The Sun Down Motel

Years ago I loved The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, and I’ve been wanting to read more from her ever since. The Sun Down Motel has been on my list the longest, and now that a new book set in the same universe is about to come out, it was high time I finally read it.

In 1982, Viv Delaney ends up in a small New York town called Fell. She’s low on cash, so she gets a job as a night clerk at the seedy Sun Down Motel, and immediately, she can tell something is wrong with the place. It seems to be haunted, and perhaps worse, it may be the frequent destination of a local serial killer. Viv starts to see a pattern, and she’s determined to uncover the truth even if it kills her.

In 2017, Carly Kirk has always wondered what happened to her Aunt Viv, the one who disappeared before she was even born. This leads Carly to Fell, where she ends up getting the same night shift job at the Sun Down Motel as Viv had. Carly just wants to figure out what happened to Viv… but she may also be able to uncover what else really happened all those decades ago.

What I Liked:

• Dual timeline mysteries. There is a lot of overlap between what Viv goes through in 1982 and what Carly is experiencing in 2017. Even so, both timelines feel equally compelling, and I enjoyed how the clues and twists between both timelines complement each other.
• Resourceful young women solving cold cases. Viv in particular is bravely going after a potential serial killer. From thorough library research to literally making phone calls and using her voice acting skills, she’s very much channeling her inner Nancy Drew! Carly is also an adept investigator, building on some of the things Viv had uncovered, but also trying to finally put all the puzzle pieces together.
• Ghosts! For me it’s not a proper horror book without a supernatural element, and thankfully, this book comes with a creepy motel full of ghosts. But are these spirits dangerous, or are they trying to point the night clerks to the true, real life dangers?
• Sense of eternal darkness. This may be the best horror novel I’ve read in terms of ambience. Since both Viv and Carly work the night shift, most of this book takes place in the shadows, the dark, the eerie quiet of 3am. It keeps the sense of foreboding and unease high.

Audiobook:

Brittany Pressley and Kirsten Potter both do a great job of narrating The Sun Down Motel. Viv and Carly each sound distinct, and both narrators held my interest in their respective chapters.

Final Thoughts

The Sun Down Motel is the kind of horror that confronts ghosts and serial killers in equal measure. I enjoyed the different angles of terror and mystery here. Next, I’m excited to read the (kind of) sequel, A Box Full of Darkness, coming out on January 20th. I have an ARC, so look out for my review of it soon.

Get the Book

You can buy The Sun Down Motel here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Audiobook Narrator	Brittany Pressley and Kirsten Potter
Audience	Adult
Genre	Horror; Thriller
Setting	Fell, New York
Number of Pages	352
Format I Read	Audiobook & Hardcover
Original Publication Date	February 18, 2020
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

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.