A review by thecriticalreader
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.0

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I bought it because I’ve seen quite a few people give it rave reviews, but I have to seriously disagree with their opinions. 
 
The book is split between two perspectives: the first is Viv, a twenty-year-old who relocates to Fell, NY in 1982 and mysteriously vanishes that same year. The second is Carly, Viv’s niece who moves to Fell thirty-five years later to investigate her aunt’s life and disappearance. I kept mixing up whose point of view I was reading because they both lack a distinct voice or personality. They are practically indistinguishable, as their only distinguishing trait is that they like true crime. Carly makes it known that she’s “not like other girls,” because she likes to read and learn about true crime. Any depth they have to them is filled to the brim with pure stupidity. They practically beg to get arrested, attacked, murdered, etc. as they wander about “investigating” murders with a wanton disregard for safety (of themselves and others) and the law. They justify their misinformed and risky “investigations” by claiming that they are trying to bring justice to overlooked murdered women, which is the pathetic excuse thriller authors use to distract the readers from the fact that their protagonists have neither the right nor reason to irresponsibly play amateur detective. 
 
The only reason Viv and Carly get anywhere in their endeavors is that the author sets up every possible plot convenience for them, most of them so ludicrously implausible that my eyes got stuck in the back of my head from rolling them so hard. I could go into specifics, but I’m afraid I would lose brain cells from recalling such stupidity. 
 
If you have any respect for yourself or real murder victims, don’t read this book.
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