The Sun Down Motel

I like when I pick up a book with no background knowledge and end up genuinely enjoying it. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James was not my “normal” type of read, but it was a BOTM club pick for me in January and I ended up really enjoying this part ghost story, part murder mystery. Plus, it’s dual timeline!

Welcome to Fell, a town that doesn’t seem to change but has some mysteries of its own. Whether it’s 1982 or 2017, there’s a story to be found. In 1982, Viv starts working as the Night Clerk at the Sun Down Motel and dealing with the weirdness of the town. Then…she goes missing into the night. Welcome to 2017, where Viv’s niece, Carly, comes to Fell and finds herself drawn in by the mystery of her aunt, the mystery of the town’s murdered girls, and the Sun Down Motel itself. The place is weird, trust me. And there’s men who provided flirtationship opportunities and maybe some research potential, friends on the inside, and police officers who may or may not be able to save the day.

So I enjoyed this book for what it was. Murder mystery, ghost story, dual timeline. I was sold. It’s not GROUND BREAKING but I didn’t need it to be. It was a good read. I read it pretty quickly–which is a big indicator for me–and I think it’s a good story. Being dual timeline, there does seem to be a lot of “repetition” that people have complained about, but I thought it was pretty easy to keep the two stories separate. I could definitely see this becoming a mini-series sometime.