Join BookBrowse today and get access to free books, our twice monthly digital magazine, and more.

Read advance reader review of The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Sun Down Motel

by Simone St. James

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James X
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

  • First Published:
    Feb 2020, 336 pages

    Paperback:
    Oct 2020, 352 pages

    Genres

  • Rate this book


Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers
Buy This Book

About this Book

Reviews


Page 1 of 7
There are currently 45 member reviews
for The Sun Down Motel
Order Reviews by:
  • Sandy P. (Ashburn, VA)
    I ❤️ Creepy Motels!
    Are creepy motels, the '80's , and ghosts your thing? Then this is the book for you! I truly loved this story. It's been a long time since a book has given me the heebie jeebies, but this one did. The creepy motel setting, perfect. Supernatural elements, that for me, were not over done, again, perfect. The eerie atmosphere and the 80's time line, superb. This book is a definite must read if you enjoy mysteries with these elements!
  • Susan T. (Bahama, NC)
    Couldn't put it down!!
    I really enjoyed this book. It was a good mystery that flipped back and forth between the present and the past with a few supernatural characters thrown in. I'm not a huge supernatural fan, but in this case, I felt that it really added a thriller element to the story that worked very well.
  • Jessica F. (Revere, MA)
    Exciting!
    The Sun Down Motel was an exciting read! I enjoyed both Viv and Carly's characters as the book switched from 1982 to 2017. They were both strong, determined women who were fearless in their quest for the truth. The story was steeped in mystery and suspense. For anyone who enjoys the show, "Stranger Things", I feel like this book is somewhat similar...bouncing into parallel universes. Carly was experiencing the same events and situations as her Aunt Viv 35 years prior. Ghost story, mystery, and crime solving all wrapped into one great package!
  • Linda W. (Arlington, TX)
    Five Stars
    Simone St. James has written several other novels that combine mystery and ghost story, and here's another 5-star one that takes place in upper New York state. It switches back and forth from Viv, the young night clerk at the Sun Down Motel, who disappears in 1982, and her niece Carly in 2017, who takes the same night clerk job hoping to find out what happened to her aunt. It's a clever meshing of mystery and ghost story that has believable characters, like people you might know. It moves right along without a wasted work or scene. Highly recommended.
  • Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL)
    Why I love bookbrowse!
    Why? Because I get to read new, to me, authors that are just so good! This is one of them. Without giving anything away, Carly moves to Fell, New York to look into her aunt Viv's disappearance while she was working the night shift at the Sun Down Hotel! A creepy mystery that's hard to put down. Get it, read it! Enjoy!
  • Ruth H. (Sebring, FL)
    Carly's Adventure
    A well written mystery I thoroughly enjoyed! I had not read this author before and am now wanting to read her other books. Such interesting characters, Vivian and Carly, Simon, Marnie and Alma, I could just see each one of them. I like the style of this book being the past and the present. The description of the hotel was spot on since I grew up in a small town that had a very similar hotel. Carly had to have some "guts" to go there and discover what really happened. I especially liked the surprise ending! Fun read!
  • Nanette S. (San Pierre, IN)
    The Sun Down Motel
    Excellent story. This is my first experience reading a Simone St. James novel and I enjoyed every minute of it. The storylines of the past and present, told through Carly and Viv, were easy to follow. The creepiness of the motel adds to both storylines. Something happened to Viv back in 1982 at the Sun Down Motel. Move forward to 2017 when Carly decides, she herself, is going to Fell, NY and the motel to find out exactly what happened to Viv back then. Once she gets to the Sun Down Motel she sees that nothing has changed at all from when it was first built, and the creepiness of the motel hasn't changed either.
    The suspense just keeps building as the pages are turned.
    This one was worth it and I will read more by this author.

Beyond the Book:
  The American Roadside Motel

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Clear
    Clear
    by Carys Davies
    John Ferguson is a principled man. But when, in 1843, those principles drive him to break from the ...
  • Book Jacket: Change
    Change
    by Edouard Louis
    Édouard Louis's 2014 debut novel, The End of Eddy—an instant literary success, published ...
  • Book Jacket: Big Time
    Big Time
    by Ben H. Winters
    Big Time, the latest offering from prolific novelist and screenwriter Ben H. Winters, is as ...
  • Book Jacket: Becoming Madam Secretary
    Becoming Madam Secretary
    by Stephanie Dray
    Our First Impressions reviewers enjoyed reading about Frances Perkins, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
Half a Cup of Sand and Sky
by Nadine Bjursten
A poignant portrayal of a woman's quest for love and belonging amid political turmoil.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Stone Home
    by Crystal Hana Kim

    A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.

  • Book Jacket

    The Flower Sisters
    by Michelle Collins Anderson

    From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.

Win This Book
Win The Funeral Cryer

The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu

Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

M as A H

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.