They say not to judge a book by its cover, and plenty of my author friends have been underwhelmed by proposed cover art. But this cover of the rundown motel, with its strangely appealing retro sign, is perfect. So is the pullquote from Riley Sager, the author of the suspense thriller Lock Every Door.  The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James blends ghostly revenge and family secrets with the creepy timelessness of a forgotten small town.

In the early 1980s, angry teenager Viv sets off for New York City, but lands in upstate New York. She’s just so happy to be away from her family that the tiny town of Fell, and a night clerk job at the run down motel seems like a fine place. She begins to notice, though, that Fell has more than it’s share of disappearances, especially young women.

Years later, long after Viv’s mysteriously disappeared from the motel one night, her niece Carly heads to Fell, New York, trying to discover what’s happened to her aunt. She finds a job as a night clerk at the Sun Down Motel, sitting in Viv’s old spot, doing Viv’s old job.  The motel has barely been renovated, and some of the guests don’t seem to be quite human or really alive.

The two stories collide, mostly in a fated way, but there were times when that was a little confusing. As both young women investigate the disappearing women of Fell, it was hard to keep track of who has uncovered what.

Like in Caitlin Mullen’s Please See Us, some of the drama hinges on which missing girls are worthy of investigation. The disappearance of sweet young mother Cathy is treated differently than mouthy, slutty Victoria Lee. And both Viv and Carly know that if they disappeared, their own disappearances would never be solved.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I have to tell you, my husband spoke to me while I was reading this, and I jumped and almost screamed.

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info