Skip to main content

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James: A Book Review

The Sun Down Motel
Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal
Publisher: Berkely
Release Date: 2020
Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review
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 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.

 My Review: One night in 1982, Viv Delany goes in to work her usual night shift at a haunted motel. However, she disappeared and was never found. In 2017, Carly Kirk comes to the Sun Down Motel to find her missing aunt. Could Carly find the truth about what happened to her mysterious aunt? Her investigation leads her to discover the motel’s secrets and the ghosts that haunt the place.
 
 Viv was the most fascinating character in this story. I liked reading her parts more than Carly. Viv is very daring. She is also very clever and observant. I love her sleuthing skills, and it was fun following her to be on a hunt for a killer. Viv is characterized as an introvert. She does not have many close interactions with other people. However, I found her to be a strong heroine.

 Carly was a bland character. She seemed to be more interested in romance than finding her aunt. I found her to be judgmental and unforgiving. This made it harder to like her. While Viv was a strong character, Carly was weak. Many times she was a damsel in distress. She also made foolish decisions. Therefore, Carly was the opposite of Viv.

 Overall, this novel is full of paranormal elements with a predictable mystery. The setting of the haunted motel had potential. However, it was not developed well. The ghosts did not have much of a personality. They were just there. This made the supernatural element unnecessary. The ending was disappointing and felt anti-climatic. Therefore, I recommend this book if you love paranormal romances. However, I recommend readers to read Mrs. St. James’s earlier works instead because those are her best novels that she has written so far.

Rating 2½ out of 5 stars

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guest Post: The Ladies-in-Waiting: Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh

    Today's guest writer is Alexandra Walsh. She is the author of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , which is a historical thriller surrounding the infamous Tudor queen. In this guest post, Mrs. Walsh discusses the life of Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Isabel Baynton. This post will be sure to fascinate fans of Tudor era. If you enjoy her post, please pick up a copy of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy ! Thank you, Mrs. Walsh! The Ladies-in-Waiting – Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh     One of the most enjoyable things about writing an historical novel is discovering the tiny details that make the period real on the page. While I was researching The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , I spent a great deal of time hunting out the life stories of the women who surrounded the young queen in order to create a group of realistic friends and confidants.       There are some well-known names linked with Catherine and her downfall: Lady Jane Boleyn,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Post by Aleksey Linetskiy: The Women Behind the Klondike Story

       Today's guest writer is Aleksey Linetskiy. He is the co-author of Finch and Hawk:   The Klondike Letters , which is a unique yearly subscription in which the reader reads a story by mail. In this guest post, he introduces us to a few historical women of the Klondike era. Some of these women are Alice Freeman, Flora Shaw, and Helen Dare. Thank you, Mr. Linetskiy! The Women Behind the Klondike Story        Before we began writing Finch and Hawk: The Klondike Letters , my partner, Alona Umansky, and I spent a great deal of time researching the Klondike Gold Rush. We were interested in finding the stories of people who maybe didn’t become rich and famous but still went through the experience of a great stampede.  As we were reading the newspapers of the time and firsthand accounts, it became very clear to us that we wanted to tell at least part of the story through the women’s eyes. There were so many incredible women who underto...
3 comments
Read more

Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar: A Book Review

Daughter of Rome Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2020 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.      When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, th...
Post a Comment
Read more