The Sleep Tight Motel – Lisa Unger

The Sleep Tight Motel – Lisa Unger

First Sentence:

People in their cars.

Story
She had been running from a long time and had been really tired when she came across The sleep tight motel. She needed the rest. She knew it could be dangerous for her to stay but she had to spend the night. She had to take the risk.

But there is something different about this motel. She is not able to put her finger on it but things here seem different.They seem a little out of place. And it doesn’t help matters that she’s the only guest there.

Are the things really weird in the motel or is she just paranoid?  
Who is she? 
Why is she on the run?
And who is she running from? 

Major Characters:

Eve Brown- the protagonist
Madeline aka Maddie- Eve’s best friend 
Drew – Manager of Sleep Tight Motel

Henry – Maddie’s boy friend
Erik Chapel – Eve’s boyfriend
Sandy – Eve’s employer
Rick – A bouncer at club where eve used to work

My Views:

The sleep tight motel is a short story by Lisa Unger. It is  part of Dark corners collection. These stories are free to read for prime subscribers. I had come across a blog post about nominees for Edgar award. I was browsing through the list and it was there that i first came across Lisa Unger’s name. And so  when i saw her story in this collection i wanted to check it out.

The story hooks you from the start. The story line is taut and the tension is maintained throughout the story. 

You know the woman is running away from someone.You want to know how did she end up being in this condition. You want to know her back story.

Meanwhile, the motel where she has arrived too starts feeling weird. These are just little things that you notice  which don’t seem right and you want to know what’s causing it. Whether it’s real or not? The author manages to make you feel as disoriented as the protagonist.

All of this makes sure that as a reader you keep turning the pages.

Though,i had idea where the story was headed and the ending was not much of a surprise to me but in spite of that i enjoyed reading the story. I liked the way it was executed.

You get most of your answers in the end but we are not told what had happened to Drew. How did he end up there? I have an idea about it but it would have been better if it was made clear. If you have read the story then do tell me what do you think of it?

Anyways, i liked what Lisa Unger had to offer in this short piece and i would definitely read some of her longer works. I have already purchased two novels of her’s and i’ll be reading them very soon.

Some of the quotes from the book:

Dreams come true, I guess, just not always how you imagine them.

It’s just a female thing, to reflexively apologize for everything, for your very existence it sometimes seems.

We cling to our ideas of people, don’t we? We hold on tight even when all evidence points to something else.

We’re dead far longer than we’re alive.


Of all the things, you hear about small towns, their ability to keep secrets is never chief among them.

“Sometimes we fall in with the wrong people,” says Drew. “But sometimes we fall in with the right ones. And if we let them help, things go easier.”


The body wants what the body wants, and sometimes the heart and mind are nowhere to be found.

Rating: 3/5

If you have read this book then do tell me what did you think of it?

If you want to read the book you can get it from the following link:

Kindle

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