I don't usually read ghost stories. At all. But this is my second ghost story in the past few weeks. Is it a trend I've missed? The Sun Down Motel is haunted - not by one ghost, but by several who died there at different times. They cause problems after midnight: slamming open locked doors, turning lights on and off, even lurking around the corner smoking. Living guests aren't always easy, either. The Sundown attracts prostitutes, drug dealers, cheating couples, and a traveling salesman who may be a serial killer.
As a result, the Sundown Motel has a hard time keeping night clerks. Viv, a young woman headed to New York City in 1982, gets on the wrong bus and gets dropped off near the motel. Almost out of money, she takes the job of night clerk. Intending to stay only a few days, Viv becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of the Sundown. Just as she thinks she has the answer, Viv steps out of the motel office, leaves her purse and keys behind, and disappears.
Thirty-five years later, Viv's niece, Carly, is hired for the same job: Night clerk at the Sundown Motel. She wants to find out what happened to her aunt and her investigation leads her down the same dangerous path Viv followed. The novel alternates between the two viewpoints, 1982 and present day. A suspenseful, mostly dark atmosphere , with enough light moments to keep it from being a downer.

The Sundown Motel is a run down side of the road motel in the small town of Fell, NY. Many young women have disappeared and been killed in Fell including Carly Kirk's Aunt Viv in 1982. After Carly's mother dies, she realizes she doesn't know much about her aunt and decides she must find out what happened to her. She is hired at the Sundown and starts her hunt. Along the way she also realizes there is more to the Sundown than just an old building. Maybe some occupants past and present will help direct her along her investigation if she isn't killed herself. I enjoyed The Sundown Motel, but didn't find it as suspenseful as Simone St. James' previous novel, The Broken Girls.

St. James knows how to deliver a great old-fashion ghost story!!! Full of suspense from beginning to end!!

<I>Run!</I>

Woah! This author has been on my to-read list for a long time and for some reason I’ve just never got around to her but this book! I’m so glad I made the time to read it! I would have finished it a lot sooner BUT when my husband is out of town I tend to not be able to read dark, spooky tales at night and this is definitely one of those!

I am SO impressed with this author’s writing. The way the story is told is unique and I don’t know that I’ve read a book like this one before. Different POV 1st,3rd for the two different main characters. You’re going to open the book and be like “oh, this is different!” But give it a chance because it works so good for this!

<b> There are so many of them, she’d said when I first met her, and when I asked her what she meant, she said Dead girls.</b>

Serial killers and ghosts. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a better combination!

Carly’s on the search for her missing aunt. You get Carly’s side and her aunt’s side. Their sides collide at the point of no return and fear radiates off the pages.

The ghosts are haunting and angry, though their story is quite sad. I’ve never felt for the dead characters more than in this story.

Pick this one up! I’m off to read The Broken Girls!

*Review will be posted to After the Pages book blog closer to the publication date.

4.5 Really good mystery, complete with ghosts. Told in alternating timelines in 1982 with Viv, who's landed in Fell, NY and gets a job at a haunted motel and in 2017 with her niece Carly, who comes to Fell to find out what happened to Viv. Compelling and well-paced, I see lots of people liking this, especially Koontz and King fans.

I liked this book a lot. I did not like The Broken Girls, but I thought it was clever enough that I might like something else by this author... and as it turns out that’s true. This was a quick read, always interesting and it has a good ending. All the things you’d want in a book pretty much. Especially for a lazy weekend of reading in bed!

First off-- if you do not like ghost stories, I do not think you will like this book. It's HEAVILY coated with lots and lots of supernatural activities and yes: GHOSTS! But I love it! Give me ALLLL of the ghost stories! I feel as if Simone St. James is THE author for the perfect ghost story. *adds to forever one-click list*

The Sun Down Motel was so eerie, creepy, and spooky from the setting to the writing to the characters. The vibe was edgy, the tone was perfect, and the execution of the story as a whole had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I didn't want any of it to end. The past and present POVs really tie this story all together. The author took her time and precariously wrote each chapter to reflect the last. And once you get to one point in the past with Viv, you get to watch Carly get to that point in the present too. I loved that about the structure of this plot. 

I SEEN EVERY SINGLE PART OF THIS STORY SO VIVIDLY IN MY MIND. I am sorry. I felt like that needed to be yelled. The setting, the characters, and the things that happen and play out all throughout really played a vivid picture in my mind. Like I was watching a movie. I love that. Plain and simple.

If ghost stories with wonderful writing and spooky, supernatural scenes are your jam-- you do not want to miss out on this story. If ghost stories are not your thing-- you probably won't like this book. But I hope that if any one wants to take a change on one and sort of feel the genre out, they choose one of Simone St. James' books. Preferably this one.Then again, I'm sure *some* people might say I am biased since I loved her last one so much too. Oh well. Just read the book okay! LOL!

Wow, what an interesting story. You are completely sucked in wanting to know what all Viv witnessed and where she is. There were some twists that I didn’t see coming. There was just so much chilling goodness packed into this book. I have to admit that there were a couple of times that it gave me the creepy crawlies! This would definitely make a great movie.

Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Carly Kirk is determined to find out what happened to her aunt Viv during her night shift at the Sun Down Motel in 1982. Viv Delaney seemingly disappeared into thin air, leaving her car, purse, and money behind. 35 years later, Carly comes to Fell, New York looking for answers. She thinks she might find them back at the Sun Down, which has been in a state of stasis ever since. She even takes Viv's old job, and moves into her former apartment. She quickly realizes what Viv did, things at the Sun Down are very, very wrong.
Told in dual timelines, the pieces begin to come together through both characters stories. "There are lots of dead girls in Fel," and both Viv and Carly begin to wonder if they are all related. Both characters are very well developed and the story builds tension so quickly, it's impossible to put down.
I loved this book! It's super creepy, and it's too bad it's not out before Halloween. It's the perfect spine tingler!

I loved this book. It was atmospheric and spooky without being over the top. The only problem I had was that Carly and Viv were so similar that occasionally I had to double check which point of view I was reading from.

The Sun Down Motel is the first book that I’ve read from this author. And it definitely won’t be my last! Carly heads to the last place her Aunt Vivian was known to be seen thirty five years earlier. She’s determined to find out what happened to her Aunt and ends up at the Sun Down Motel. This story was creepy and downright arm hair-raising AND totally sucked me right right in. I couldn’t put it down. I’m off to read everything else Simone St. James has ever written!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I love Simone St James' mysteries. They are so very atmospheric. I love the back and forth of past and present. The tension and suspense that is built by this type of writing adds so much depth to the story. I'm sure fans of St. James will love this title and it will be a great title to sell to anyone looking for a great mystery or historical fiction title.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James is a spine-chilling story that transcends two moments in time. A ghost story with homicidal, psychopathic ghosts with multiple mysteries, a serial killer, and more. Set in a creepy rundown seedy motel that rivals the Bates Motel, the story is intriguing and spooky read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I really enjoyed the first book I read by Simone St. James called The Broken Girls. The Sun Down Motel has similar themes to that novel in that once again, you’ll need to suspend disbelief and believe in ghosts. It’s also told in a similar way by alternating chapters and points of view.

In 1982, Vivian is twenty years old and, just to get away from home, runs to New York City, except she’s waylaid by the creepy guy who offered her a ride and insists on getting out before he can do more than put his hand too high on her thigh. This lands her in Fell, New York. She thinks she’ll spend a night at the lonely Sun Down Motel and then head down to New York City, but she ends up taking the job as the night shift clerk. At night, she sees thing that compel her to become an amateur sleuth, learning about just how many young women have been murdered in this small, otherwise quiet town.

In 2017, Viv’s niece Carly goes on what little information she has to Fell, New York, to find out what happened to her mother’s sister thirty-five years earlier. Carly is also able to land a job at the Sun Down Motel as the night clerk. Like her aunt, instead of sleeping during the day, she spends her days investigating whether the murders of the three women in Fell that happened before Viv’s disappearance could have been the work of a single killer and if so, if that killer murdered her aunt.

This was suspenseful. Some parts I had to speed read because I was actually stressed out for these fictional characters. I liked The Broken Girls a little more, but this is another good contribution to the paranormal genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 18, 2020.

I do it to myself. I get so excited when an author I've read previously comes out with a new book. My expectations are so high that the actual book can't compare to what I think I'll be reading about. Especially when even the dedication feels like it was written to/for me. This one did pretty well though. The synopsis is vague about the plot and I don't feel like I should give much away either. Whole box of chocolates idea....
This was truly a ghost story. Not do you or don't you believe what just happened but yep, that was a ghost that just did that. Once again, St. James chose to tell her story from two women's perspectives 35 years apart. For me, this was almost not enough time. Their stories were almost too similar, as were their motivations. Thank you to Berkley/Netgalley for the advanced copy of this. Sorry to all the other books I ignored to get to this one.

Carly travels to Fell, New York to find out what happened to her aunt Viv when she disappeared years earlier. Carly gets a job at the same hotel as her aunt and finds that the hotel holds some secrets and possibly the answer to what happened to Viv. The story is told from both viewpoints, Viv in the early 80's and Carly in the present day. It is filled with lots of mysteries and is creepy at times.

Ohhh, how I adore this book! It has a bit of everything- mystery, intrigue, deception, murder, romance, twists.... and ghosts! I literally couldn't put it down. Narration alternates between first person (Carly) in 2017, and the 3rd person story of Carly's aunt, Vivian in 1982. Both are trying to figure out a mystery that consumes their waking moments.... I don't want to say too much for fear of giving something away, but suffice it to say that this book was HARD to put down. I've never read anything by Simone St James, but I will absolutely be seeking this author out in the future. I can't recommend this book enough..... absolutely engrossing!

I really enjoyed The Broken Girls so I was anxiously awaiting another novel by Simone St. James. This one did not disappoint. Great read for the fall- it's equal parts creepy/ghost story, historical and yet seems like it could totally happen in everyday life! I was more of a fan of Viv's storyline but both narratives gave an excellent description of the hotel and I liked seeing the multiple decades and characters intertwine.


*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Do you like being scared? Do you like a book to have twists and turns yet make complete sense at the end? Do you like characters that you care about? Do you like a book that you pick up, and don't want to put down until you finish it? This is the book for you! Charly searches for the answers about her aunt's disappearance 35 years earlier and discovers there might have been a serial killer loose in the small town of Fell where the Sun Down Motel has been located for years. Charly discovers more than she expected, and is being encouraged by those who stay at the Motel...

Haunted by the disappearance of her aunt, Carly decides she needs to find out what happened regardless of the outcome. She travels to where her aunt was last seen, and begins to ask questions. Carly also takes a job at the last place her aunt was seen. Strange things happen at the Sun Down Motel, but that doesn't deter Carly as she seeks the truth. But as often happens, the truth may not be what you think it will be.