Wednesday, April 1, 2020

ARC Review: A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones

A Bad Day for Sunshine
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Sunshine Vicram Series (Book 1)
Publication: St. Martin's Press (April 7, 2020)

Description: Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.

Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee―and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff―thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her―and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter’s new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty―and find the kidnapper who's terrorizing her beloved hometown―without falling head over high heels in love...or worse?

My Thoughts: This story was an entertaining start to a new series that deftly mixed humor and terror. Sunshine Vicram is back in her hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico after somehow being elected sheriff. She didn't run or campaign for the office. She strongly suspects that her loving parents had something to do with it. Not everyone is happy with the new sheriff including the Mayor.

Sun has moved back with her fourteen year old daughter Auri who is the light of her life and a great character. Half of this book concerns Auri's adjustment to living full-time back in Del Sol after only spending summers with her grandparents. The mean girl clique at school has definitely taken her in strong dislike. She's being blamed for the cops breaking up the kids' "secret" New Year's Eve bash at the lake. The same bash their parents attended when they were teens. Auri and her mother have a great relationship but Auri is keeping secrets from her and has been since she was seven.

Sun's first day is a mixture of the absurd - a flasher named Doug and a stolen rooster named Puff Daddy - and the serious - the abduction of a young girl named Sybil who has been dreaming about her kidnapping since she was a small child.

Sun had an ulterior motive of her own for returning to Del Sol. She has been trying to find the man who abducted her when she was seventeen. She was drugged, imprisoned, and left with a traumatic brain injury which included retrograde amnesia and pregnancy. She has been trying to remember what happened and getting brief flashbacks since. Part of the mystery has to do with the boy she has loved since she was teen who came from a very dysfunctional family but who has made good nowin adulthood.

I enjoyed the relationship between Sun and her daughter. I enjoyed the humor. I enjoyed the mystery. I loved the many interesting characters in this one. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

Favorite Quote:
Sun kept the cruiser on for a while but ended up turning it off to save gas. And she waited, mulling over her day. Only one word seemed to sum it up and tie a nice bow on the top: clusterfuck.

Or was that two words. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

1 comment:

  1. This is high on my want to read list! Thanks for sharing your thoughts

    ReplyDelete

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