The Sleep Tight Motel

A woman on the run finds refuge in a motel at the edge of the woods, with plenty of vacancies. Check in for the night with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.
Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He’ll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won’t get a good night’s rest until she finds out.
Excerpt
People in their cars. They’ll do anything, as if they’re at home on the living room couch. In their metal boxes, shuttling through space, people fight: body language tight, hands flying, mouths wide. They pick their noses, do their makeup. I saw a blonde woman in the passenger seat of an old Volvo bent over the driver’s lap, his hand resting on her neck as her head rose and fell. Through the back window of a shiny minivan, a silent baby wailed as our vehicles hovered side by side. His face was red, mouth in a nearly comical O, eyes squinted shut, arms straight out. His mom, she just drove, face blank as stone. It was strange. It made me feel hollowed out inside, that no one was comforting him. I waved at the woman in the driver’s seat, but she didn’t see me. I dropped back finally, let them disappear silent into the night until it was just me again, and the white beam of my headlights.
Awards and Honors
- Edgar Award for Best Short Story Nominee
- #1 Bestselling Kindle Single