Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Nothing Remains Hidden Forever

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

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I read Simone St. James’s first novel The Haunting of Maddy Clare years ago – it was one of those books I mostly enjoyed, and thought had some flaws. Basically, good enough to check out the author again at some point, especially given that this was a first novel, but not so good that I was going to go out of my way to get another of her novels. She has written quite a few more novels since that original one, and I was curious […]

Picture, If you will. . . .

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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All right, I know that is not a legit Twilight Zone quote, but it is the perfect intro to this book.  This was a ride.  Great mystery and ghosts, how can you go wrong?   Young Viv Delaney, on her way from Illinois to New York City, ends up at a rundown motel, just off the main road, in Fell, New York. You know the kind of motel, mid-century, pull your car up to the door of your room, and the power tends to dramatically […]

Night Owls

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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Years ago, I worked a late night shift at a security desk. The human body is simply not built for such work. Try as I might, I never really adjusted. I kept hearing noises and thinking there was a looming presence nearby. I gave my ghosts names. I learned to lean into the creepiness, even though I thought disaster was looming at every turn. It’s the typical paranoia induced by a lack of sleep and company. Night shift fiction often takes me back to those […]

The Broken Girls is a creepy page-turner

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

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After the Sun Down Motel, I went in search of Simone St. James’s other books. The Broken Girls had the best reviews, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about teenage girls whose families had abandoned them. I’m glad I checked it out! It wasn’t quite as breathtaking as the Sun Down Motel, but it is really good.  2014: Twenty years ago, Fiona’s older sister, Deb, was murdered by her boyfriend and her body dumped on the grounds of a former boarding school named […]

The Sun Down Motel is a rollercoaster ride of nail-biting terror

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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The Sun Down Motel hooked me from the start. I loved it that first night of reading. But when I picked it up the second night, I was filled with dread. I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. I chalked it up to being tired and read on. I’m glad I did because it’s an amazing book. But it is a tense book, absolutely gripping and nerve-wracking. I had a headache yesterday evening from clenching my jaw while reading this. I didn’t even realize I […]

A ghost story, almost-horror-novel-but-not, for people who don’t really like ghost stories or horror. And people who do!

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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I don’t normally do ghost stories, but I recently joined Book of the Month, and this was the only one of January’s books that seemed like something I might really like, so I ordered it. Plus it was also being touted as a mystery and a thriller, it fit well with my January theme of reading books by and about badass ladies (double check on that here) and with my run of books about shitty men doing bad things to women and girls. Also it’s […]



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