Meh. For all the hype surrounding this book, I was expecting something really cool. It was just a run of the mill ghosty-mystery. I liked the creepy setting- but the ending was pretty obv. I did think it was readable and atmospheric at times, but definitely not as polished as I expect from Adult Mysteries.

Since this book came out, I've been hearing so much about it. How it was such a good, creepy mystery-- so it sounded like the perfect book to read around Halloween time!! To say I was hyped going into this was an understatement. I was 100% on board to love this book (especially because I've been reading and loving mainly Adult Mystery/Thrillers lately).

And I did like this book. But did I LOVE it?? No. I think a list is in order to organize my feelings about this book:

▪️The Setting. This book is set in a motel on the outskirts of a town called Fell. Both the motel and the town brought some interesting things to the story. The motel was one of those relics from the past-- those cheap motels that are never updated and probably end up being rented by the hour at some point. The town of Fell was basically a place where time stood still. The modern part of this story takes place in 2017, but it was clear little had changed from the 2nd timeline of 1982. I enjoyed the creepy motel setting and the way Fell felt unchanged by time-- it was endearing in a way and made things easier to figure things out in the 2017 timeline.

▪️The Dual Timelines. The first timeline is in 1982 and features Viv, a girl who was originally going to New York City, but winds up in Fell working the night shift at The Sun Down Motel. While there, she discovers that there's been a string of unsolved murders taking place in and around Fell.
The second timeline is present day (2017) and features Carly, Viv's niece who is determined to find out what happened to her. Viv disappeared while working the night shift at The Sun Down Motel and has never been found. Carly has always been curious about why her mother refused to talk about her aunt that she's never seen or met beyond a faded newspaper clipping. She ends up traveling to Fell and working the same shift that Viv worked at The Sun Down-- all the while looking into what could've happened to Viv.

▪️It was an interesting concept and definitely could've worked, but for some reason it just didn't for me. The 2 timelines were so similar-- the girls were around the same age, were both very similar in how naive they were, they were both investigating virtually the exact same crimes and coming to the same conclusions, and they were both living in the same apartment and working at the same motel. Adding to that, the town of Fell was like a time-warp-- it was practically unchanged from Viv's time there to Carly's. Because of these things, I was forever getting the details confused (was Carly the one who saw the ghost that time, or was it Viv?? Was Carly the one who figured that one detail out, or was it Viv?). I needed more differences in the characters and their movements to be able to keep things straight.

▪️The Ghosts. Normally I do not like a surprise ghost book. I mean, I don't mind a this place is creepy and may be haunted book, but this was straight up real ghosts in your face from the get-go. And usually that would bug me and make it feel fake, but here I actually liked it. The ghosts were scary in a The Sixth Sense kind of way-- they were angry and had unfinished business. I really think the ghosts saved this book for me.

▪️The Mystery. I thought it was an interesting mystery. Did I think that BOTH Viv and Carly would figure out everything a serial killer was doing when the police couldn't?? I mean, that's kind of far fetched-- but it was a really good mystery to follow despite that. There were multiple twists and I kind of did love that because I saw the major twist coming, but didn't figure out the minor twist at all (even though the minor twist was kind of unnecessary and didn't really make a ton of sense).

▪️The Pacing. The best part of this book (besides the creepy ghosts) was that it didn't drag. It's the kind of book that will hook you and keep you wanting to read just one more chapter.

▪️Is it YA or Adult?? I know this is classified as Adult Mystery, but it felt VERY YA to me. It's one of those things where just because a book is about teens, doesn't mean it's YA-- and just because this one is about girls in their 20's doesn't mean it's Adult. I think there's more to those categories than age-- and this one just didn't have the Adult Mystery feel. I don't have a definitive reason why I feel it's YA beyond the fact that the writing felt like YA-- it's just my gut feeling being a reader of both genres, but I feel it works better as YA. One reason could be that it didn't feel as polished or developed as Adult Mysteries usually are. Not that I'm talking crap on YA, it's just that Adult Mysteries usually get pretty deep into their characters and this one was very surface level.

I definitely had mixed and complicated feelings on this one. I think some things could've been done better and that the 2 main characters could've been differentiated better-- but I do not regret reading this. It really was the perfect Halloween-time read and I was happy that it was a page-turner.

OVERALL: I'm in between on this one. I liked the creepy motel and the real ghosts that resided there. I wished the characters were better developed and better distinguished from one another. I do recommend this, and I think if you're looking for an easy Mystery to read, this is your book.

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The Sun Down Motel, takes readers on a spine-tingling journey through time and mystery. When Viv Delaney takes a job as a night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in 1982, she quickly realizes that there's something off about the place. Decades later, her niece Carly Kirk arrives in Fell, New York to investigate Viv's unsolved disappearance from the motel. But as Carly delves deeper into the Sun Down's dark secrets, she finds herself facing the same hauntings and terrors that her aunt encountered. A haunting and atmospheric tale, The Sun Down Motel will keep readers on edge until the very last page. ( )

CW: Murder, rape

4.5 Stars

Well that was utterly gripping!

I loved the dual time line and character narration. It meant that I absolutely had to continue reading, despite the sandpaper feeling in my eyes, because I needed to know how everything unfolded. The book is very well written with tension so thick I got the 'stress sweats' in parts. All of the characters were incredibly well developed and engaging.

I thoroughly enjoyed this atmospheric novel. ( )

Laugh out loud funny at times that delights at skewering common fantasy tropes. Can get a bit much at times; way too many poop and fart jokes for my taste.

Huge fan of the LGBT love story. ( )

This book had so much potential but fell flat for me in a few places.

It was an eerie read, I'll give you that. But you know how sometimes, too many coincidences can really make all of them a bit less creepy? That's what was happening with The Sun Down Motel.

I LOVED the way the story was told from both girls perspectives simultaneously. It gave the reader more information than Carly and made it a bit more eerie. Both girls go from shy and unsure of themselves to strong, determined main characters and I loved their personal growth and dealing with the evidence they were digging up.

My main issues come with the anticlimactic ending, and the loose threads that never really made sense. But I think most of it comes with the foreshadowing not being laid out as prevalent as the coincidences were and all chapters forgetting the sub plots going on through out the book. All of the side characters were there to move the plot forward and nothing more. Which always makes a lackluster read for me.

Overall, I liked it. But I wouldn't read it again. If you're looking for a light spooky thriller to read before bed this is worth checking out, but if you're wanting to be terrified of strange smells in the night, it misses the mark. ( )