Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Sun Down Motel

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

48 reviews

_forestofpages's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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sfbookgirl's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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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tracy_reads's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Sun Down Motel is a dual timeline novel combining family drama, mystery/psychological thriller and ghosts. In 2017 Carly moves to a small town in upstate New York looking for answers into her aunt’s disappearance 35 years earlier. Turns out young women regularly turned up dead in town. We follow both Viv and Carly, their overlapping investigations and the creepy mysterious goings-on at the Sun Down Motel where they both worked as night clerks. I passed on this book when it was first released. The paranormal aspect just didn’t appeal. But now felt like the right time to give it a go and I’m glad I did. Just the right amount of ghostly creepiness for me. Loved both Viv and Carly and their quest to find the truth. Glad I won’t be staying in any roadside motels in the near future though.

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kaylasonlyheart's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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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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dannybrown59's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I really liked this book. I loved how it went between what happened with Viv and Carly investigating almost the same thing. They were a lot a like and had never even met. There were so many twists and turns in this. As I read it just kept getting more interesting. I didn't think either of the plot twists were all that shocking though but still good.

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