The Sun Down Motel

The Sun Down Motel intertwines two timelines - one following Viv Delaney in 1982 as she works the night shift at an upstate New York motel, and another tracking her niece Carly Kirk in 2017 as she investigates her aunt's mysterious disappearance from the same location. Both women encounter strange occurrences at the Sun Down Motel, where the past refuses to stay buried. The remote motel harbors decades of secrets, and both Viv and Carly must confront supernatural forces while uncovering the truth about a series of unsolved murders from the area. Through parallel investigations separated by 35 years, aunt and niece work to expose long-hidden crimes and face the darker side of their small town. The novel combines elements of ghost story, true crime, and family mystery as the two women's paths begin to converge across time. The Sun Down Motel explores themes of justice delayed, the power of female anger, and how the past continues to haunt the present - both literally and metaphorically.

Readers call this a gripping supernatural thriller that keeps them guessing until the end. Many finished it in one or two sittings. What readers liked: - Dual timeline structure that builds tension - Atmospheric descriptions of the motel setting - Strong female protagonists - Blend of ghost story and murder mystery elements What readers disliked: - Slow pacing in the middle sections - Some found the ending predictable - Character development felt rushed for secondary players - A few readers wanted more closure on certain plot threads Ratings: Goodreads: 4.07/5 (157,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (23,000+ ratings) StoryGraph: 4.1/5 Common reader comments: "Perfect balance of spooky and suspenseful" - Goodreads reviewer "The atmosphere is the real star" - Amazon review "Wished the ending had more impact" - StoryGraph user "Characters' choices sometimes felt unrealistic" - BookBub review

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia A 1950s socialite investigates a family's sinister mansion in the Mexican countryside, uncovering supernatural horrors and dark family secrets.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James A journalist's investigation into a haunted boarding school connects a modern murder to unsolved disappearances from 1950.

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest A salvage crew working in an abandoned Tennessee mansion encounters paranormal activity tied to the house's buried history.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Four seekers arrive at a notoriously unfriendly mansion where systematic terror transforms their stay into a nightmare of psychological breakdown.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager A woman returns to renovate the infamous house her father wrote about in his horror memoir, forcing her to confront the truth about the house's haunted past.

🌟 Author Simone St. James spent over a year researching true crime cases from the 1980s to create an authentic atmosphere for the novel's 1982 timeline. 🏨 The fictional Sun Down Motel was inspired by real roadside motels of upstate New York, particularly those that fell into decline during the economic downturn of the 1970s and '80s. 👻 The book combines two popular genres—true crime and supernatural horror—reflecting a growing trend in contemporary fiction that blends real-world crime with paranormal elements. 📚 Despite being published in 2020, the novel deliberately avoids modern technology in its present-day timeline to maintain the noir atmosphere and allow both timelines to feel equally mysterious. 🔍 The protagonist's amateur sleuthing was influenced by classic teenage detective novels, particularly Nancy Drew, which the author has cited as an early influence on her writing.