Thoughts on : The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
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 read Simone St. James’ The Broken Girls last year and liked it : it had an interesting mix of suspense, historical fiction and supernatural, all things I enjoy. The Sun Down Motel seemed to promise something similar, so it seemed like a perfect pick for this time of the year – and it was!
I’d say this one steps more firmly into the supernatural than The Broken Girls. From the start, the ambiance is unsettling in a familiar way : flickering lights, doors that close or open by themselves, calls without callers. It’s not a new formula, but it’s one that works for me, especially when the author knows to add it in small doses. There’s enough to show that something is going, but not enough to be sure right away of what exactly is going on.
The back and forth between 1982 and now worked well to establish the mystery. I enjoyed trying to piece together what happened and what was relevant between past and present, as well as getting to know both Viv and Carly. I do wish their personalities had been a bit more distinctive from one another, but overall I liked both of them.
All in all, I’d say The Sun Down Motel is a very well crafted mystery and I had a good time reading it. It had a few fun twists, too!
If you’re looking for a good suspense novel with a supernatural touch, I highly recommend The Sun Down Motel. It will give you a bit of the spooky ambiance that is so dearly appreciated as this time of the year, with a well paced mystery.
I enjoyed this one so much. It’s hard to find books with a good balance of the supernatural and mystery, and I think St James pulls it off perfectly.