The Sun Down Motel

“Because Fell, it turned out, had more than one unsolved murder. For such a small place, it was a true-crime buff’s paradise.”

The town of Fell, New York, is a place where people with morbid curiosity end up. This idea recurs throughout the novel, as when Heather claims that Carly’s personality makes her a “Fell girl” despite not being a local. The majority of people living in Fell are either locals who know the town’s dark history and chose to stay, or people who arrive there because of the history and choose to stay because they want to know more.

“‘Number Six Road.’ The woman’s eyebrows lowered. ‘If I was your mother, I would tan your hide. Hitching on that road is dangerous for lone girls.’”

Janice warns Viv in the beginning of the novel that she is in a dangerous place, echoing Viv’s mother’s displeasure with her daughter’s decision. This quote also characterizes both Janice and Viv. Janice is nonchalant after this quote, offering Viv a free room if she takes over the night shift for her. Janice doesn’t want to be at the motel and sees an opportunity to remove herself from it. Viv sees an opportunity to save some money by accepting this transaction. Both women know working at night is potentially dangerous, but they have to survive in any way they can.

“For the first time in her life, it occurred to her how erasable she was. How it could all be over in an instant. Vivian Delaney could vanish. She would simply be gone.”

This quotation reveals how Viv understands the world around her. Viv is haunted by the man she hitched a ride from placing his hand on her thigh, and she realizes how naïve she was in thinking it would be fine to leave Illinois for New York without much thought. This quote reinforces the theme of the dangers women face and also characterizes Viv as a loner. Throughout the novel, Viv recognizes that nobody really knows who she is—not even herself—which drives her recklessness and results in her putting an end to Simon’s crimes. Arguably, her sense that she is “erasable” partly reflects internalized misogyny since the violence of Simon and other men treats women as disposable.

“Her entire life in Illinois had been about doing what other people expected, never what she actually wanted.” 

This is an example of Viv reinventing herself. She leaves behind her mother and sister and carries with her the pain of her father’s abandonment and parent’s divorce. Although Viv isn’t sure what it is exactly that she wants, she is recognizing that she’s on the path to figuring that out, which is liberating for her as a young, single woman.

“These weren’t people suburban Viv Delaney would ever have seen in a hundred years. They weren’t people she would ever have talked to. There was an edge to them, a hard collision with life, that she hadn’t known was possible in her soft cocoon. It wasn’t romantic, but something about it drew her. It fascinated her. She didn’t want to look away.” 

While Viv works at the Sun Down, she comes across people she has never been exposed to in Illinois. The night shift allows her to witness characters who live degraded lives compared to what she’s used to. Viv views these people without judgment and is often extremely understanding of their situations. Robert and Helen are the exception, as their affair reminds Viv of her parents’ divorce.

“‘You wanted to feel closer to her,’ Heather said, as if the answer were simple. ‘You wanted to see what her life was like.’”

Carly has a moment where she questions what she’s doing in Fell. She finds herself in an unknown place without many easy answers, and Heather provides the support she needs in this moment. Heather can empathize with Carly’s situation as she searches for her aunt. This moment solidifies the friendship between Carly and Heather, who will continue to help Carly in any way she can.

“‘This place is dark.’ ‘Some of us like the dark. It’s what we know.’”

Fell has a depressing history. Several tragedies have taken place there, and Heather is an example of a local who has a connection to this darkness. This feeling of connection reiterates a strange comfort that other characters, such as Alma, Nick, and Viv also find in Fell.

“She looked like any one of a million women in family photographs a generation ago, except that she was looking at me, and she was not real.” 

This quotation is Carly’s explanation of the ghost of Betty Graham. Betty is standing outside the room on the second floor, and Carly is looking up at her; Carly realizes she is a ghost and that she is capable of affecting the electronics and mechanics of the motel. This quote reinforces the idea that society and the media often reduce women to a photograph. The ways in which women are portrayed are often false or exaggerated.

“It was comforting and unsettling at the same time. I wasn’t alone anymore. There was a man taking care of things now. And yet. And yet.”

This is an example of the theme of the dangers women face. Carly realizes that she doesn’t have her phone with her, or any item of protection. In a moment of panic, she has agreed to get into Nick’s truck, even though he is still a stranger at this point. Although Nick turns out to be a safe character, Carly grapples with the fear that being alone or being in the company of others might be equally unsafe situations for women.

“The news stories all described Viv as pretty and popular. And she really was pretty. But no one who is popular disappears for four days without anyone noticing.” 

Carly says this to Nick in regards to Viv. This reinforces the idea that the media portrays women in exaggerated or false ways. Carly explains that although her aunt is pretty—a typical description of a missing woman, as if that plays into why she’s missing—it would be odd if a popular person went missing for four days without someone noticing. This quote demonstrates Carly’s logical and thorough character.

“It could still be her now. It could be her tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. It could be Marnie, it could be Helen. It could be Viv’s sister back home in Illinois. This was the reality: It wasn’t just these girls. It could always, always be her or someone she knew.” 

This quote explains the issues surrounding women’s position in society. Viv is aware that, had circumstances been different, she could have been Betty Graham, or Cathy Caldwell, or any number of missing or exploited women. This quote also ties into the idea of the bogeyman stories, which reduce murdered women to the ways in which they were killed.

“She was my mother’s favorite bogeyman. ‘Be careful or you’ll end up like Cathy Caldwell!’ ‘Don’t talk to strange men on the bus or you’ll end up like Cathy Caldwell!’ That sort of thing. Cathy loomed large in my mother’s mind—those were simpler times, you know? She was big about Victoria Lee, too.” 

Jenny says this to Carly and Heather when they visit her at her work looking for answers about Viv. Making women into bogeyman stories as warnings for other women detracts from the responsibility of the killer and instead places the blame on the victim. Victim-blaming is an issue that the author presents throughout the novel. Rather than searching for the person who has caused the killing, the media focuses on what the woman should not have been doing. This attitude facilitates the deaths of the women in the novel.

“Anyone would think she was a nice enough girl, a pretty girl, if a little sad. Viv thought, Who am I?” 

This is a turning point for Viv. She looks at the photograph that Marnie took of her at the motel and realizes this is the picture the media would use if she went missing. This is the visual the public would use to speculate about her as a young woman and as a victim. It poses the questions of who she is and how the public would condense her into a story about a missing woman.

“This is crazy. I don’t care. It was freeing, this not caring. She was unmoored from everything: family, friends, home, her real life.” 

When Viv realizes that it doesn’t matter what she does or why, as the media will portray her any way they see fit, her attitude shifts. Viv has left behind her old self and now has a mission: to prove that Simon is the killer and that he’ll do it again. Viv goes as far as lying on the phone, impersonating Alma, and trespassing on Simon Hess’s property and inside his car. Her recklessness begins with this quote.

“‘Personally, if I were a girl and I wanted to defend myself, I’d carry this.’ He reached onto a shelf and put a thick leather holder into her hand.”

Marnie warns Viv that she needs to protect herself, so she enters the hardware store. The young man tells her that they are continually asked if they have mace, which they don’t carry, but suggests the hunting knife instead. His quote about how if he were a girl, he would carry the hunting knife illustrates the different dangers men and women face in public.

“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.” 

Here, Viv is listing the things she has heard over and over again as a young woman about how to avoid danger. She knows it’s largely useless information, which ties into the novel’s depiction of victim blaming: It’s not as though a flashlight or a whistle could have possibly prevented Simon Hess, a violent man on a mission to kill, from murdering innocent women and getting away with it.

“I looked at your picture, and you could be me. You could be any of us. You didn’t deserve it—none of us do. It’s wrong. I don’t know what else to do except try to make it right. I think it might cost me everything, and I don’t care. I don’t matter, really.”

Viv is on the phone with Betty on the night that Simon Hess checks into the motel. Although Betty is on the other end of the line, this conversation can be viewed as a monologue giving insight into Viv’s headspace before she goes after Simon. Viv has seen and heard enough, and she is fed up. She is sacrificing herself to put an end to Simon’s violence.

“Nothing would happen. No one would believe her. Simon Hess would seem like a reasonable, law-abiding person who was falsely accused by a crazy girl. And it would start all over again.”

Here, Viv realizes that she can’t turn herself in for killing Simon Hess. He doesn’t have a background with the police. He has never been arrested for anything. On paper, he is an upstanding citizen, a husband, and a father. Viv, on the other hand, has no roots in Fell. She is passing through town at this point. Viv acknowledges the societal ways in which Simon has been able to remain hidden in plain sight for a long time now.

“Alma flinched a little. ‘Did he say why?’ ‘Because he liked it,’ Viv said. ‘Because it was fun. A challenge. Because all of them were lonely. Because no one stopped him. Because he could.’”

Alma, being the logical character that she is, wants to make some sense of what has happened Viv lists the reasons that Simon gave her for killing, which are chilling to Marnie and Alma. His motives are horrific, selfish, and disturbing, and they persuade Alma to help get Viv out of this situation by hiding Simon’s car and body.

“He can’t possibly want to hurt me. That was the first thing that came to mind. Did a man just follow a woman around in order to hurt her? Yes, you idiot. He could.”

This moment for Carly is a loss of innocence. She is alone in her car, she has removed herself from the uncomfortable meeting with Callum at the café, and she is still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt despite his pushiness; however, she realizes that she can’t afford to assume he’s safe.

“You can choose differently, though. My sister’s girl. I think I can take some comfort in that.”

Here, Viv shows a nurturing affection for Carly. Carly’s mother is deceased, Viv has realized her sister has died without her knowledge, and it is clear that Viv has done a lot of soul-searching. Simon’s body has been found and Viv knows there will be an investigation, but she realizes Carly can have the life she never had. Viv is essentially saying that she has made peace with the decision to turn herself in.

“I even passed my old roommate, Jenny, on the street one day and she didn’t look twice at me. It’s amazing how quickly people forget.”

Viv expresses how quickly people move on. This quote reinforces the theme of secrets hidden in plain sight. Viv was able to stay in Fell and see how the people she knew continued on after she began her new life as Christine.

“Betty Graham wasn’t there. Neither was Simon Hess, or the little boy, or Henry the smoking man. They were all dead and gone.”

Carly is watching the demolition of the Sun Down Motel after Betty floods it. The building’s destruction brings closure, and Carly takes pictures of it, which she tells Alma she believes her aunt will be happy to see. With the motel being torn down, nobody else can get hurt there, there will be no more deaths or accidents, and the ghosts of the motel can finally rest.