A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones: Book Review

A Bad Day for Sunshine is the first book in the Sunshine Vicram series by Darynda Jones. Published in April 2020 by St. Martin’s Press, Jones brings the reader back to her home state of New Mexico. Sunshine Vicram is another strong independent woman, in a position of power. The next book in the series, A Good Day for Chardonnay, is due out in 2021.

CW/TW: violence, kidnapping, bullying, alcohol use

Synopsis

Del Sol, New Mexico’s new sheriff, Sunshine Vicram, has returned home a little unsure how she won the position as she never entered the election. Reunited with her best friend, Quincy, they wonder what their first day on the job together will bring. Little did she know, the muffin basket would bring a car through the front window of the sheriff’s office, followed shortly after by a US Marshall.

Aurora Vicram is starting at a new school. Unfortunately, an event that happened before school causes many of the students to dislike her. And many of the other students go out of their way to not welcome her to the school.

The town is full of secrets, and Sunshine is determined to keep some buried. She is also determined to uncover the biggest secret of all–what happened to her fifteen years ago?

Positives

Darynda Jones’s writing is quick and witty. She writes strong, powerful, independent women. She also writes strong, sexy men.

Reading this book, I felt like I was in Del Sol, New Mexico. The way the descriptions are written of the town and the surrounding landscape was stunning.

Negatives

The only negative that I can come up with is that I figured out who the kidnapper was about halfway through the book. That said, I was surprised with the twist about the reason why.

My Opinion

My first experience reading Darynda Jones was with First Grave on the Right, the first book in the Charley Davidson series. Both books are set in New Mexico and feature some of the best female protagonists I’ve read in mysteries. In this book, Sunshine Vicram is a single mother who is also a sheriff. She is trying to solve a major mystery in her life-what happened when she disappeared for five days fifteen years ago? That mystery has influenced her entire life and has become her single focus in life.

Charley Davidson had Cookie as her best friend and shoulder to lean on. Sunshine has Quincy, her life-long best friend. Charley’s steamy crush is Reyes, a man she met briefly as a teen but has been on her heart ever since. Sunshine’s steamy crush is Levi, a man she has known her whole life. These similarities help keep the book comfortable, but the differences help keep the book fresh.

I listened to the audiobook for this book and enjoyed the narrator. Lorelei King is a wonderful narrator and has voiced several other books, including the Charley Davidson series. Having a great narrator helps make a great book even better. King can embrace the characters and bring each one alive throughout her performance.

Overall, this book was a great read. And I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.