The Sun Down Motel
By: Simone St James
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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…
First Impressions
I haven’t read a good thriller in a while and this cover screamed spooky. This is the exact type of book I would pick up around Halloween and makes a solid first impression.
What I thought
This book was just like reading a true crime podcast.
Carly’s Aunt Viv disappeared in 1982. After her mom dies, Carly decides to go to the last place her aunt was seen, Fell, New York, to see if she can find answers. In 1982, Viv ran away to Fell, New York. She worked the night shift at the Sun Down Motel, until one night she disappeared.
The story is told in alternating perspectives from Carly in 2017 and Viv in 1982. It is interesting because there are multiple mysteries going on. It kept me interested because with so much going on, it was hard to figure out exactly what was going to happen. I did prefer Carly’s chapters to Viv’s, but I think that’s because Viv’s were more dangerous and made me more anxious.
St. James said that when writing this book she was inspired by true crime podcasts and that is very obvious wen reading this story. Viv is like the original amateur detective in 1982, trying to find out who killed multiple girls in the town of Fell. The one thing that’s a bit odd is how a girl who has no connection to the town or any of the girls who have gone missing gets so involved in figuring out what is going on. But I guess some peoples personalities just lend them to that and once you get sucked in, you’re in.
Carly’s connection makes a little bit more sense, since she’s looking for her aunt. The one funny thing is, either Carly and her aunt are amazing detectives, or the Fell PD is terrible. Not one, but two young 20 year old women manage to solve the murders of 3 women while the police department could not.
The sign of a good thriller is whether or not it keeps me interested from beginning to end. This book did that. I was curious to find out what happened to Viv as well as the other girls of Fell. There are definitely parts of the book that are hard to read. Murder and young women is not an easy topic. The writing is solid and the pacing is well done. It was a solid read and definitely pulled me back out of a reading fatigue I was starting to slide back into.
I would probably rate this one a solid 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, but there was some sort of spark missing that makes me hesitate to give it 4 stars. If you like true crime, I would highly recommend checking this book out. It kept me interested and I wasn’t able to guess what was going to happen until right before it happened. There is a lot that goes one and all of it was entertaining.