I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Carly and Vivian’s chapters. Carly soon realizes that things are not what they seem, just as Vivian did. She arrives in Fell, rents the same room her aunt lived in, and takes up the seat her aunt last occupied: the night clerk at The Sun Down. Aunt Vivian’s disappearance so long ago caused an irreparable rift in her family and she is hellbent on finding out what happened to her. Vivian’s story leads up to this point, but the reader finds out that working nights was the least of her problems.Ĭarly, on the other hand, has just lost her mother.

Thirty-five years ago, she disappeared without a trace. We witness Vivian arriving in Fell and watch as she winds up as the night clerk for the titular Sun Down Motel, a shoddy piece of work on the side of the highway. I’m fond of simplistic voice and introspection, both of which are heavily featured in TSDM. I really enjoyed the prose of this story. Carly is a young girl who has just dropped out of college after the death of her mother and has made her way to New York to find out what happened to her Aunt Vivian, who vanished thirty-five years ago. Viv is a young girl from Illinois come to New York to find her fortune – but somehow she winds up in the town of Fell, unassuming and bland at first glimpse, but whose streets hold dark secrets. We are introduced to our two protagonists: Viv, living in the past, and Carly, the present. James is a perfect example of such a story. After all, ghosts come from pain, loss, anguish and anger.

It is my firm belief that the best ghost stories are rooted in tragedy. If you have not read my blog before, beware: spoilers abound.

The sun down motel simone st james