The Sleep Tight Motel

Suspenseful, Mysterious, and Addictive!

I couldn't put this story down. Every section left me going “just one more” over and over. Except for one section of expositional backstory, nothing ever felt like it dragged on. There were no easy points to choose when I needed to pause reading, because everything kept my interest.

While I could sing praises for the way the story is delivered, I can't because I don't want to spoil it. Instead, I'll say I loved the writing style (though not so much the formatting in places of the kindle edition) and felt the author did an amazing job of fleshing out even the background characters.

I predicted the ending before it came, but that's alright in this case - like watching a movie and guessing the ending, I felt clever and rewarded instead of disappointed. (Speaking of movies, this would make a good one.)

Overall, I want to read more from this author.

Lisa Unger is a NYT best selling author, and indeed this is a well-written story. Unfortunately, the narration by Amy Landon is so bad that I nearly stopped listening just a few minutes into the story. I'm glad I didn't. The story carried the day. But I won't buy another book narrated by Landon. Her voice is robotic with no warmth.

So back to the story. A young woman, fleeing from an abusive boyfriend, pulls into an out-of-the way motel. The owner is very attentive to her needs, and she wants to like him. But she's got to get back on the road. Unfortunately, her car won't start and she is stuck. This is really where the story begins to unfold. To go any further would be to introduce spoilers. You'll have to read it for yourself. I do recommend reading it rather than listening to the audiobook. I think the experience will be much better.

On the run from both the police and an abusive lover, a woman checks into a motel where things aren't quite right.

The writing is great in this one, Eve's thoughts on her situation, her bad relationship, and the mystery around her are all interesting and thought out.

Everything's described well, the motel and its surrounding are fleshed out, and feel real. Its emptiness, animal wood carvings, and the fog about give it that creepy horror setting. Oh, and of course, a woman's voice screaming in the night...

There are two stories here, with her hiding out in the motel, and what happened before she arrived there. The pace quickens in the end with the jumping back and forth between stories and gives a bit of welcome suspense with not her knowing what is real, and the truth being revealed to her.

If you've read/watched enough horror, you'll know whats going on immediately, but it's unlikely you'll care cause it's done so well.