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 read and enjoyed “Murder Road” by Simone St. James earlier this year. This was the first book I’d read by this author, and I was excited to read more. I’d heard nothing but rave reviews of “The Sun Down Motel,” and since I’d had it on my TBR for a while, I decided to bump it up. Some said this is her best book, and while I enjoyed it very much, I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as “Murder Road.”

This book alternates between 1982 and 2017 and takes place primarily in the small town of Fell, New York, and the strange happenings that seem to plague the Sun Down Motel. The novel starts off in 1982 and introduces us to Viv Delaney, a young woman working as the night clerk at the motel. We get the sense that Viv is used to the doors that won’t close and the lights that turn themselves off at a particular time each night, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing to her. By the end of the chapter, Viv has gone missing, and we can’t help but think it’s because of the weird happenings at the motel.

Flash forward 25 years when we meet Carly, Viv’s niece whose mother recently died of cancer. Carly is true-crime obsessed and has decided to take some time away from college and travel to Fell. For some reason, she feels compelled to find out what happened to her aunt, Viv. Soon, Carly finds herself employed at the Sun Down Motel, working the same shift that Viv had worked, and it’s not long before she witnesses the same weird occurrences. Will Carly be able to figure out what plagues the motel and what happened to Viv before she, too, ends up like her aunt?

The story and the mystery are very strong and compelling. There was a nice little twist at the end that I didn’t see coming until a chapter or two before the reveal, so that was nice. I felt the pacing was perfect and enjoyed the dual perspectives and timelines. St. James skillfully weaves together the two timelines, slowly unraveling what happened to Viv and Carly’s pursuit of the truth. I loved going back a few weeks to understand the events that led up to Viv’s disappearance. As Carly uncovered a new clue, we would then circle back and see how it played out through Viv’s eyes. This was really effective and helped keep the tension up.

The characters are all great, and I loved both Viv and Carly. Both were tenacious, relatable, and determined to do what was right. They also weren’t afraid of a bit of danger. The side characters were also great, and I enjoyed learning what had happened at the motel and why some guests decided to stick around even after they had passed on.

My favorite character, though, was that of the actual motel. I loved how St. James described it and the small town of Fell. I felt like I had visited the town before and could easily picture the motel. I saw it as part Bates Motel and part Motel 8. Not fancy by any means, but not so gross that no one would ever consider staying there. Its history is what really made it interesting, though, and upped the creepy factor.

While I wasn’t completely blown away the way I expected to be after reading all of the rave reviews, I still really enjoyed this one. It wasn’t particularly scary, but it is filled with memorable characters wrapped up in an engaging mystery. I will definitely be checking out the rest of this author’s work.

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