THE SUN DOWN MOTEL BY SIMONE ST JAMES

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

This was another #bookstagrammademedoit kind of a deal. It was also a BOTM pick as can be seen in the photo, that means the #BOTM community talked about this book non-stop and I had a hard time escaping it – lol. On the other hand, Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James was my first book by this author, and it won’t be my last.

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Synopsis:

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 USA Today 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.

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My thoughts

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

So, I must admit I wasn’t blown away by this book. The beginning was slow. And it took me awhile to get invested in the story and the overall supernatural vibe of the novel.

Nevertheless, the further I got into the book, the more I enjoyed the connections and parallels between past and present, in other words between Viv and Carly. When I got to the point where I actually realized what was going on, it was easy to see the book’s allure.

Moreover, besides the story’s supernatural feel, The Sun Down Motel was also a full blown mystery, a whodunit spanning two generations. The overall surprisingly eery, and creepy mood turned the book into a very atmospheric mystery/thriller.

I think what I enjoyed the most, was the connections, the parallels between Viv and Carly. How they both went through similar situations, and experienced the motel and its peculiar inhabitants in nearly the same ways. And then of course the wrap up was quite the success itself. High in tension, but not at all predictable, and with some nice twists and turns to bring it all together.

On the whole, the story was enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to future books by this author. Also, while listening to the audiobook, I was again reminded how much I love listening to thrillers and mysteries. It’s probably my most favorite genre for audiobooks.

In regards to the audiobook itself, the narration was top notch, both narrators did a marvelous job, and it was an easy and fast book to get through. The 11 hours, didn’t feel like 11 hours at all, thanks to the two timelines which made the book go by rather quickly.

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The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James