Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Sun Down Motel

I really enjoyed this book! I found it to be spookier than your average thriller and loved the good-old-fashion mystery storyline. The Sun Down Motel switches between two characters - Viv Delaney in 1982 and her niece, Carly Kirk, in 2017. Carly’s aunt Viv mysteriously disappeared while working at the Sun Down Motel in 1982 and Carly returns to Fell, New York to solve what happened to her long-lost aunt in the present-day 2017.

I don’t normally enjoy the back and forth between two different characters and periods of time, but I loved trying to solve the mystery while reading about Viv’s and Carly’s experiences. If you’re looking for something spooky, you’ll find your fair share of ghosts and weird noises, but nothing so scary that it will keep you up at night. As the author Simone St. James says in the dedication, this book is definitely for murderinos.

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maddycumerlato's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

What. A. Ride. The Sun Down Motel is the perfect mix of Nancy-Drew murder mystery and old Hollywood “El Royale” influence.

The novel is split into two perspectives; the first, a young Vivian Delaney looking for a new start in NYC but ending up as a night clerk for a seedy motel, and the second, Vivian’s niece Carly who follows her footsteps 35 years later. The two stories interweave with each other as

both women search for the answer to a series of murders in the small New York town

. This structure, while it was a bit confusing to keep up with, was incredibly satisfying when one woman would learn something and the other slowly crept upon the same answer in a later chapter. So many loose ends coming together… nothing more satisfying than that!

The characters of this novel were strong and multi-faceted, realistic in their words and their actions, but not too overly developed (is that a thing? Personally I think it is, so we’re going with it).

I especially loved Officer Alma Trent and her kind sternness from the 1982 timeline, as well as rugged hotel guest Nick and friendly yet timid roommate Heather from the 2017 timeline.

Carly, on the other hand, reads a bit traditional “I’m not like other girls and love to read, how crazy!!1!1!1!1!1” which is… slightly off putting. But can be overseen!!

I absolutely love this book and i think it’s perfect for a bit of a spook!!

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wordwilderness's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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siobhanward's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Holy disappointment, Batman. This was not good...

I was really excited to read this, because I really enjoyed The Broken Girls by the same author, but man was this a let-down. The premise seemed decent, although kind of basic. However, I was pretty much struck right away by how ~unique~ Carly was, which really pulled me out of the story. Like, ok, when you're 17 and writing fanfiction for the first time, having a clear self-insert character who is super attractive (but doesn't know it), nerdy and "odd" is one thing. But being a best-selling author and doing it is... less ok...

The only person more annoying than Carly was Heather, who didn't really play a role other than occasionally finding information on the internet... Why was her being on medication mentioned so many times?? Again, she just seemed like a //quirky// friend for Carly, and a way of pointing out that the weird girls you make fun of for being obsessed with true crime have a purpose?? idk man, there were also a LOT of descriptions of outfits for some reason?? Including one character who was wearing a button down, a hoodie and a jacket because he "really knew how to layer" ???????

(here be some spoilers, so you've been warned)

I really, really hated the weird, unnecessary demonization of Borderline Personality Disorder. As an illness, BPD is already portrayed as scary, and St. James does nothing but help that by having a character who is obsessive about his (murderous) grandfather's death and then tries to kill Carly. Really?? His diagnosis of BPD served no purpose other than serving as a "reason" for him being obsessive and murderous

Anyway, the long and short of it is, this wasn't worth my time. Go listen to some true crime podcasts while wearing a sassy graphic tee and you'll basically get the gist of the book.

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shahana_bookquoting's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

this had a supernatural element to it which i really dig. YA thrillers are not something i pick up often but this was good, fast paced, decent twist, a good nicely wrapped up ending. gave me a bit of sadie vibes in the beginning but sadie is superior. like way superior & also way darker. (shouldn't be comparing but still🤷‍♀️)

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jesspages's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

While there were some things I saw coming, the suspense and the story were so enthralling that I was hooked until the end

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