The Sun Down Motel
Novels,  Repeat Authors

The Sun Down Motel

The Sun Down Motel 

The Sun Down Motel is the latest novel to be checked off my always growing to be read list, and it’s one I’ve been anxiously waiting to read. It has been sitting on my bookshelf, just staring at me, waiting for me to pick it up, for far too long. It was finally time! 

This book came highly recommended from a friend, and I’ve since started collecting all of Simone St. James’ books because they are often the subject of high praise and recommendations. 

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Have you read The Sun Down Motel? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

The Sun Down Motel
The Sun Down Motel

About The Sun Down Motel 

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 New York Times 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. 

Thoughts on The Sun Down Motel 

“Let me give you a word of advice, New Night Clerk. If you think you hear the doors up here, don’t come up and fix it. Stay in the office and don’t come out. In fact, don’t come out of the office for anything. Just close the door and sit there until your time’s up. Okay?” 

Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

In The Sun Down Motel, we meet two main characters. Viv and Carly. 

Viv goes missing and is never found, dead or alive. Nobody really seems to care either, and this is especially true of her family. Sadly, nobody really notices or is missing Viv. This point of view is told from 1982. So the first question is, is she dead? Because nobody knows, and I suspected the answer was no. 

Then we meet Carly, Viv’s niece, who is determined to find the answers to her aunt’s disappearance. While grieving her mother’s death and knowing next to nothing about her aunt, Carly gets the exact same job as her aunt in the present day. 

Why has nothing at The Sun Down Motel changed in so many years? You would think something would. Upgrades made, steady business, more interesting news press about things that have happened. Just, something. But, no. It is stuck in a time warp. 

Simone St. James weaves in between the two timelines. The problem for me here is that despite being two different timelines, it all feels the same. She gives the reader just enough clues to keep me curious and wanting to know the answers. But it’s still just really hard to create two actively different timelines when nothing has changed but the year and a few side characters. 

Although, if she had created two actively different timelines, the story would have been completely different and it may not have worked. So I see the problem, but also anything else may have been more of a failure, if that makes sense. 

The Sun Down Motel had a very Shining-ish feel to it. Meaning the night clerk always has trouble, the motel is always hiring, nothing really changes, there are ghosts. In fact, when I was telling my husband about the book, the first thing that came to mind for him was The Shining. 

It is interesting to me how it is written during Viv’s time. Being a woman was almost like being a second class citizen, and so many were thought to be crazy or just insignificant. It was a very different time. 

I also find it interesting that the deaths of local women fascinated both Viv and Carly. I enjoy a good true crime story as well, and even documentaries. Is this meant to be mentioned that women are often true crime enthusiasts? What does that mean? They both became armchair detectives, to an extent. But their opinions and even “evidence” didn’t mean much to anyone besides them, even when they were absolutely correct with their theories. 

The Sun Down Motel
The Sun Down Motel

Final Thoughts on The Sun Down Motel 

It was a good book, and the story made perfect sense to me. I enjoyed it. But in something of a basic way. It was good, but I really wanted something great. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat, needing to binge the entire book in one sitting, and I just didn’t get that. 

The Sun Down Motel is classified as a mystery and thriller, but I wanted more from the thriller category. That part was a letdown for me. It was a good mystery, all day long. But thriller, not so much. Now, The Last Time I Lied was a good thriller, and it may simply be that I’m comparing this one against that in terms of being a thriller. 

I’m calling The Sun Down Motel a four star read. I enjoyed it, it was memorable, and I’ll read more of Simone St. James’ books in the future. But I’m not raving about it, nor am I buying it for my friends and family. Which is why it isn’t a five star book. I needed it to keep me on the edge of my seat to qualify as a five star read. It kept me comfortably seated in my chair, making it a four star read. 

I’m curious how that other Simone St. James’ books will compare to this one as I read them? It will be interesting to find out as I go and read more from her. Stay tuned for more reviews! 

The Sun Down Motel
The Sun Down Motel

Discussion 

Have you read The Sun Down Motel or any other writing from author Simone St. James? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

I found these questions at the back of the book and thought they might be interesting. 

  1. Why do you think the author chose to tell this story across two time periods and two points of view? Do you think it was effective? Why or why not? 
  1. Discuss how each of the victims were described in the media. Do you think the way the media characterized these women played a role in the overall investigation, and the failure by the police to catch the killer? How does their characterization compare to how victims are described by the media today? 
  1. From the beginning, Viv is determined to uncover who the female ghost is and why she is haunting the motel. Why do you think this was so important to her? Why do you think she didn’t just flee Fell, New York, and the motel? 
  1. Viv, Carly, and Heather all have a somewhat morbid curiosity surrounding both the Fell, New York, murders and true crime in general, which reflects the fact that young women tend to be the biggest consumers of true crime content. Why do you think this is? 
  1. Discuss the ghosts that haunt the motel, especially Betty. What do you think each of them represented, if anything? 
  1. There are multiple instances where the women of this novel discuss what women should be doing to protect themselves, although as Viv notes: “It was always girls who ended up stripped and dead like roadkill… It didn’t matter how afraid or careful you were – it could always be you.” What do you think the author is saying about the experience of being a woman? Do you think the novel might have been different if Viv and Carly were men? If so, how? 
  1. How are the concepts of female rage and empowerment explored in this novel, if at all? 
  1. Consider Alma and Marnie, and the relationships they formed with Viv and with each other. Why do you think they allowed themselves to become involved with Viv’s investigation? 
  1. Multiple characters throughout this novel end up returning to the small town of Fell, New York, or choose to remain there despite many reasons – and opportunities – to leave. Why do you think they are drawn to the town? 
  1. Building off the previous question, why do you think the author chose a remote town – and an even more remote roadside motel – for the setting of this novel? How do you think the story would have changed with a different setting? 
  1. Discuss the way the killer was finally stopped. Do you think those involved did the right thing? Do you think, especially with consideration of the time period, that they could have done anything differently? 

About the Author 

Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls. Her debut novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada.

Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat. 

The Sun Down Motel
Simone St. James, author of The Sun Down Motel

Purchasing The Sun Down Motel 

If you are interested in buying the paperback version of The Sun Down Motel, click here.

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

More From Simone St. James 

Did you enjoy my review of The Sun Down Motel? Need another great Simone St. James novel to read? Here are my favorites! 

The Book of Cold Cases 

The Broken Girls 

Murder Road 

The Haunting of Maddy Clare 

An Inquiry into Love and Death 

The Other Side of Midnight 

Silence for the Dead 

Ghost 19 

Lost Among the Living 

Amazon Notice 

The Reading Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, at no added cost to you.

The Sun Down Motel
The Sun Down Motel

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