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Rating: Very Good

Genre:
Paranormal Horror + Mystery Thriller

The story follows two characters in two different time frames, Vivian in 1982 and Clary in 2017. The concerned place is The Sun Down Motel in Fell in both stories. Vivan used to work as a night clerk in the motel before she disappeared. Her niece Clary decides to go to that motel to investigate the disappearance of her aunt and that is when she is also offered the same job at the motel.

This is the first time I read for Simone St. James and I have to say that she seems to be very experienced in creating a very spooky atmosphere. I absolutely loved the chilly atmosphere in this book. For obvious reasons, I kept this book as my daily read before bed and I especially enjoyed the 1980s feel of it. The author has created the perfect setting for both the stories.

I am not a big fan when it comes to following two different characters at two different time frames. I know that I will end up liking one story more than the other and I usually end up liking the one that is set in the past more. This kind of structure is not a favorite of mine but thankfully in this book both the stories take place at the same place which made up for not being a fan of this structure. However, sometimes I still was getting confused and mixing up the stories together when it came to secondary characters.

Sometimes and specifically with some parts of the ending, I felt the writer went over the top with the events and the characters. I mean a little of subtlety in things would have ended a book on a higher term. For example, the presence of the character Callum or at least showing him at the end in that way was totally unnecessary. I mean it would not have hurt if he was made into a good or just neutral side character. He acting by the end that way (You will know what I mean when you read the book) made things sound somehow unintentionally cheesy.

Overall, this was an extremely entertaining book and I would rather categorize it as a paranormal horror murder mystery than a mystery thriller due to the vast paranormal elements that present in the story from start to end.