going on.

I did like Esme and her flashbacks provided necessary exposition to her fate.

Third, I was confused to the purpose of TreeTop. At first, I hoped he was a supernatural deity, like Pennywise but when he turned out to be nothing more than redneck losers dressed up as an urban legend committing sanctioned murder, that left a bad taste in my mouth.

The scientific elements of the story combined with TreeTop made the narrative a bit messy to read, as if the author wasn't sure what he wanted the story to be about; a flat-out mystery with mysterious murders or eco-horror.

Did I miss the part why Esme's dad was killed or was that never fully explained?

The ending is ambiguous, not that I mind, but there are a lot of loose ends in regards to TreeTop and its real purpose.

The writing was good, but the plot was uneven and it could have easily been a straightforward mystery without TreeTop.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, but it was very difficult to follow at times. I think the narrative got into the swamp several times with the details surrounding ecology, and I just found it difficult to connect. Otherwise, it was a fun suspense read.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I can see I'm in the minority with my rating of this book. I just could not get into this story and I found myself skimming as I read. A lake with mysterious properties. A town haunted by urban legend. Two women whose lives intersect in terrifying ways. Welcome to Soap Lake, a town to rival Twin Peaks and Stephen King’s Castle Rock.
When Abigail agreed to move to Soap Lake, Washington, for her husband’s research, she expected old-growth forests and craft beer, folksy neighbors and the world’s largest lava lamp. Instead, after her husband jets off to Poland for a research trip, she finds herself alone, in a town surrounded by sand and haunted by its own urban legends.
But when a young boy runs through the desert into Abigail’s arms, her life becomes entwined with his and the questions surrounding the death of his mother, Esme. In Abigail’s search for answers, she enlists the help of a recovering addict turned librarian, a grieving brother, a broken motel owner and a mentally shattered conspiracy theorist to unearth Esme’s tragic past, the town’s violent history and the secret magic locked in the lake her husband was sent there to study.
As she gets closer to the answers, past and present crimes begin to collide, and Abigail finds herself gaining the unwelcome attention of the town’s unofficial mascot, the rubber-suited orchard stalker known as TreeTop, a specter who seems to be lurking in every dark shadow and around every shady corner.
A sweeping, decade-spanning mystery brimming with quirky characters and puzzle-hunt scenarios, Midnight in Soap Lake is a modern-day Twin Peaks—a rich, expansive universe that readers will enter and never forget.

Title Midnight in Soap Lake AKA Midnight in the Orchard by the Lake
Author: Matthew J. Sullivan
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing-Hanover Square Press
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: April 15, 2025
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 336

Abigail and her husband Eli move to Soap Lake, Washington, for his research - he is a limnologist. Abigail expected apple orchards, draft beer, folksy neighbors and the world’s largest lava lamp. However, when Eli immediately jets off to Poland for a research trip, she finds herself alone, in a town surrounded by sand and haunted by its own urban legends.
True I am as curious Abigail about these legends. When a man who must be 15 feet tall peeks in her bedroom room, I thought I don’t know about you Abigail but I am out of here!

She learns from her friend Esme that he is actually a puppet who represents the legend of “Treetop’".

There is no doubt that this story is very different than my usual psychological thrillers!
Although I really am fine with reading paranormal stories, this one was a bit of a struggle.
However, I totally enjoyed reading the “Author’s Note”.

Matthew Sullivan tells us that he and his wife Libby lived in the real Soap Lake, Washington.
He tells as that TreeTop is entirely a figment of his imagination. Then adds it never hurts to check the branches about your head,

Trust me and be sure to read it as you will find it is as interesting as the fictitious Soap Lake.
There is no doubt out author has a great sense of humor as well as a very vivid imagination.

Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing ~ Hanover Square Press for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 15, 2025.