Twenty year old Carly goes to Fell, New York to investigate her aunt Vivian's disappearance in 1982. Vivian disappeared from the Sun Down Motel, where she worked as a night clerk. Carly takes a job as the night clerk at the same motel. Strange things seem to be happening such as doors to rooms not rented, that without reason, suddenly open. There also seem to be ghosts haunting the place.
Carly spends time at the library tracking all of missing women of the area, who disappeared before her aunt, Vivian did. Slowly, she puts together what she thinks happened and who is responsible. This is a creepy story filled with a real cast of characters. ( )

My January BotM choice. Yay me for picking it.

I usually do not enjoy bouncing back and forth between timelines. I'd say maybe I'm getting used to it. But, I think it was just well written and a good enough story that it didn't matter. It didn't distract or confuse me like some do. The chapters clearly label when and what timeline you're on. ( )

“She knew what the 11 o'clock news would say: There was a killer on the loose. People should lock their doors. Women should look over their shoulders, try not to be alone at night. Parents should look out for their daughters and always know where they are. Women should carry a whistle or a flashlight. Because if you were a woman, the world was a dangerous place.

This was an absolutely wonderful story. Full of suspense, tangible fear and dodgy questionable characters. I was completely pulled in. It's told from two timelines - Viv from the early 1980's and Carly from 2017. Viv went missing in the early 80's and Carly is her niece, going back to the place she went missing and trying to understand how and why...and who.

The story is an absolute race. You slowly get to know Viv and Carly through their day to day interactions and moments in Fell, New York. The story is eerie and definitely makes reading it until late in the night (early in the morning?) the perfect setting to get nice and spooked.

Although the story was wonderful and the writing so good, my favorite part was the overall feeling of threat and violence that every women in the story feels. It reinforces the knowledge that we haven't changed that much, have we, from early 80's to 2017. Women are still warned to park under lights, don't go around alone, don't leave your drink unattended at a bar or party. Don't dress like you "want" it, don't be too flirty or too cold or too......female. Or it might catch up with you. It resonated so much with me and just tied me to the story and made it so much more real for me. I absolutely loved it. So glad I read this one. ( )

It’s not a flawless book. There were parts that were barely three star worthy and parts that shone at five stars. In the end I read half the book in an afternoon, a sure sign I must have eventually gotten hooked and overlooked the parts that didn’t work for me. ( )

Somewhat overly convoluted murder mystery/ghost story elevated by a strong sense of place and powerful threads of anger and affection running through it. ( )