My God was this book good...a haunted who done it. It wasn't scary, but it was creepy and I enjoyed every second I spent in this story
My God was this book good...a haunted who done it. It wasn't scary, but it was creepy and I enjoyed every second I spent in this story
Oh it was so good. Just so fun. Ending was honestly a little so-so. However, I enjoyed this classic take on a haunted motel story. Such a fun element to jump between stories as well. If you‘re craving a classic not-to-spooky ghost story, I highly recommend this one. #ghoststory #mystery #horror #horrorbook #motel
Very soft pick. I was drawn in by the ghosts and the mysterious disappearances, clearly everything would be linked somehow, and at the center of it all is a cursed motel. Unfortunately the dual timelines made for a lot of repetition as the 1982 sleuth and the 2017 sleuth both uncover the same clues. The story bogs down as the layers pile up and ultimately the whole thing collapses in a mush of mediocrity. Great premise; execution needs work. #aam
I‘m enjoying the ghost story and murder mystery very much, but the sloppy writing just keeps getting under my skin. “Her eyes were slightly wide, the only tell that she knew who he was.”
Um, do you mean besides the fact that she just greeted him by name? Cause that feels like a sign that she probably knows who he is. 🙄
This was a good mystery/ghost story. The mystery had a surprising “culprit,” and I didn‘t think the ghost story was particularly scary. But that‘s just me. I would recommend this book and wouldn‘t object to reading more books by Simone St. James, the October #AuthorAMonth .
I started this book over and over for the last couple years. Finally read it this month for #authoramonth and finished it with mere hours left in October. (I really wish October was a longer month, it‘s such a good one!) I‘m reading The Haunting of Maddy Clare as well, but won‘t get it finished today. Oh and they are both good! I love the atmosphere in her books!
Part paranormal thriller, part true crime mystery and I was invested from the start! A spooky, haunted motel, and a serial killer on the loose made this the perfect read for the season. This is my first Simone St. James and not the last. I fell a little behind on my #12bookchallenge this year, but I‘m hoping to get a few more completed! 4.5/5
This moves back and forth between the perspectives of two different people at two different points in time, 1982 and 2017. In 1982 the character just found some papers printed by a ditto machine. A ditto machine! I haven‘t heard that term in so long. I had completely forgotten about them. Listening to the book and hearing those words made my brain kind of go “boing!” How many people have read this book and not (cont) ⬇️
So much going on in this one it was hard for me to commit to either the mystery thriller aspect or the supernatural one. A so-so read for me.
@Soubhiville #AuthorAMonth #AAM
OMG, this book 😵 I was so tense and freaked out while reading this. Not my usual jam, but I REALLY enjoyed it. Such a satisfying book.
Many many words found for Team #BOOklovers!
#aam #scarathlon #bookspinbingo #OutStandingOctober
@TheAromaofBooks @Bookwormjillk @Andrew65
Second St. James book complete (another bucket list item crossed off!). I enjoyed this more than the first but overall, it felt very PG13 thriller to me — repetitive timelines, mystery that is easily/cleanly solved, hero has no scratches on her, etc. It was definitely a quick read, I just think her style probably isn‘t for me - but I get why she‘s well liked. #AuthorAMonth #Scarathlon #TeamWhoYaGonnaCall
Ok. A book this good shouldn't have taken me as long as it did but trying to read this at night in a home that makes weird sounds and then randomly nothing but silence creeped me enough to just read this during the day which thanks to work took longer than what even I wanted.
St. James did an amazing job of keeping me in my toes!
#popsugarreadingchallenge #taylorswiftreadingchallenge
Love this seasonal #Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
1. I love Reese‘s peanut butter cups
2. I don‘t like anything too scary but I do like a slow-paced psychological spooky book. Thrillers and something like the tagged are my favorites.
Thanks for the tag, @Eggs !
New month (my favorite month), new set of books. Starting these two today. The tagged for #authoramonth
When my current read gives me such a good quote featuring two of my favorite books, I need to gush about it.
Please know that this book is so good I've scared myself a few times already reading this at night!
I am really digging this unique blend of straightforward mystery and supernatural spooky elements St. James has going, in this book and The Broken Girls. Not sure any of her other works have quite the same mix (we know I don't do thrillers so I'm hesitant to explore her whole bibliography), but I would happily read another in this vein. 1/?
A bit predictable, but still a page turner! (12 months to read 12 books recommended by 12 friends)
⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Litsy #TITLESANDTUNES June challenge is #GUILTYPLEASURE. Such a fun one to pick! My pairing with The Sun Down Motel is the song 80s Mercedes by Maren Morris. Pop country is 100% my guilty pleasure 🤫 and so are mainstream thrillers, so this set is a double whammy! I've still never read anything from St. James; reaallly hoping I can get through it this month. I have a week long vacation, so the conditions are looking primo! 🤞🏻👏🏻☀️🕶️
#TemptingTitles #WithAWeatherWord The one that got me obsessed with her in the first place. @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Loved this mystery/haunted story about Carly who goes to a creepy little town that has a creepy motel to try to find out what happened to her missing aunt. 1982/2017 timelines. Loved it👻
This is my third by Simone St. James and I have given 4⭐️ to each one. They are on the border of mystery and supernatural and are compelling and quick reads. When you need a gripping, pacey, fun thriller mystery with good female leads try this author- I know I will continue to have her on my must read list!
In parallel stories set in 1982 and 2017, Viv and her niece Carly investigate the murders of multiple women in the small town of Fell, NY, where the Sun Down Motel reveals traces of the dead. The twist is that in 2017, Viv has been missing for over 30 years, and it is up to Carly to retrace her steps. This was a sufficiently gripping read to rate as a pick, although the ending seemed a bit contrived and unnecessarily convoluted.
"The night it all ended, Vivian was alone."
A spooky read for this Friday the 13th!
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Simon St. James is an auto-buy author for me now. I love her mystery/paranormal books. The setting for this books is great, a run down motel, and the story is intriguing.
I started this last night and finished it today because it was so much fun
Book 4
I listened to The Sun Down Motel, a ghost story/mystery, by Simone St. James. In hopes of uncovering what happened to her aunt, 20-year-old Carly travels to the small town from which her aunt disappeared 35 years earlier. She gets hired as a night clerk at the seedy motel at which her aunt had worked.
I enjoyed this more than The Book of Cold Cases. It has a dual time line with the narrative told from both Viv & Carly's points of view. I found Viv to be a much more interesting character than Carly, who is a bit bland. The plot itself is fantastic, it's a thriller with a paranormal edge & at times it sent a bit of shiver down my back. (Continued)
Murder meets ghosts for some spooky, mysterious fun. If ghosts don‘t work for you then this book won‘t either. But if you‘re here for a sprinkling of the supernatural you could do a lot worse than this. An excellent palate cleanser.
I can't believe it's been a whole year since I read this one! I need to start re-recommending this to everyone! I loved this book! I loved the writing and loved this story!
January 2022 pick
@12BooksOf2022
@Andrew65
After loving The Book of Cold Cases, I was so excited to read this. I'm relieved to report that it absolutely did not disappoint! I listenesld to most of it since I'm in full panicked Christmas knitting mode, and the narrators did a great job. #audioknitting
Loving this book today! Ive been going back and forth between the paper book and the audio while working on some socks for my son
#audioknitting #knitting
A mix of paranormal and mystery (little more mystery though), The Sun Down Motel is a place where a lot of people have gone missing from, died at, or just generally met misfortune. In 2017, Carly is trying to discover what happened to her Aunt Viv in 1982, who mysteriously disappeared during one of her night shifts. Split POV between Carly and Viv unveils the mystery slowly but intensely. A great listen!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks for the tag @kspenmoll 😊
✨ both, but thriller a little bit more!
✨ haunted house
✨ the tagged came to mind first…St. James does excellent ghost stories! But I also love Riley Sager‘s books.
If you want to play, consider yourself tagged! 🖐🏻
#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94
✨Mystery
✨I can't choose! I love both types of books
✨The tagged book is my forever favorite spooky book
@JessClark78 @BookishMadHatter @VioletMoonBooks
51/22 it was interesting to read/listen to two books by the same author at the same time. I really enjoyed this book set in a dual time line. It was spooky and unsettling but not so much I couldn‘t listen at night. And it had quite a satisfying ending. Spooky and mysterious is definitely my thing. I think I had forgotten that over the last few years but I‘ll definitely be reading more of them & more of St. James too. #scarathlon #teammonstermash
This is the first time I‘ve listened and read books by the same author at the same time. It has really highlighted St. James great skill and made her amulet read author. #scarathlon #teammonstermash
#Scarathlon2022 Photo challenge Day 3: Killer
#TeamMonsterMash #ScarathlonDailyPrompts
This has been on my TBR list since it came out and I finally got around to it! Honestly two years out is pretty good for me. . .
A girl decides to investigate her aunt's disappearance from 35 years earlier. It all revolves around Sun Down Motel and the strange things that happen there.
Great story and writing. This is one that actually is as good as everyone says!
I've never read a book before where paranormal is mixed with murder mystery, but this one had me on the edge of my seat all along. So good! 👻
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#paranormal #murdermystery #LitsyLoveReads
This is the last week for the pool to be open this season so I'm doing some reading while the girls take advantage
Book 144📚 4⭐️
Just another fantastic haunting from St James!👏🏻
I love a spooky dual time line👻
What happened at the Sun Down Motel.. and why does it “wake up”…
Part true crime sleuth, part paranormal, The Sun Down Motel should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn‘t grab me like the other thrillers/mysteries I‘ve read lately. This has a solid premise and the motel definitely spooked me, but it wasn‘t as “un-putdownable” as I wanted it to be. I found it to be fairly predictable and the ending a little too neat. Nothing really “wrong” with the book - I think my expectations were just too high. 3.5⭐️
"The night it all ended, Vivian was alone."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
This was a good book. A semi slow burn but overall good. A mix of true crime with a dash of paranormal
I just went in a wild ride with twists and turns galore. Carly is a twenty year old woman who goes searching the past for answers about her missing aunt. Some people aren‘t whom they seem to be and yo I ever know who‘s going to show up in the small town of Fell. Get lost as you follow along with Carly‘s journey. I promise you won‘t be able to put this one down.