Darynda Jones is my favorite author. I've read all of her books and highly recommend them.
Although I am a youth services librarian, many of the adults that bring the kids to the library frequently ask for recommendations. Any book by Darynda Jones is one that I always recommend.

A Bad Day for Sunshine – Darynda Jones

I have to preface this review by saying that this book was amazing! I initially received it as an advanced read offering from the publisher and downloaded it without a second thought and promptly forgot about it– hence my super late review. As I cruised through the pages today, completely unable to put it down, I could only shake my head in disbelief that it had gotten by me for so long…I laughed, I cried, turned pages as fast as I could, and when finished, I immediately hit up Amazon, hoping desperately that the second book had already been released – but alas, I have a few more months to wait! Darn it!!

Sunshine Vicram has returned to her hometown to begin her new job as elected Sheriff of Del Sol, New Mexico. Interestingly enough, she never applied for such a job, and has no idea how her parents not only engineered her application for the position and ran her campaign, let alone ensuring her victory. But none-the-less, she has returned to her roots, with her 14-year-old daughter Aurora, in tow and is preparing for her first day on the job.

Del Sol is a quirky little town, with an elderly flasher named Doug, an ongoing feud over a rooster named Puff Daddy and a woman who bakes muffins that foretell calamity and inspire dread whenever a fresh batch appears at the station. But Del Sol hasn’t always been this calm... Years ago, as a teenager, Sunshine was the victim of a kidnapping for ransom, and was inexplicably dropped off injured (and unbeknownst at the time pregnant), with no recollection of her ordeal, or the weeks preceding it and no clues as to her abductor.

Del Sol is also home to the Ravinders’, a bootlegging, moonshine making family that have been the bane of Sunshine’s existence since Hailey Ravinder tried to stab her with a pencil when she was three and stole her bicycle years later. Levi, Hailey’s brother, has always been a source of trepidation for Sunshine as well, even as she still can’t quite shake her teenaged crush on him.
Summer’s first day at the office starts off with a big batch of muffins, an accident, and the reports of a missing teen, which immediately brings Sunshine back into the cloudy memories of her abduction. Shortly thereafter, she receives a letter from the missing teen herself, thanking Sunshine for her daughters’ friendship if she’s killed –which details a premonition that she’s had as a child of her abduction. Determined to find her alive, and to learn the circumstances of her own fate all those years ago, Sunshine and her deputies begin to investigate.

Meanwhile Auri’s first day of school has been anything but mundane. Her new friend Sybil seems to have blown her off after promising to show her the ropes, and a recent party with a confiscated keg, has earned Auri the nickname ‘narc’, even though she didn’t say a word. Added to that, she’s earned the ire of a classmate, who seems out to get her. To make things worse, she’s assigned a project with the quietest kid in class, Cruz, whom she can’t quite figure out.

And so begins the adventures of Sunshine and Aurora and as they settle into their lives in Del Sol, New Mexico, where nothing is quite as it seems and yet the danger is quite real – and closer to them than they could possibly realize..

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Sunshine Vicram is the newly appointed sheriff of Del Sol, New Mexico. It's her first day on the job and already things are really hopping. A woman crashes her car into the police station on her way to report her daughter missing. An escaped criminal is loose in the area. And a rooster named Puff Daddy has gone missing. Investigating will bring back memories of years past, both good and bad.
It's also her daughter Auri 's first day of school. Auri knows the missing girl and wants to help with the investigation.

Sunshine has a winning personality: friendly, efficient, and full of snark. She is very down to earth and relatable. Sunshine works with her best friend, Quincy. But she is drawn to other men like Levi Ravinder, a reformed bad boy.

Auri is smart, sweet, and shares her mother's gift for snark. She also shares her mother's investigative abilities. Part of the book is told from Sunshine's point of view and part from Auri's. It's interesting that Auri's point of view sounds very much like the adolescent she is.

I pretty much enjoyed the character interactions. The book was also well plotted. The story moves along at a good pace. Things are revealed as they come up. And even though the book covers a short period of time, the characters show some growth.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. There's a balance between the bad and the good. The humor is important to this. It's a good read. If you enjoyed the Charley Davidson books, you will enjoy this one even though there is only a touch of the paranormal. And if you enjoy a good mystery with humor, you will most likely enjoy this one too.

A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones was published April 7th, 2020 by St. Martin's Press.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect the content of my review.

I have never read a book by Darynda Jones that I haven’t liked. Sunshine is a great character. The mystery surrounding her past kept me guessing. As always with Darynda there were so many laugh out loud moments and I couldn’t put this book down.

Sadly i DNF this ine which i was hoping to love since i loved her other books. But this one just didn't pull me into the story at all.

I loved all the little intro's to each chapter and looked forward to them each chapter. But the rest of it, I wish I'd enjoyed. I didn't appreciate the humor that others did. Most of what should have made me laugh either had me cringing or rolling my eyes. Even the mystery of the missing girl and who all was involved was not enough to pull me into this story or make it more enjoyable. I wish I'd liked it more.

Sunshine Vicram was a truly unique, witty multidimensional character who I'd read more about in the future. Sunshine reluctantly returns to Del Sol, New Mexico as the new sheriff after her parents somehow got her elected. She has a teenage daughter and a chip on her shoulder which shows off her humor throughout. The author's ability to combine crime fiction with humor worked surprisingly well. The mystery involving a missing teenage girl was decent if not earth-shaking I would've preferred a bit more complexity to the plot and perhaps a little less humor

It’s never a bad day for sunshine! This book was jammed packed with everything you would expect for a book of suspense! Highly recommend it!

This was my first Darynda Jones book, but it certainly won’t be my last! At first, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this series. And now I can’t wait to pick up the second book because these characters were so much fun to spend time with.

Although A Bad Day for Sunshine covers quite a lot of heavy topics, Jones manages to brilliantly balance that out with the perfect amount of lightness. The relationships between the characters were so well done and the banter was A+. The book started out a bit slow but quickly picked up the pace and I found myself never wanting to put it down. While some parts were a bit heavy on background information, that’s pretty typical for the first book in a series. This mystery was also very character-driven so it was nice to get to know the character’s backgrounds (and how it affects their relationships) throughout the book.

Overall, would definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a mystery with fantastic characters!

This is a great start to a new series. Love, love, love the characters! Sunshine Vicram and her teenage daughter Auri have just moved back to her hometown. Sunshine mysteriously won the race for Sheriff, which she didn't even enter. Sunshine's first day on the job finds her investigating a missing girl, who turns out to be Auri's friend. The narrative switches between Sunshine and Auri throughout as they both try to work out what happened to Sybil. The quirky town (and it's residents) of Del Sol, NM is a great setting for this mystery, which is full of humor. I look forward to another outing with Sunshine.

Daryanda Jones drops her reader in the land of Santa Fe with a new sheriff named Sunshine. To say that Sunshine has the worst first day ever on a job is an understatement. She is faced with a missing girl and her daughter struggling on her first new day at a new school. Sunshine is a sharp, witty sheriff though who will stop at nothing to solve this disappearance and the disappearance of another boy as well. The banter in dialogue is hilarious. It was the funny book I didn’t know I needed.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts are my own.

I wasn't sure where this was going at first and it took me a little bit to really get into it but once I did I couldn't stop reading. I love Darynda Jone's books and this was no different. I would recommend.

For those of you who have read and loved Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series, do you need your dose of Charley and her crew? Well, you got it. Sunshine Vicram has all the Charley fix you’ll need. This book has quirky sweet characters, a good amount of humor, mystery, suspense, and looks like it’s going to be slow burn romance.

There’s a new Sheriff in town and Sunshine Vicram was elected and she had no idea how it even happened. Sun happily accepts this job and happy to move back to her hometown with her sweet teen daughter to start anew. On her first we, she’ll have to solve a possible kidnapping case, interview an old love interest, and hopefully solve the mystery of who the Dangerous Daughters are. Lucky for her, she will have plenty of help including a lady who sends her department muffins as a sign of warning.

The main plot focuses on Sun’s personal life, work life, and love life. There’s a bit of Sun’s daughter’s story and POV mixed in as well. I love the emotional bit between them and the involvement of her parents with her current situation. I think there is more than meets the eye. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for family drama. I especially enjoyed getting to know Sunshine’s main love interest. There’s plenty of history there or lack thereof but the tension between these two is off the charts. I promise this hero is definitely swoon worthy.

I was glad to see Mrs. Jones had put in her signature flavor in this book. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was expecting from this new series. I’ve heard this would be very different and I had a feeling of loss. I guess, I’m still heartbroken with the end of one of my favorite series. While the genre and plot is totally different the characters have the same vibe. I couldn’t get enough of them. I appreciate the tiny bit of magic in this book and I especially love the cross over mention of Charley. It’s very brief but if you’re a fan, you can’t miss it.

I’m happy to report that Darynda Jones did not disappoint. I was very happy with what she created here and I’m excited to see what happens in the next installment.

This was a pretty good start to a series. It had a fantastic overarching mystery, lots of awesome characters, a fun setting and a good plot! I have never read anything else by Darynda Jones, but now I have motivation to read more of her works. She is a great writer and really knows how to weave a plot to keep you interested. It was a bit out of my wheel house in terms of what I usually read, but I am definitely looking forward to more Sunshine.

Let me say that I am not a cozy mystery reader (Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, Coffeehouse Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries). I am a fan of James Patterson, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Hank Phillippi Ryan and the like.
Through NetGalley, there was a book offered that was a new series by Darynda Jones titled "A Bad Day for Sunshine". I had never heard of this author prior to this, but I thought "Why not?" This book was a surprise. It is neither a cozy mystery nor a "serious" mystery. It is a combination of both.
From the beginning I was hooked! Darynda Jones kept me engrossed through out the book. There was suspense which had me at the edge of my seat, but then I was relieved of some of it with a touch of humor. The more I read the more I HAD to read!
If you read dark mysteries or psychological thrillers but are looking for something a little different I highly recommend "A Bad Day for Sunshine" by Darynda Jones. You'll be pleasantly surprised. You may even add her to your authors that you must read. I have.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

From the beginning I could not wait to find out what happens with Skye and Levi. I can tell they are hot and heavy for each other, but avoiding that at all costs. When Levi's nephew goes missing and Skye is in charge, it gets pretty hard for them to avoid each other. This is a great book on how your past can come back, but you can overcome any obstacles when you set your mind to something. Love seeing how Skye's sweet daughter really loves her mom, grandparents, and Levi's nephew, even when he doesn't trust anyone else. Highly entertaining.

I remember really liking this one! I thought that the writing (plot to characters) was really fun and sharp and I look forward to reading more of the series.

This book was hilarious! Liker her other series, Jones drew me in from the very beginning and kept me laughing the entire way through!

I like the dialogues which were witty and funny but I didn't like the whole kidnapping motive in this book. I was more interested in new sheriffs private life than the mystery around missing teenagers. Book was written very well with good developed characters.

I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.