About the Book:
Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.
Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.
My Review:
I have had my eye on this book for months and I am so glad I grabbed the audiobook! I loved the alternating narrators and the moodiness and overall chilling atmosphere of this wonderful thriller.
The story alternates between the 1980s when Viv, a young woman passing thought Fell, New York, takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. Viv intends to continue on to New York City and work as an actress, but she is sidetracked in Fell. From the start, there are eerie and unexplained occurrences at the motel and a building sense of dread.
Fast forward to 2017 and Carly is Viv’s niece who is determined to find out what happened to her Aunt Viv decades before. Carly’s mother rarely mentioned her sister but Viv is driven to solve her aunt’s disappearance.
These two women are very smart, capable and strong personalities who are similar in many ways. How could Viv have disappeared without a trace? Carly soon uncovers several other young woman who died mysteriously at the same time as her aunt Viv. In the alternating timelines, we learn that Viv was also investigating the deaths of the same young women. The police had seemed to have given up on the deaths but Viv was obsessed with learning what happened to them.
There are several very memorable characters in this book, and let me just say that you do need to have a belief in the supernatural to accept the premise of this book. There are ghosts and unexplained phenomena at the Sun Down Motel and they are all spooky as hell! I loved how the author mixed crime, mystery, thriller and paranormal genres in this story. The underlying mystery is absolutely fascinating. This book had me hooked and I could not wait to get back to the story.
I can’t explain any more details about the plot without giving it away. The author did an amazing job at making the town of Fell, New York, seem very menacing. Nick and Heather were both great supporting characters, as were Marnie and Alma. If you are a fan of spooky thrillers, then ‘The Sun Down Motel’ is a must-read. I could not put it down!
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