The Sun Down Motel

By: Simone St. James

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Kirsten Potter

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

An Instant New York Times Best Seller

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 best-selling 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.

©2020 Simone St. James (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"There are very few novels that leave me feeling genuinely spooked....Simone St. James's The Sun Down Motel is very much one of those books, taking twists and turns that are equal parts compelling and creepy." (PopSugar)

“Spooky, unsettling, and brilliantly written, The Sun Down Motel is mesmerizing from the first page. A breathlessly suspenseful supernatural mystery that will hook you early, and never let go.” (Jennifer Hillier, author of Jar of Hearts, ITW Thriller Award-winner for Best Novel)

“Simone St. James takes danger and fear to a new level with The Sun Down Motel, a place so chocked full of secrets, the rooms all but tremble at their door hinges. An excellent blend of mystery and the mysterious. Don't miss this.” (Jamie Mason, author of The Hidden Things)

Simone St James writes the BEST Ghost Stories

Found her by accident a few years ago and can't get enough! Characters are so well written, ghosts come alive to be understood. Already waiting with baited breath for the next!

Love it

Such a good book keeps you guessing on your toes. Readers are great so is the whole book.

great read

very suspenseful murder mystery book, definitely has been one of my favorite. I loved it

Loved it

The narrator's were great and the book is such a good blend of ghost story and crime. I found it to be very enjoyable. The past and present was written very well.

excellent

this is an excellent story for those who enjoy paranormal and mystery. It's wonderfully narrated and beautifully written!

Smone St. James does it again

This book was a second Simone St. James book I've read and loved it as much as the Broken Girls. What I really value about the writing is that it hooks you from the start - there is no long introduction that makes you question if you should continue, from first 5 minutes you are introduced to the main plot. Just as in Broken Girls, we have two time periods that never confuse you, narators did an amazing job showing the personalities of two leading ladies and the other characters as well. The story had a great pace - not too slow nor too fast, very easy to follow, the descriptions are amazing, you feel like you're at the motel. I'm not a fan of paranormal stuff, but Simone St. James again only added a spice of the paranormal, which doesn't take away or take over the story, it just makes everything fit perfectly. I highly recommend this book.

Wow

Loved this book. it was well written and kept me actively involved. highly recommend it.

Excellent!!!

Loved this!!! This was WAY BETTER than I expected!! It’s a mashup of genres...Mystery/Thriller/Paranormal/Romance. It was so so good!!! It’s best to go into it knowing nothing. But there’s so many twists and turns and that creepy vibe, and of course most importantly, ROMANCE!!! Oh and it flips back and forth from the 1980’s to 2017. Well done too!!!

The narrators were awesome and really brought the story to life!!!

Paranormal mystery

Is this a ghost story with a mystery or a mystery with a ghost...? Either way, a great spooky fast read. Two timelines both taking place at the very creepy Sun Down motel...Viv comes to town and gets a night job at the scary motel and 35 years later her niece Carly comes looking for answers about how her aunt disappeared. Two narrator's who both do a great job.

FABULOUS!

I don't usually give perfect scores across the board, but this one? WELL-DESERVED. Man this book was good - I work an office job and and listened to it non-stop both at work and at home. I finished it in three days which is unheard of for me and an 11 hour book but I literally could not stop reading. I can now say that I am an OFFICIAL Simone St. James fan and I cannot wait to read more of her books and will wait anxiously for her next release!

I had only read one other book of hers prior to The Sundown Motel, The Broken Girls, and absolutely loved it! It was creepy, spooky, suspenseful, well-narrated, superbly written, and utterly gripping. I knew that if I had enjoyed that one as much as I did, then this one just HAD to be as good, if not better. The Sundown Motel was did not disappoint! St James has the capability to write characters that you become completely invested in. Her scenarios and the flow of her writing is like watching a movie - everything goes in the direction it's intended and it just feels right, even the twists and turns. She can REALLY build tension, then either pull it all the way back or slam you with a twist! For me, this is one of the traits that creates a real page-turner and I was enthralled the entire time.

This book had me gasping, yelling, cheering, all of the things you do when you're so completely hooked onto a story that you just can't wait to see what happens next! The ladies who narrated the characters of Carly and Viv, as well as the other people involved in each of their story-lines, were wonderfully engaging. They acted their roles in a believable and entertaining way that left me nervous, happy, relieved, freaked out, etc! As many of us listeners of audio books know, a bad narrator can completely ruin an otherwise good story - that was never even an inkling of a worry with this book. Well done to Brittany Pressley and Kirsten Potter!

If you're looking for spooky, twisty, suspense thriller that will remind you of other famous stories of villainous hotels such as The Shining or Psycho, this is definitely the book for you! It's got ghosts, it's got murder, it's got strong, kick-ass female characters who you root for the entire time! The Sundown Motel is a winner and Simone St. James can WRITE! Now I just have to decide which of her books to read next! Highly recommend this - if you like this genre, please give it a shot!