A Bad Day for Sunshine is a good day for us. I wasn’t sure at first what to think of Sunshine and her sense of humor but I soon became a fan! I really enjoyed this book that was full of humor as well as suspense. I definitely recommend this book and I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.

I loved the Charley Davidson books so I was super excited to see a new series from Darynda Jones. This is a strong first in that new series. Sunshine is fabulous and the relationship with her daughter feels real and is touching. I am looking forward to seeing where Jones take these new and awesome characters.

Newly elected Sheriff Sunshine Vicram rolls back into Del Sol, New Mexico with her fourteen year old daughter Auri and a suitcase full of bad memories and karma. She'd left this whimsical little town in her rearview at age seventeen - running from a traumatic, life-altering experience and a broken heart with no intention of ever returning to the scene of the crime. And yet, here she is having won an election she didn't enter. Is that even legal? One's thing for sure, the most action this place ever sees is from resident flasher Doug, an escape artist rooster called Puff Daddy, or a group of eccentric old ladies called The Book Babes. Piece of cake, right? lol Think again. On Sunshine's first day on the job, all hell breaks loose when a girl is reported missing and an escaped convict is spotted around the outskirts of town. Sunshine and Deputy Quincy Cooper, a childhood friend, begin their investigation and, of course, one of the first people they need to interview is Sunshine's ole flame Levi Ravinder . . . one of THE Ravinders. And no surprise that nothing's changed between them as sparks, flames, and ugly, hurtful words fly. What is his problem?! Buckle up y'all - you're in for one hell of a ride!

A Bad Day For Sunshine is told through two points of view - that of Sunshine and her daughter Auri. The results are alternating chapters and intertwining dual plotlines that will keep readers on their toes. Auri is faced with her own drama from being bullied at school plus she's a wanna-be sleuth with a tendency to jump in the deep in without a backup plan. Strangely enough, it's often Levi that rides in on a white horse to rescue her. Yes, there's a story there too.

Multiple plot lines and muti-dimensional characters help set a fast pace in A Bad Day For Sunshine. It's an entertaining read with lots of witty banter, quirky characters, and one-liners. I will say that all the snark had me concerned early on as it was spread a bit thick. I found myself searching for the plot line and thinking is this all there is? No need for concern as the story soon settles in, and I quickly became immersed in hunting for clues to the kidnapper's identity and a link I felt I was missing. Character-driven stories such as this one with a star support cast generating a great deal of suspense are among my favorites. Jones trademark wit is evident throughout creating laugh out loud scenes even in the midst of a kidnapping investigation. I did feel at times as though the urgency of the case was sacrificed to the humor as main characters meandered off course frequently, but in her usual magical manner this author makes it work. There's an overall story arc that obviously continues into the next book, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it leads these characters and readers.` All in all, A Bad Day For Sunshine is a great start to a fascinating new series by the beloved Darynda Jones. Highly Recommended!

Darynda Jones brings us back to New Mexico with her new series, this time to Del Sol and the new sheriff Sunshine Vicram. Sunshine was elected as local sheriff (despite not ever entering the election) and she needs to return, along with her daughter Auri, to her hometown that she fled years prior. What she finds is a town that is full of crime, including the disappearance of a local high school girl that recently befriended Auri. As expected, there’s a hilarious cast of characters including her co-workers Quincey, her parents, and the local outlaw family that is connected to Sunshine in ways we have yet to discover. The story is told through dual perspectives, that of Sunshine and Auri! These two have a great connection, and I can’t wait to see more of them in other books.

Those hoping for more Charley Davidson should be warned…there’s no cross-over here. This has some of the same themes of suspense, humor, and an unresolved love interest, but it’s full of living humans exclusively! While not a cliffhanger ending, you can tell there is more to come.

Not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed in this book. It's not that there's anything wrong with it and in fact it's a pretty enjoyable read but as someone who absolutely loved the Charley Davidson series I just expected more.

This actually reads a lot like the Charley Davidson books, there's the same humour and sass that I absolutely adored and many of the characters and the relationships between them feel pretty similar. However, for me that was probably the biggest problem. I've read the Charley Davidson books (all of them in the last 12 months), I wanted something different or another Charley Davidson book. This obviously doesn't have the "I see dead people" supernatural elements (or at least not yet) and the main character is a police sheriff rather than a PI but Sunshine Vicram feels a lot like Charley. She's new to a job she didn't really want, in a town she was hoping never to return to and her first case is that of a missing 14 year old girl. Add to that she's also dealing with a flasher, a custody battle involving a rooster, a man hunt and some cursed muffins.

It seems like there should be plenty going on and the missing girl does make for a intriguing case but I felt a lot of this book was spent getting to know the various different characters, their backstories and the town. Rather than being an action packed read it turned out to be a little on the slow side and for me there were just too many characters. I struggled to remember who was who and didn't really connect with anyone.

It probably wasn't helped that the story was told from the pov of both Sunshine and her teenage daughter as this meant we were introduced to what felt like the whole town and had to follow a number of different storylines rather than being able to focus on one or two. I also grew a little frustrated that the mystery from Sunshine's past was dragged out so long. I'm pretty sure we can all guess what the big reveal is going to be so I really wanted it to be revealed already rather than, as is looking increasingly likely, made to span several books. Possibly I'm doing the author a disservice here and it'll surprise me.

This is all making it sound like I hated this book but honestly this couldn't be further from the truth and there was a lot I liked. Sunshine makes for an interesting character and I think there's room for real growth there. The other characters are quirky and unique, something I love. The humour is as always great and I am loving the friendships between the characters. Despite some frustration over it's glacier pace I'm also loving the romance that appears to be on the horizon. Even though the main love interest doesn't appear too often there are some definite sparks and I can see this turning into my new favourite ship..

I will almost certainly grab the next book when it comes out as there's something addictive about Jones' writing and I want to see where the story goes but this didn't exactly wow me. If you love the Charley Davidson series and are looking for something similar you'll probably love this, and if you haven't read the Charley Davidson series there's a good chance you'll enjoy this too but I'm holding out hope that book two will take the story in a new and unexpected direction.

This is the author who wrote the Charley Davidson series. I was excited to read a new series written by her. We have Sunshine who is returning to her hometown with her teen daughter Auri after leaving years ago because of severe trauma. Sunny is returning to her hometown because somehow her parents got her elected as Sheriff. As she returns she connects with old friends as well as an old crush. There is a case of a missing teenager which Sunny must solve. This book is written in a way that you get caught up in the mystery as well as are intrigued by all the characters. There is old history of Sunny’s trauma which effects her and others. This is an enthralling start to what I hope will be a long series. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for these characters in the next installment. I honestly reviewed a copy of this book.

I love Darynda Jones. Her books always make me laugh. The story is very engaging and fast paced. i am looking forward to the audiobook.

Darynda Jones as another phenomenal book, that is hopefully the beginning of a very long series. This book was amazing. It was funny and intriguing. I could not put it down once I started reading. I was sorry to have the book end. Sunshine quickly became an addition as one of my favorite characters. If you enjoyed any of her other books you will definitely not be disappointed with this book.

After the "heaviness" of what is going on in the world, I needed an escape, detective mystery. This definitely foot the bill. There were enough red herrings to have some twists and turns and to keep the interest there. There is enough history and unfinished stories to make it easy for a sequel. The only recommendation would be whether to advise the reader of book #2 if s/he needs to read these in order to better enjoy the book.

Thank. you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and meet Sunshine Vicram in A Bad Day for Sunshine in lieu of my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
A Bad Day for Sunshine Jones was just what I needed after months of reading dark, psychological thrillers. It still had all the good mystery parts, but it was creative and fun. The short chapter introductions were hilarious. The town became its own character in the book. Sunshine is flawed in a relatable way, and her murky past will make me grab the next book in the series. Thoroughly enjoyable.

This was such a thrilling & funny read. It was like reading the next installment of a favourite series, which is great when it's the first book in a new series. The characters were well written & I am looking forward to seeing how they develop on the next book.

If someone asked me to sum up this book in one sentence, I would say, "Imagine that Lorelai and Rory Gilmore lived in a small town in New Mexico, and Lorelai was the sheriff." Though I love the Gilmore Girls, the constantly wisecracking characters and small-town quirks mixed with suspense and crime-solving didn't work for me; I felt the quips and quirks detracted from the gravitas of the crime elements. For others, though, who like their genres mixed, this may be a winner.

Thank you Darynda Jones for giving us another great book!! Storytelling at its best!! I could not stop reading!!

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. THANKS so much to #NetGalley and Darynda Jones.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, fun read.

The main characters Sunshine Vicram and her daughter were entertaining. The story building was decent and there was a good amount of mystery and suspense.

The reason I'm only giving it 3⭐⭐⭐ is not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it was just too much like a cookie cutter version of so many others in this genre. I would definitely recommend it due to the aforementioned enjoyment, I just don't feel that it had much to make it stand out from the other books of this type.

Maybe I've just read so many of the mystery/suspense genre that it takes more to make them stand out for me.

Darynda Jones never fails to have me glued to the pages and laughing out loud with her books. I absolutely loved A Bad Day for Sunshine! The main characters are fantastic, and the storyline is a definite page-turner. I loved the bond between Sunshine and her daughter. And Levi Ravinder…*fans self* Ooh baby! I can’t wait for more from this series!

So Darynda Jones is writing a new series after the end of her wildly popular Charley Davidson series??? Sign me up! Sunshine Vicram is a local girl and newly elected sheriff. Her first day on the job has her knee-deep in a crime involving a kidnapped girl. She's trying not to let her traumatic past get in the way of solving this crime even though it's eerily like something that happened to her when she was 17. Throw in a Mayor who's suspicious about how Sunshine got her new job; Levi - her childhood crush who still makes her melt; and her worrying about her teenage daughter's transition into this kooky little town - and you just know this is going to be a wild ride, I love Darynda's way of developing her characters as she tells a story. She makes you want to visit the places and get to know the folks. I am fully engrossed in the continuing story and all the inhabitants of this little town of Del Sol. My only question is - how long do I have to wait for book 2???

*I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.*

This is a fantastic novel! The well rounded characters, interest backgrounds and fast pace make for a can’t-put-down page turner. I enjoyed the several layers to each sub-plot and how certain people/events were connected and some were not. It takes a skilled writer to be aware of how much to include as well as how much to omit. This author is amazing! Most of the questions we, the reader, start out with in this novel are answered by the end in a way that gives us the satisfaction of “an ending” but leave enough hanging so that we are intrigued by the possibilities and will be waiting for the next installment. Great book!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start off my saying I have not read any of Darynda Jones' books prior to this, but I'm impressed. I feel she did a great job with character development and the story itself was good. BUT I did have issue with a few things. I feel that there were way too many questions for one book and that the solution to the most important (and honestly was ignored too much for my liking) problem was just kinda thrown out there. Sloppy almost. But again, I did very much enjoy the book. I'll be giving book 2 a chance when its released (hopefully not too far in the future) and I may give her other series a go while I'm waiting.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read A Bad Day for Sunshine. It kept popping up on my NetGalley homepage. Then I got a Read Now email from them and decided to bite the bullet.

I was surprised at how I felt about the book while reading it. Usually, I either like it or hate it right from the beginning. But in this case, I was neither about it. That “meh” feeling continued throughout the book, and it did play a massive part in why I gave the book a 3-star rating.

I felt that the plotline was dragged down by too many secondary storylines (no matter how brief). I wanted full attention on Sybil’s kidnapping and Sunshine’s past kidnapping. I kept getting overwhelmed with information while I read. I also felt that I should have kept notes because there was a point in the book where I couldn’t keep track of everything.

Saying that I did like the characters. They were all well written, and each had an individual personality, which appealed to me. Sunshine was amazingly strong in overcoming what she did. I also liked that she wasn’t stupid, and she was able to piece together clues fast. She did have a weak spot for attractive men (her BFF, Levi, the other agent), but I didn’t hold it against her. It made her more human in my eyes.

I thought Auri was adorable. She was determined to find out what happened to her friend, Sybil, no matter what. I loved how tough she was also. She dealt with a lot in this book. I won’t go into it, but how she dealt with everything that was happening to her was a testament to her inner strength.

The mystery angle of the book was well written. The author did a great job of keeping who the kidnapper was and why Sybil was taken under wraps until the end of the book. I was shocked by who it ended up being.

Sunshine’s kidnapping was brought up frequently in the book. By the end of the book, it had become one of those plotlines that would be stretched across a couple of books. I know I sound jaded, but I have a feeling I know who took her and who Auri’s father was.

The end of the book was ok. The main storyline, Sybil’s kidnapping, was wrapped up. The author set up for the next book. Do I want to read the next book? Maybe. I am interested in seeing if my theory about Sunshine’s kidnapping is correct.

This was laugh out loud funny in so many places. I so often had to read passages aloud to my husband after he glanced sideways at me after another outburst. Of course they're never as funny as stand alone paragraphs but he did understand occasionally what I found to be so funny. Sunshine was fabulous, so was her daughter and I loved the rest of her family too. I became totally invested in the story as she tried to unravel the mystery of the kidnapping in the town to which she vowed never to return. I've never read work by Darynda Jones before but I definitely will again. 5 stars!!!!