I really enjoyed The Broken Girls by this author, so I was excited to read The Sun Down Motel. This was another enjoyable, suspenseful, creative and quick book by Simone St. James. The plot line was creative, atmosphere spooky, and ending very smart. The only thing I didn't love was the presence of ghosts. I'm not really into the whole spirit thing so I could've done without them. But overall, a good summer thriller!

My main hope going into this book was that I would love it as much as The Broken Girls. I am happy to report, I loved it even more!!!

While The Broken Girls dipped a toe in the supernatural, The Sun Down Motel dives in headfirst and these waters run deep and dark!

In 1982, Viv Delaney ends up in Fell, New York completely by chance. Her original intention was to head to New York City, but after stopping in Fell, she ends up staying, working the night shift at a roadside motel. Never one to shy away from the macabre, Viv isn't scared off when she notices mysterious happenings around her workplace.

The motel itself isn't the only scary part of her new life, however, the clientele of The Sun Down also leave a bit to be desired. Not to mention the missing and murdered young women in the area. Viv decides to begin an investigation. She's going to get to the bottom of what is going on at the motel, and with the missing girls, one way or another.

We follow Viv's perspective as her time at The Sun Down edges towards her final night, a cold night in November when she disappears without a trace.

We also follow the perspective of Viv's niece, Carly, who arrives at The Sun Down thirty-five years later. Things fall into place fairly rapidly for Carly. It's almost like she was meant to be there. She gets hired to work the night shift at the motel, just like her Aunt Viv, and ends up living in Viv's old apartment. Carly, who is actively researching her Aunts disappearance, will end up discovering way more than she bargained for.

I absolutely loved every second I spent reading this book. I was a fan of St. James before, but this, was magic for my mind. The alternating perspectives where fantastic. I felt drawn to each woman and comfortable listening to their stories, in their time.

The pacing was excellent. No filler to get through, just meat. It was perfectly plotted as you raced towards the conclusion. The side characters were all well developed and each added their own dimension to the story. Both Viv and Carly had allies in their search for answers, even though they often felt alone in their missions. Of course, the atmosphere was fantastic as well, something St. James definitely excels at writing.

Additionally, I enjoyed the theme of particular dangers to women and how that can make you feel powerless to know you always have to have your guard up. That you can be harmed at another's will.

At the end of the day. Simone St. James is an autobuy author for me. I hope she continues down this same path for a long time to come. She has such a great gift for eerie storytelling and I'm here for it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books and NetGalley, for providing me a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it and have since purchased a finished copy for my shelves. I look forward to seeing what twisted tale St. James will think of next!

This book is so great. The author keeps you guessing at every turn.

Viv has run away to New York and ends up working in a highway motel in a strange little town. Then she starts seeing things and finds out that several girls have been murdered in town. And then Viv disappears herself. Carly is Viv's niece. She goes to the town 35 years later to find out what really happened to this aunt that disappeared before she was born. Both girls are in danger. Who will make it to the end? What really happened to Viv?

I definitely recommend reading this. I also loved The Broken Girls. I may have a new favorite author (she's in good company).

Simone St. James is one of the best of all modern gothic novelists, and importantly, the ghosts in her books are real, they’re not actually mysterious human strangers hanging around in vacant buildings for nefarious reasons. She combines her ghost stories with cracking good mysteries, an irresistible combination, and unlike practically any other mystery novelist, the characters are pretty much exclusively female. There are a few male characters for sure, but they are more on the window dressing side of things. It’s the ladies that carry the narrative.

This novel is set both in 1981 and in the present, in Fell, New York, where two young women take on the night shift at the mostly empty Sun Down Motel. Either 1981 seems like an incredibly far away place, or it seems like yesterday. St. James nails the details of the 80’s, or at least enough of them to convince someone who graduated from college in 1982 that she knows what she’s talking about.

The 1981 woman, Viv, has left home and jumped out of a car because the guy she was hitching a ride from tried to put his hand up her skirt. She ends up in Fell by default, and somehow ends up working the night shift and rooming with another night shift denizen. Viv is creeped out by happenings at the motel – doors that open and close, lights that go off even though there’s no electrical outage, and sights and smells that are otherworldly.

She makes friends with the night shift cop, Alma, the only woman on the force (and the reason Alma works the night shift), and a photographer who’s taking photos of an illicit affair going on at the motel. Viv becomes obsessed with the deaths of three young women in the Fell area, a few scant months apart, and is sure they are connected. She goes off on the most amateur of amateur detective hunts for whoever killed them, despite being repeatedly told by Alma to lay off.

In the present, Viv’s niece, Carly, has left college and come to Fell to try and figure out what happened to her aunt Viv, who seemingly fell off the edge of the earth back in 1981. She quickly meets a kindred spirit, Heather, also obsessed with true crime (making the girls very of the moment) and the killings so many years ago. Together the girls try to piece together what happened both to Viv and to the three dead women.
Both Viv and Carly are smart, brave, yet naïve girls who are trying to figure out what happened for all the right reasons. The Sun Down literally drips with atmosphere – even the vending machine room (called “Amenities”) is creepy. And both of them are pretty good detectives. St. James draws the narrative threads tighter and tighter even as she ramps up the appearances of the Sun Down’s resident ghosts – not ghosts who are enjoying the afterlife, I might add.

While the story could certainly be defined as scary – it’s about scary topics and you’re often worried for the young girls in the novel (one armed with mace, one with a knife), one reading old Stephen King books, one reading Ann Rule’s classic, The Stranger Beside Me - the threads that draw them to one another so many years apart are strong ones. But what I mostly felt and remembered was what it was like to be in my twenties and taking on and figuring out the world for the first time. This is a resonant, well written, emotionally memorable novel with a great hook and a creepy landscape that will no doubt get under your skin.

If you like a suspenseful and thrilling read, this one is for you. Whether you be new or experienced in murder mysteries, this is an amazing read and will have you hooked. Also, for those that like their murder mysteries but find most are too graphic--this is a good one to try. It certainly is creepy but I didn't find it too graphic with the details.

This book reinvigorated my love for suspense and thrillers, it was THAT good. Similar to many genres, this genre seems to be overly saturated as of late and I felt a lot of the novels that I had been reading seemed to have a recycled plot/story. It's just the nature of the beast but because of that I turned away from suspense/thriller/mysteries for a while. After this book, I want to dive right back into the genre and also watch some of the true crime shows that I have been recommended.

Without getting too detailed because I think it's best to go into the story blind, it's very suspenseful and will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. I didn't find the story predictable but I also liked how the ending didn't seem to come out of nowhere. It made sense.

Between the characters, the writing, and the setting, this book was easy to fall into and get drawn in. It was fast-paced but at the same time, I didn't want it end because it was so good. Prior to picking this up, I had been hearing the accolades surrounding this novel and now I understand why.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James …I could have sworn I reviewed this already, maybe I’m just seeing it all over!

Readers are really enjoying this novel thanks to the compelling dual timelines and the creepy setting. I liked the suspense that propels the book forward and it sometimes borders on horror because I was so nervous for Carly as she investigates what happened to her aunt back in the early 80s. Soon Carly herself is contending with some pretty creepy circumstances.

Take a look:

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden

I really like a book that takes us back to the 80s so I was very much into the story of Viv. Carly is a likable woman who is a quiet introvert but also headstrong and ambitious in finding out what happened to Viv. There is definitely a mystery to be solved and I didn’t expect the story to veer off into something spooky like it did!

If you enjoy books that are suspenseful with a hint of horror and a splash of paranormal activities then this is for you!

Buy the book here!

Ghosts and secrets and mysteries abound in this book. I have seen lots of love for this book around Bookstagram, and while I didn't absolutely love it, I did really like it. (Thus my rating system. Clever yes?) I had to really sit and think about why I didn't love this one, and I think it boils down to I saw big parts of the ending reveal coming. Not all of them of course, but one of the biggest and most significant reveals I called early in the book. I did find the sleuthing in this book very engaging as well as how the book revolves around a gaggle of strong females.

This book was everything I love in a thriller. Creepy setting. Old unsolved murders. Strong female characters. And ghosts? YES PLEASE!

This book is told in a dual time perspective, Viv in 1982, and Carly in 2017. Usually I find myself preferring one timeline over the other, but this was not the case for this one. Both Viv and Carly's stories were woven together so that their stories unfolded chronologically and made me eager to turn the pages, no matter what world we were in.

The Sun Down Motel was so atmospheric. I could picture the old motel, frozen in time. I could smell the cigarette smoke in the lobby. Simone St. James wove together a creepy setting that was almost tangible. I read a large portion of this at night, which while that absolutely helped set the mood for the book, it also made it significantly more creepy. Which in my opinion, is a good thing.

Another thing I loved about this book was Carly and Hannah. Their shared nerdiness and love for true crime was so relatable and I honestly just wanted to be their friend.

Overall, I adored this book. There are not many thriller books out there with a ghostly element and Simone St. James sets the bar high. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Vivian lands in small town Fell, Indiana after leaving home. Finding work as the night clerk at the the Sun Down Motel, she expects to spend quiet nights alone. But soon discovers the Motel comes alive at night.

Part ghost story and part mystery, The Sun Down Motel is completely enthralling.

This is my second book by this author and I did enjoy it. It wasn't the most twisty and turny thriller that I have read. However, the plot was engaging and it kept me reading. I did not connect with the main characters as much as I wanted to and I did not hate the villain (more like an 'eh' feeling). The ending was fun and I did feel like it wrapped up nicely. Overall I gave the book four stars because even if it wasn't my favorite, it did keep me engaged and wanting to pick it up to find out what happens.

After reading St. James' The Broken Girls and devouring it, when I had the opportunity to read The Sun Down Motel, I jumped on it. Basically college student Carly Kirk moves to the town of Fell in search of answers about her aunt Viv that disappeared in Fell 35 years ago. The book switches back and forth between present day Carly's POV and 1982 Viv Delaney's POV. The mystery is what happened to Viv. Both characters end up working at The Sun Down Motel, which also happens to have it's own mysteries and secrets. Like The Broken Girls, this book is mainly a thriller and mystery, with a little romance thrown in, and supernatural elements. I think the reason I enjoyed both of the books is because of the supernatural elements, but I know that some people who read Thrillers and Mysteries may not enjoy that. While there were enough clues to figure out the "bad guy" early on, I did not see the twist ending! This book kept me reading til well after bed time to finish it and get answers (which is always the sign of a great book for me).

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of The Sun Down Motel.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Is ^ even concerned a review because this book was everything and the kitchen sink! I love love love it!

When it comes to ghost stories sometimes authors over shoot the mark and make it sound like it’s all bologna. Simone St. James did an amazing job. I didn’t want the story to end.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that my friend Kendall at The Geeky Yogi and I have been #buddyreading a number of books during the past several months! We’ve demolished the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful, and this month we tackled Simone St. James’s The Sun Down Motel, which we were both hyped for. Previously, we’d read The Broken Girls by St. James and really enjoyed it so we figure why not give the new book a shot!

I devoured this! If you’ve been following my blog recently, you’ll note that I’ve been mostly gravitating toward romances and historical fiction with the occasional fantasy. So reading a thriller with paranormal elements has not been my go to for several months. However, I’m so glad I picked up this page-turner.

I’ll admit that I am not a true crime fan. I know shocking to admit for a woman in her late twenties. So many woman I know obsess over true crime shows, books, and podcasts. I am not one of those women. for the most part I actually find the obsession quite repulsive and unsettling. Despite my qualms I ended up being completely enthralled by this book.

I ended up really enjoying this novel for the feminist perspective: vengeful female ghosts, women setting out to make things right, and women looking out for and remembering women’s stories when the rest of the world would rather forget.

First, this book is told through dual perspectives – so know that going in if that’s not a writing style you like. I find that St. James does well switching between 2017 and 1982 and I kind of like that it was a more modern story rather than throwing it back to the early 1900s. We see the story through both Viv and Carly’s perspective and I like both and never felt that impulse to get back a particular character’s perspective. I thought each POV and character was dynamic on their own, which I always appreciate in a novel that switches perspectives.

I loved the atmosphere of a creepy small town and the weirdness of working the night shift. I can’t tell you a whole lot more without giving away spoilers, but I can say the ending is quite satisfying even if I guess the outcome.

I think this bestselling novel is well worth a read and I want to read more of Simone St. James’s work!

This one had so much hype i was escorting a really creepy ghost story read. It wasn't as scary as i had hoped but it was definitely a great read. It kept me interested and flipping through the pages. I was hooked right from the beginning. I was invested in the mysteriesAnd the lead up to the murderer being discovered. There ending was amazing with an overall surprising end.

James' novel is a fantastic supernatural mystery, with compelling worldbuilding and writing that crackles on every page. I was sad when this book ended, because I so enjoyed the time I spent in its world.

Okay, so maybe I just…didn’t get the hype with this book? It definitely wasn’t bad, just not what I was expecting.

Let me start with what I DID like. The Sun Down Motel is an atmospheric mystery/thriller that follows two different timelines (Carly in 2017 and her aunt, Vivian, in 1982). It takes place in the fictional upstate town of Fell, New York, mostly at the creepy, rundown, haunted Sun Down Motel. I loved the setting; Fell definitely isn’t the Upstate New York I’m used to, with its sketchy highway motels and “downtown” consisting of three buildings. However, as someone who’s done a lot of traveling by car, I’ve seen quite a few towns like Fell, and quite a few motels like the Sun Down. The haunted aspects, in particular, really made this place come alive for me. As someone who can talk myself into anything and everything being haunted while I’m laying in bed at night, I definitely had to read most of this during the day.

I also really loved getting to know the characters in this book. I think I suspected pretty much everyone at one point or another, because everyone in Fell has secrets up their sleeves and they're all pretty creepy, to be honest. It was especially cool to read from both perspectives back-to-back, because a character would say something to Carly that I knew wasn’t true because of what had happened from Viv’s perspective in the previous chapter. The dual perspectives definitely got confusing, but I also think it added a lot of depth to the story and the character development. I’m not a “murderino” (I know, I know, don’t kill me) but I appreciated that this book was clearly written from the perspective of one, given Carly’s lifelong mission to find out what happened to her aunt, and her roommate's severe infatuation with true crime.

So you’re probably wondering why I only gave this book three stars. I thought the setup and characterization were great, but the execution fell flat for me. The buildup was slow, but I kept reading quickly, thinking I was just one more chapter away from a big reveal. And honestly…that moment never really came for me. Secrets were revealed, and if I were in Carly’s position, I definitely would’ve been shocked and terrified. But the book was really missing that “wow” factor for me, which is personally how I judge a good mystery/thriller from a bad one, or in this case, a “just okay” one. I also felt like, after a slow burn, the ending came and went way too quickly. I wanted more information, more backstory, and was left with more questions than when I started.

I know a lot of people really love this book, so if you’re into this genre and this premise, I would definitely give it a shot. I’m glad I read it, but in the grand scheme of the mystery/thriller genre, it’s probably not one I’ll remember in the long run.

This is a different kind of book for me - a thriller/ghost story/serial killer novel. I enjoyed the way the author built the town world of the sad little upstate NY town of Fell and the very atmospheric portrayal of the late 70s/early 80s in one of the two timelines. But ultimately this book was just not for me. It reminded me all over again of why I don't read thrillers - too many of them are cookie-cutter with creaking, predictable plots. I could see the twists coming a mile away. Worse - because this book had two timelines with two VERY similar main characters who were in the exact same location, I often had trouble telling them apart. The character development felt more suited to YA than grown-up horror/suspense.

Unpopular opinion review:

I’m not one for supernatural/paranormal thrillers or books. And unfortunately that’s the main reason for three stars. It’s a really well written thriller and I see why people love it. It just wasn’t for me due to the paranormal elements. I prefer something a bit more realistic. That being said, I totally believe in the paranormal!!! I just don’t like reading about it.

My only other issue was that I kept getting confused on both character’s different timelines because their plots were SO similar. It was super confusing at times when I would put the book down and come back to it at a different time.

Overall, I can see why people like it but just not my full cup of tea.

Yes! All the creepy, scary, heart racing moments of this book! I loved St. James last book, and I love this one even more. It literally gave me goosebumps and had my stomach twisted at points in the book. I cannot wait to read this one again near Halloween! Fantastic!

f I ever pass a Sun Down Motel, I will pass right by. Now way will I ever stay in a motel with that name. This is the creepiest realistic ghost story I’ve ever read. Connecting the story of Viv who left her home in Indiana and became the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York and her niece a generation later who comes to Fell in hopes of discovering why her aunt disappeared, introduces a number of ghosts who had real reason to haunt the Sun Down Motel. St. James does an excellent job in bringing the creepy motel to life, as well as really fleshing out the characters.