Darynda Jones is back, with an entirely different kind of story to tell. I suspect Darynda could write the phone book, and there would still be humor, love and friendship.

A Bad Day for Sunshine takes the reader down a different path for those familiar with her other series. There are no paranormal elements to the story line, just good old fashioned cops, kidnappings and high school bullies.

Following Sunshine Vicram and her daughter Auri on their move back to Del Sol, the story is laced with Darynda's trademark humor and heart. And the potential love interest? Those scenes were H.O.T, and left me begging for more of that story.

With more action than the town of Del Sol has seen in years, Sunshine's first days on the job as sheriff of Del Sol were full of action and mystery. I am left with theories upon theories, and I can not wait to find out what direction this series will take us. What I know for certain is that it promises to be another winner, and I can hardly wait to see how things unfold.

This new character took some getting used to. I kept expecting Charlie to come popping into a scene. I've been won over by Darynda's ability to create another fantastic storyline and I can't wait to read more!

A new series by a fun author. While there is plenty of witty and fun banter, there is also an undercurrent of evil with the kidnapping and body found in the woods. Sunshine is the new sheriff of Del Sol, New Mexico. With her 14 year old daughter in tow she returns to her hometown and old flame Levi. Hard to put this one down, and kept me guessing to the end who the kidnapper was. Would highly recommend this book and author.

This is the first book by the author that I have read and based on prior reviews of her books I thought I would take a chance on it. It is the beginning of a new series with a new character. I was very disappointed as I found the writing style erratic and unengaging. I am sure that fans of the author will find this book likeable, but as for me it will the last one that I will read.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

A Bad Day for Sunshine is a great new series from Darynda Jones. The story is full of Darynda's signature humor but also has a great mystery and crime to be solved. I look forward to seeing where this series goes.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had never read anything by this author but intend to find her other books now. This book has it all; humor, current issues, a great plot and well written story. It shows women in a public role. Can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I was a little Leary about this book, I thought I was going to hate it because I wanted more grave books and more Charlie but I was so wrong. This book was amazing......funny.....charming. How can you go wrong with a character called Doug the flasher. This book will not disappoint.....grab it up quick you will thank me later.

This book completely surprised me. I *loved* it and read it in one sitting. The characters are very realistic, the story is compelling, and the action is addictive!

***4.5 Stars***


A Bad Day for Sunshine is a good way to start off my reading for the New Year. The novel is about Sheriff Sunshine Vicram and her daughter Auri Vicram. The series starts off with Sunshine winning an election that she didn't actually run for as she just moved back to her hometown, and from there we get all the wacky things that go on in Del Sol, New Mexico. The series follows Sunshine as she's working against time to solve a kidnapping case of one of her daughter's friends that just moved to the small city. She's not only dealing with that, but threats from the mayor, another missing teen, her crush on the town's bad boy Levi, and working on her own criminal case secretly from an incident that happened when she was only 17yrs old. I enjoyed that Darynda has two main characters, in that we not only follow Sunshine's life but, also her 14yr old daughter Auri and the hardships she goes through being not only a teenager, but also the Sheriff's daughter. The interactions that they have with each other are heart warming and funny, they have excellent chemistry as a mother and daughter team. The supporting characters are wonderful too, Quincy(Sunshine's best friend), Levi(crush) Hailey(Levi's sister & Sunshine's nemesis) Jimmy( Hailey's son who's also autistic), and Cruz( Auri's friend and crush) and let's not forget how wonderful Sunshine's parents are. The ensemble cast adds a great dynamic to the story making it very well rounded.

But, let me tell you, it took me a pretty long minute to finish this book. I loved the Charley Davidson series and thought this book would capture me from the beginning as it predecessor did, but that wasn't the case. I initially started reading the book back in November and then picked it back up on and off in late December and then finally read it consistently for the past 5 days. In my opinion the beginning of the book started off a little too wacky and a little slow, and that's where my reluctance on reading the book fell in. Although the pace was steadily moving as the author had to do the groundwork on the characters, it didn't really pick up until around 50%. Even though, I didn't really start enjoying the story until the latter half of the novel, it is still a great book to start off the New Year's with and kept me wanting more. It's like now I'm regretting starting the series so early and that the book doesn't actually come out until April, and I'm over here anticipating for the second book, which I will definitely be reading. It has a good premise and I actually think it will become better than her Charley Davidson series. I'm not going to lie the ending although not too much of a cliffhanger, still leaves me wanting more. I will definitely be adding this to my blog pages2bigscreens.com as it would it would be a great addition to a TV lineup.

Darynda Jones begins a new series with a brand new set of characters. Sunshine has just been nominated sheriff, and on her first day she has a real big case to solve. Be prepared for a great mystery with a witty main character and a host of charismatic sidekicks that keeps the story moving at a quick pace.

I really enjoyed this book! I am already a fan of Darynda Jones, so j was excited to see she started a new series! This book was written well, had a great story with twists and turns and I loved the characters! I would highly recommend!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

A well planned mystery! I haven't read this author's previous series but I intend to seek out her older books and hope to enjoy them as much as I did this one. I also liked the secondary mystery and it kept me wanting to learn more about the characters.

Excellent new book from Darynda. Took me a little while to get into it but wow once I did I could not put it down. Another winner here.

I could not connect with the characters in this book, even though I found the plot interesting. The writing style was exceedingly informal as well, which I found jarring.

A friend convinced me to ask for this book & I'm mostly glad I did. I love mysteries & this had so many elements that I loved. Sunshine is the newly elected sheriff of a small county in New Mexico. On her first day at work a teenage girl goes missing, which brings back a lot of trauma from Sunshine's own past.

I liked the story and the characters. I loved Auri & Sunshine together. Unfortunately, there are as some weird sexual content in there that was completely out of place. The writer also seems to be trying to build on the !mystery of Sunshine's assault years prior, but it's kinda obvious. While I enjoyed this book, I don't think I would continue the series.

What a nice surprise this book is! It starts cheerily as Sunshine and her daughter Auri move back to Sun’s hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico. Sun is beginning her first day of work as the new town sheriff, and Auri is going to high school. Chaos erupts, and together they look into the case of a missing teenager. There is a solid cast of local characters, a bit of romance, the dialogue is witty, and I couldn’t help but smile at the wry little blurbs at the beginning of each chapter. As an extra, I loved the shout-out to Lisbeth Salander. Ms. Jones is a new author for me, and I look forward to reading more of her books, hoping that this is the start of a new series. 4-1/2 rounded up to 5 stars.

ARC/Ebook/Mystery: I would like to thank NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of this book. If doesn't come out for a long while, so no spoilers here. I had to fight myself not to compare Sun to Charley Davidson in a "What would happen several years from now to Charley and Beep" scenario and let this non-paranormal form for me. After I got through that, I warmed up to the characters better.

I was hoping the title was part of the book and everything would happen in just one day, but it is over about three days. The bad guy was handed to the reader so easily, I felt that it had to be someone else. I was wrong. There are still too many questions in the end so that make it so there has to be another book. As far as the writing, it is quick with no extra filler.
I definitely recommend this as I liked its quick wit. There are some funny and charming moments in the book and with several plots going on all at the same time.

I loved Ms Jones’ series about Charley so I was uber excited to see the start of a new series. And the fact that I received an ARC made it even better (thank you to the publisher and #netgalley).

That being said, I wanted to love Sunshine, and I kind of did. But not as much as Charley. If I hadn't compared, maybe I would have loved her more.

Sunshine is funny, witty, smart and really thinks on her feet. However, she seemed a bit flakey at times, and I had a hard time with the story of HOW she became sheriff.

The story and the characters are fun, and it's a quick read. But I think I was expecting just a little bit more.

Sunshine Vicram is a detective who is suddenly going to be sheriff. How the heck did that happen? No one seems to know but she is going to roll with it....for now. And then her bad day really gets going!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sunshine is a great character. She has a history that no one can fully explain. She has a teen daughter she loves with all of her heart. There's a man she has been in love with forever but he doesn't know it and besides, his family might be tied to organized crime. Her parents are loving and a little bit suffocating. And now she has a whole bunch of cops that work for her and a couple of crazy crimes to solve.

This story had a great main crime story that ended in an interesting way. There are lots of crazy, goofy side stories that all make sense. The author did a good job giving readers a sense of the weirdness of the town where the story takes place. There is a lot of room for the characters to grow and develop in future stories.

I thought the mystery that is Levi Ravinder is a little annoying. I know, it's setting up a long term story but I still found myself shaking my Kindle looking for a little more info. I have lots of theories but we'll just have to see what happens in the next book.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, fast paced contemporary story. There is a love story but it is not a romance book. This is like crime lite.

This book has fun and chaos in equal measure. not having read this author before wasn't sure what to expect. A plot line that keeps you wanting to read to the end. Holds your interest and keeps you guessing to the very end. Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.