[Review] The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Sun Down Motel
By Simone St. James
Published by Berkley
5 out of 5 Stars
TW: Mentions of Rape, Murder, Mentions of Depression/Anxiety Disorder, Cancer.
We follow two timelines: the first focuses on 20-year-old Viv Delaney working as the night-shift clerk at Fell’s Sun Down Motel in 1982. The second takes place in 2017, following Viv’s niece 21-year-old niece Carly Kirk as she travels to Fell in order to investigate her aunt’s disappearance that took place 35 years ago. The book alternates between Carly and Viv chapters: the ones focusing on Carly were written in a first-person POV (Point of View), and her aunt’s were in the third person. I’d have liked it if both timelines had been narrated in the first person, as Vivian was such an interesting and captivating character that I couldn’t get enough of her. I connected with her far more than with Carly; Vivian’s loneliness combined with her determination and anger made it so easy for me to relate to her.
Even though Viv was my favorite by a mile, I didn’t dislike Carly and enjoyed reading about both timelines, which is rare for me. I believe that St. James' approach of having both characters investigating the same thing and connected by the same places (the town of Fell and the Sun Down) tied the different perspectives together seamlessly. In one of her Goodreads notes, Simone St. James mentions how she wanted the town of Fell to be a character in the novel: “I wanted readers to feel like they were taking a temporary trip to a place that was weird and creepy and a little surreal.”
As far as I’m concerned, she absolutely succeeded. As I read, I kept thinking of Fell as one of the protagonists in the story, which is something I’ve experienced only with King’s IT (with the town of Derry.) The other non-human character in this novel is the Sun Down Motel, a place that hasn’t been touched by time and remains in 2017 almost identical to how it was in 1982. The author described it so well, both in regards to how it looks and how eerie it feels, a liminal place connecting two different times.
The novel’s major theme is the constant state of danger AFAB (Assigned female at birth) people are in regardless of what life they lead. It doesn’t matter if you’re married, single, a parent, childless, someone that “sleeps around” a lot, or someone that never “parties.” Regardless of all the precautions you take, and how aware of your surroundings you try to be, if society views you as a woman, you’re always in danger. As the author puts it, “How it didn’t matter how afraid or how careful you were—it could always be you.” This sentence perfectly sums up the horror element in The Sun Down Motel, how scary it is to have been assigned female at birth in a society that hates women. It also throws some supernatural elements into the mix, but I don’t want to say much more about it in order to avoid spoilers.
This is one of the few mystery novels I’ve read where I actually enjoyed the romance subplot. The characters had chemistry, and their relationship helped move the plot forward. I think a big reason why I ended up liking the romance so much was this quote: “It was strange, so strange to have someone share your crazy delusions. Someone who saw the same ghosts you did.” I’m not sure why I loved this quote as much as I did, perhaps it was because we can interpret the ghosts in this sentence to be the remnants of trauma.
Overall, this was one of my favorite reads of 2022 so far, and I feel confident in saying that it will be featured in my top ten this year. All the characters were well developed, the plot was gripping, and the constant jumping between timelines kept my anxiety at an all-time high. The novel thoroughly creeped me out, which, again, is not something that happens often. I highly recommend that horror fans check this one out, but if you like stories that are more graphic, this one is probably not for you. I can’t wait to read St. James' other works, if they’re half as good as The Sun Down Motel I’m sure I’ll love them.
