The Sun Down Motel

In 1982, Viv is 20 years old and has left her home in Illinois after her parents’ divorce. Like Carly, Viv is independent and resourceful, but Viv’s mother is disappointed in her for leaving and wishes she could be more like her younger sister, Debby. Janice is the first person Viv meets in Fell, and she accepts a free room from her in exchange for working the night shift at the motel. The ghosts soon reveal themselves to her, and Viv decides she must find answers to her questions surrounding the mysterious events.

Viv is largely alone in Fell. She doesn’t see much of her roommate, Jenny, and her developing crush on a pot dealer, Jamie, doesn’t develop into a relationship until after she assumes a new identity as Christine Fawcette. Viv’s closest confidants are Marnie and Alma. Viv’s recklessness and anger is fueled by her lack of support. She continually finds that nobody believes her, and this frustration leads to her killing Simon Hess and covering it up with the help of Marnie and Alma. Viv goes on to live a life of loneliness, as Jamie dies young in a car accident, and nobody seems to remember Viv once she lives under the name of Christine.

At the end of the novel, Viv turns herself in and the cases of Betty Graham, Cathy Caldwell, Victoria Lee, and Tracy Waters are all tied to Simon Hess.

Nick has come back to Fell after several years away following the murder of his brother, Eli, by his father, who had been a prominent lawyer in the town. Nick has issues sleeping but finds he can sleep again at the Sun Down because he feels as if his brother is close-by when he’s in town.

Nick and Carly bond over their family histories and the grief they carry. Nick, although distant at first, warms up to Carly, and they become a support system for one another. Nick is caring, helpful, and willing to assist in any way he can. He develops the negatives of Marnie’s photos for Carly, and he drives Heather home when she is uncomfortable and scared by their discovery of the barn. Nick runs after Callum when he attacks Carly, and by the end of the novel, Nick and Carly are in a relationship, enjoying dinner and a movie together before falling asleep in bed.

Alma is an officer with the Fell Police Department. In Carly’s timeline, Alma is retired and living in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Fell. She provides a safe haven for Carly to discuss her theories, and she offers support when Callum is following Carly in his car. However, Alma also keeps Viv’s secrets safe from Carly—a secret she herself is wrapped up in, as she drove Simon Hess’s car to the barn to help Viv hide it.

In Viv’s timeline, Alma works as the night shift officer in Fell and meets Viv while breaking up an argument at the Sun Down. They discuss the murders in town, but Alma is cautious towards Viv’s theories, as she is afraid of losing her job without concrete evidence. Alma has a hard time as the only female officer, and she refuses to jeopardize her career. She is logical, hardworking, and thorough. Alma feels responsible for the tragedy of Tracy Waters’s, death as she didn’t do more to stop it, which is one reason why she eventually helps cover up Simon’s death.

Simon works as a traveling salesman and lives in Fell, New York, in 1983. He checks into the Sun Down Motel repeatedly while Viv works there, and Viv becomes suspicious of him when he signs the guest book under false names. The lights and doors of the motel take on a life of their own when he arrives, and Viv discovers this is tied to Simon checking in. When the ghost of Betty tells Viv to run, she decides she has to find evidence that Simon is the serial killer in Fell.

Simon is intelligent and knows someone is following him, but he doesn’t realize it’s Viv until the night of his death. As he is dying from his injuries, he confesses that he was in love with Betty and that he wanted to make her his. He continued to check into the motel because he could see Betty’s ghost there. Simon explains that he killed Cathy Caldwell because he wanted to see if he could kill again, Victoria Lee as a mistake, and Tracy Waters because she was alone and because he could. Simon’s death at the motel results in his ghost checking in during Carly’s timeline. When Simon’s ghost checks in, it angers Betty, and the ensuing attack on Carly by Simon’s grandson Callum results in Callum’s death at the motel too.