Book Review - The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Title: The Sun Down Motel
Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2020
 
Description: The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before.
 
Upstate New York, 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…
 
Review: I used to think I didn’t like supernatural thrillers. Until I discovered Simone St. James. “The Sun Down Motel” is the third novel that I read by this author and I’m very confident to say that she is an all-time favorite author for me now.
 
“The Sun Down Motel” follows two timelines, set in a small town called Fall, set in the state of New York. A town where it seems time stood still. The young Carly Kirk travels to this town, trying to figure out the truth about her aunt Viv Delaney, who went missing in 1982, while working the night shift at the Sun Down Motel. When Carly manages to get that same job at the now rundown motel, she soon figures out something is not right in this place.
 
We read two timelines. The one of Carly, in present day, digging deep to find out what happened to her aunt all those years ago. The other timeline follows her aunt Viv, as she is working at the Sun Down and following a mystery of her own.
 
One of my favorite elements in thrillers is a the dual timeline. I just enjoy reading about a historic event, preferably a cold case, and then following a person I the present that is trying to unravel the mystery. Simone St. James sets her books up lie this and this is a format that really works for me. Her writing is beautiful and also accessible. And her book also have a supernatural element, which I didn’t know I liked until I read her books.
 
“The Sun Down Motel” has a spooky, eerie atmosphere, you know something’s up and it’s genuinely creepy at times. Both female characters are compelling and complex women, interesting to you about. And the story is well-crafted and has some masterful plotting, even though they aren’t many shocking twist or reveals. This was a book I just couldn’t put down. And I want to read everything that Simone St. James has written.
 
Rating: 5/ 5