The Sun Down Motel
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.
Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.
Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.
Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.
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Readers say *The Sun Down Motel* by Simone St. James is a creepy, clever, and atmospheric supernatural mystery praised for its eerie motel setting, du...
I had to keep putting this book down because it mostly scared the hell out of me. I don’t do well with ghost stories, but there is far more to this book than ghosts. It is an intelligent, enthralling mystery that spans 35 years. There is a back and forth eerily parallel narration between past and present. The ending is satisfyingly final. Don’t read this book at night, though.
The Sun Down Motel was creepy, clever, atmospheric, and the exact kind of book that makes you want to triple check a motel mirror and then text your book club immediately. We ate up the alternating timelines, Viv’s absolute icon behavior, Carly’s determination, and the way this story kept serving ghostly dread with a side of justice. Fell, New York, is officially on our list of places we will never be visiting, and Simone St. James absolutely knew what she was doing with this one.
It was hard to plan with a book club because the chapters were named the same back and forth but it was easy to pick up the story line when Viv ended and carly picked up (and vice versa) but there was some MAJOR lose ends never wrapped up...nicks dad cough cough.... ugh hate it when that happens.
So many joys in this novel! Dual timelines, supernatural events, broken characters, an unexpected resolution - perfectly woven together. I’ve discovered a new favorite author.
thenextgoodbook.com
The Sound Down Motel by Simone St. James
326 pages
What’s it about?
This ghost story/mystery flips back in time from the 1980's to present day. 20-year-old Viv Delaney shows up in Fell, New York and takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. A short time later Viv disappears with no trace. Her niece Carly comes back to Fell in 2017 to try to figure out what happened. Ghosts, murders, and a creepy hotel are the backdrop to this murder mystery.
What did it make me think about?
This was a plot driven mystery. No thinking required. Just turn the pages.
Should I read it?
This started out slow for me. Very implausible, lots of ghosts- but I kept at it and the plot picked up. If you suspend your disbelief and hold on this book turns into a satisfying murder mystery.
Quote-
"Night people were not the same as day people. The good people of Fell, whoever they were, were sound asleep at three a.m. Those people never saw the people Viv saw: the cheating couples having affairs, the truckers strung out on whatever they took to stay awake, the women with blackened eyes who checked out at 5 a.m. to futilely go home again."
If you liked this try-
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
The Kept by James Scott
The Sound Down Motel by Simone St. James
326 pages
What’s it about?
This ghost story/mystery flips back in time from the 1980's to present day. 20-year-old Viv Delaney shows up in Fell, New York and takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. A short time later Viv disappears with no trace. Her niece Carly comes back to Fell in 2017 to try to figure out what happened. Ghosts, murders, and a creepy hotel are the backdrop to this murder mystery.
What did it make me think about?
This was a plot driven mystery. No thinking required. Just turn the pages.
Should I read it?
This started out slow for me. Very implausible, lots of ghosts- but I kept at it and the plot picked up. If you suspend your disbelief and hold on this book turns into a satisfying murder mystery.
Quote-
"Night people were not the same as day people. The good people of Fell, whoever they were, were sound asleep at three a.m. Those people never saw the people Viv saw: the cheating couples having affairs, the truckers strung out on whatever they took to stay awake, the women with blackened eyes who checked out at 5 a.m. to futilely go home again."
If you liked this try-
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
The Kept by James Scott
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