BookBrowse Reviews The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

BookBrowse:

An atmospheric mystery set in a roadside motel, Simone St. James' The Sun Down Motel serves up suspense with a paranormal edge.

43 out of 45 BookBrowse First Impressions readers rated The Sun Down Motel 4 or 5 stars, giving it a solid 4.5 average rating.

What the book is about:

Upstate New York, 1982: Temporary night clerk Vivian Delaney is saving to journey to New York City.
Upstate New York, 2017: Carly Kirk arrives at the Sun Down Motel to investigate her Aunt Vivian's mysterious disappearance from the Sun Down before Carly was born (Bev C).

I thoroughly enjoyed this atmospheric novel that is part ghost story and part murder mystery. Told in alternating chapters about two women, one in 1982 and the other in 2017, it is set in the fictional upstate New York town of Fell. At first glance, Fell appears to be a quiet place where very little happens. That is indeed the case except for the serial killer who claims a victim every two years or so and the ghosts who reside at the Sun Down Motel (Mary H).

Readers warn that The Sun Down Motel is genuinely creepy…

When the character breaks out in goosebumps so does the reader. That is what good writing is all about. The storyline was engaging and the atmosphere seemed very realistic. Stay out of the rain and leave the lights on until you have finished it (Patricia W). It's been a long time since a book has given me the heebie jeebies, but this one did (Sandy P). I probably wouldn't read this while on a road trip staying at motels/hotels even with the lights on, because you never know when they may go out (Melissa H)! Good ghost stories are hard to find and this is the best one I have read in a long time. Highly recommended (Mary H).

...so you may want to prepare yourself before getting hooked on its intriguing mystery.

The suspense got me from the start and pulled me into the small world of Fell, NY, past and present. I appreciated the uncluttered writing style that did not give away clues too easily or create red herrings (Karen S). The mystery seemed like it would unfold predictably and I was sure I knew within the first chapter who did what to whom. Happily I was wrong (Ruthie A)!

Some reviewers think the characters, while well written, could have been better developed.

Vivian's spiral into obsession was really well written and really jumped off the page. Comparatively, some of the other emotions of the story fell a little flat to me (Rebecca L). The characters were fairly well developed even though their motivations were not entirely believable. Background details were sketchy and relationships were not well explored (Ruthie A).

Still, fans of the author's previous work insist she hasn't lost her touch...

Ghostly, creepy, supernatural with a mystery thrown in...all the good stuff you have come to expect from a great Simone St. James book (Teresa L)! Creepy, scary, intense, gripping....I can go on and on. Simone St. James is one of my favorite authors anyway, but this time she has gone to a new level (Carole P). Simone St. James has written several other novels that combine mystery and ghost story, and here's another 5-star one (Linda W).

...and first-time readers are equally impressed.

This is the first book of Simone St. James that I have read, and I was delighted and very impressed. I really enjoyed the story and all the twists and turns she put into the plot (Colleen T). Excellent story. This is my first experience reading a Simone St. James novel and I enjoyed every minute of it (Nanette S). A well written mystery I thoroughly enjoyed! I had not read this author before and am now wanting to read her other books (Ruth H).

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in March 2020, and has been updated for the November 2020 edition. Click here to go to this issue.