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9.07k reviews for:

El Motel Sun Down

Simone St. James

3.98 AVERAGE


Love how Vic perspective was very mysterious. And play out really beautifully. This story has the perfect blend of spine tingling suspense.
adventurous mysterious
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Aunt Viv is an icon, a legend, & she is the moment. I wish we could have seen more about what Callum’s deal was, his whole thing was kind of abrupt. Alma reminds me of Ron Swanson with her resistance to questioning lol. 
dark inspiring mysterious sad 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: No
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Carly goes to Fell where her aunt disappeared in 1982. She decides to look into the cold case starting a the Sun Down Motel and gets a job as a night clerk where her aunt had worked.  This book was so different than my typical picks.  I am used to reading murder mysteries with a surprising twist but this one was hard to pinpoint because of a supernatural aspect.  
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Spooky, great for October.

Finally! A ghost story! I wouldn't say I was particularly spooked (though this one was spooky without being even remotely scary) and I had no trouble putting the book down when I needed to do something else.

There was nothing particularly surprising about this one, though I'm unsure if that's intentional or not. Carly was relatable and Viv was a little too perfect. The bad guys were obvious right away (St. James really tipped her hand there) and there wasn't nearly enough doubt as to their respective badness to make the reveals shocking. But even still I found myself rooting for Carly and Viv in this tiny little town just trying to find the truth behind way too many missing and murdered girls.
adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes