The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Book Summary:
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 USA Today 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.
Publication Date:
February 18th, 2020
Genre:
Thriller/Mystery
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Purchase Your Copy:
Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link
My Review:
The Sun Down Motel is my kind of mystery. I struggle with super graphic books in this genre and I appreciated that this was the perfect creepy reading ride while also not being gory.
The suspense factor came from the simple chilling details and I loved that The Sun Down Motel was not just the scene for the novel but also one of the main characters of this novel.
This book starts off slowly and builds up with both suspense and intrigue. The dual timelines worked well for me and helped flush out all the details that made me feel invested and drawn in.
While I am not normally interested in books regarding the paranormal, the balance was perfect here and this element was not offputting as I worried about when I heard there was a “ghost” aspect of this book. There was just as much of a murder mystery which is definitely more my style so if that is one of your hold-ups, don’t fear! This was my first book by Simone St. James and it won’t be my last.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!