A Bad Day for Sunshine is the first book in a new series featuring Sheriff Sunshine Vicram. Sunshine is the new sheriff in town having won a race she doesn't remember entering. She is on a mission to find out what happened when she was a teenager. She has almost no memory of her missing days. Things get interesting when a teen goes missing from the high school. A girl who predicted her kidnapping.

I had this one on my TBR for a while and I'm regretting waiting so long to read it. I really enjoyed the book. The humor in the book reminded me of Stephanie Plum books (the early ones). I laughed out loud so many times, The mystery was engaging. There are a couple of mysteries actually. The characters were interesting. I loved Sunshine. I loved her relationship with her best friend Quincy. Their banter was hilarious. My favorite, though, was her relationship with her daughter, Auri. It was caring, fun and loving. I just loved how close they were and how honest and upfront Sunshine was with Auri.

The book ends in kind of a cliffhanger. There are a lot of questions still left unanswered, especially regarding Levi. The next book comes out next year and I can't wait to read it.

This was a pretty good book and kick-off to a new series. I loved getting to know Sunshine and her daughter, as well as other characters in this book. I’ve loved the books in Darynda’s other series and I’m sure I’ll love this new series just as much. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I think I'm broken! This just didn't do much of anything for me. Yeah, it was funny and wacky and I might even say zany!!!!! But I felt like everyone knew the joke and the punchline, but me. Things just came out of nowhere and I'd be scrolling back for pages trying to figure out what the heck I missed. I felt like I came in on Book 2 of a trilogy and most of the time I was just lost. I will say, that I love this author's sense of humor and I loved the relationship between Sun and Auri.

i really enjoyed Sunshine as a character, the mystery was great and I really enjoyed reading this book, i look forward to more in this universe.

There are multiple mysteries that take place in this story, but the main concern is the abduction of a 14-year old girl. We also see a rooster theft, a town flasher, a new officer, an escaped convict, and a missing officer. All of this takes place on Sunshine Vicram’s first day on the job as sheriff. I am sure when Sunshine decided to move back to her hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico she did not expect a first day like this one. This book defiantly has a slow start and you must really push yourself to get through it. Even the audiobook has its dry spells. I will, however, say once you get a least halfway through the book it does start to pick up. The mother/daughter duo is super cute and witty. It reminds me a lot of Veronica Mars in the way the father/daughter duo interacted with each other. So, if you liked Veronica Mars, I would recommend this book This is the first book in a series of Sunshine Vicram books. I give this book a 3.5-star rating because although I liked the concept, I could not get over some of the ridiculous things that took place in this book. I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was good, not great, but a fun read with great characters and interesting mystery. The question that plagues Sunshine seems to have such an obvious answer but maybe that is just a red herring to keep the reader interested for the next book in the series. I liked that Sunshine is a strong female protagonist and Auri is following in her footsteps. I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Summer time, hot, hot weather and scorch your skin off sunshine. An area in New Mexico is known for just these very things. Native Sunshine, yes, that's her name, has returned to this hot town to take up the position as sheriff. Not of her own accord, thanks to her well-meaning parents. Her first case is a missing teenager. Not too bad, right? Enter a kidnapper and this muddles things up quite a bit. Sunshine is starting to wonder just why she came back. Will it continue to rain trouble on the newly elected sheriff? Or will a glorious rainbow come out? Only Sunshine knows, for now.

You can not go wrong with Darynada Jones. Her characters are always fun and relatable. I can't wait to read more from Darynda Jones.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of A Bad Day for Sunshine. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

After her parents nominate her for the job of Sheriff, Sunshine Vicram finds herself back in her hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico with her teenage daughter in tow. When a missing girl brings back painful memories for Sunshine, will she be able to solve the case and just maybe get some closure with her own past?

I wanted to like A Bad Day for Sunshine because I particularly enjoy sassy main characters with a little bit of snark and humor, but the banter was a little over the top. At the end of the day, this thinly veiled mystery is really nothing special, as there is nothing to set it apart. The plot is such that the whole mystery comes together too easily and there is not enough in the character development to propel the book forward. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend A Bad Day for Sunshine to other readers.

I really wanted to like this book, and for the first 75 pages or so, I did. The narrator is interesting, with a strong voice, and basically a tough chick and I use that word to embrace it. The community of Del Sol reminds me very clearly my life that I lived when I Wentz lived in the southwest of the United States . Sunshine is or seems Young , strong, and vibrant . I just really wanted to be pulled into the story, and I just wasn't . With a tighter plot that moves more powerfully and character that is either unpredictable or determined by a powerful plot, I would be very interested in this book. I have this book on my TBR pile to set this book in its final form so as to see how it shaped up.

This author is such a great combination of story telling with humor and characters you just adore. I am really looking forward to more.

Totally enjoyed this! A great start to a new series. I loved Sunshine - she had just the right amount of snark for me. But I think it was Auri that stole the limelight. I have so many ideas about what happens in the future, and the past, and can't wait to see where this goes. Oh! And the nod to Charley was great :)

A quick note about the audio - FANTASTIC!

This was a fun mystery with a lot of humor and more depth than I expected from a cozy-like mystery. The main character is likable and one you want to root for. The people surrounding her and the town members are fun characters, too. I appreciated the small town setting, and the quick pace drew me into this book. I am hoping that this is the first of a series. If you enjoy Joan Hess or Janet Evanovich, I think you will enjoy this book.

A Bad Day for Sunshine introduces a new heroine and a new series. Meet Sunshine Vicram, newly elected sheriff of Del Sol, New Mexico thanks to a nomination from her well-meaning, meddling parents. Sunshine and her daughter move to the small town and settle in. Sunshine is expecting an uneventful job, with the most excitement coming from the local flasher. As usual, life has other ideas. She soon becomes embroiled in a kidnapping plot when a young, teenage girl goes missing. There's also trouble in her daughter's new school and Sunshine has to find a kidnapped chicken named Puff Daddy, Enter Levi, a very sexy U.S. Marshal and former high school flame. As she finds herself in increasing danger, Sunshine needs to find that kidnapper and decide what to do about her increasing attraction to Levi.
Darynda Jones has done it again. Sunshine Vicram is a funny, capable heroine. The novel is masterfully plotted and so much fun to read. I enjoyed it very much and I appreciate the chance to read the ARC.

Living in South Florida, A Bad Day for Sunday, has been my mantra for the past couple of days during social distancing. This is a wicked book of rom com fun and who doesn’t need a laugh these days but, there's also a thriller aspect! There’s a kidnapped prized rooster, a small town, and a missing teenage girl. Our MC is the newly elected Sheriff and she’s a badass. The mystery element drives the plot forward while the comedic antics by the characters provides much needed relief. This is the first in a new series. I love, love, love all the characters and can't wait for more.

In her Charley Davidson series of paranormal romantic thrillers, author Darynda Jones took readers on one outrageous adventure after another with the Grim Reaper. In A Bad Day for Sunshine, the first book in her new Sunshine Vicram series, the paranormal elements may be lighter, but action and comedy are still firmly in place.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

A Bad Day for Sunshine felt a lot like Charley on repeat, except in a non-paranormal world. Unfortunately the jokes, much like in the Charley series, became old and the characters were not as strong. The plot itself also featured a lot of questionable and highly unlikely features and this just does not work in the real world scenario like it does in the paranormal Charley world. Overall, it was Charley on repeat and it just didn't work.

3.5 stars.


Sunshine Vicram has returned to her hometown as the elected sheriff, an election her parents entered her in. She returns with her teenage daughter, Auri. On her first day on the job Sun finds herself searching for a missing girl, a missing autistic teenage boy, a runaway rooster and a fugitive. Not to mention the mayor is waiting for her fail. And add to that the love of her life, Levi, who she thinks hates her. No pressure at all. All of that is reminding her why she even left her town in the first place.

To be honest I have mixed feelings about this book. Eventhough I loved that it’s an easy and fun read, there are also aspects of it that I think fell flat to me. I liked the dual POV, between Sun and her daughter Auri. I loved their relationship, the relationship between Sun and her parents, and also Sun’s relationship with her best friend since childhood, Quincy. I liked the quirky characters. I especially liked Auri.

I loved the humor and the quotes at the beginning of every chapter.

The mystery of Sun’s past fell flat to me, because it was very obvious. Her blindness frustrated me a bit because there were so many clues, and she could have easily connected the dots since she’s a sheriff. This mystery is not solved, so we’ll have to wait for the second book, even though I’m pretty sure I figured it out.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I got SO TIRED of the Charley Davidson series, which I really liked in the beginning. I finally quit it. But when I saw this book, I said "Okay Darynda, let's try again." I thought the small-town New Mexican setting was great. There was a good amount of humor. Excellent character development with some hinting at backstories yet to be completely developed (got to save something for the rest of the series). I loved Sunshine's relationship with both her daughter and her parents, as well as the men in the picture. Plus, the kidnapping plot makes this stand out from your run-of-the-mill murder mysteries. It wasn't perfect, but it was a solid read and I have hopes (I won't say high hopes) that Sunshine will quickly surpass Charley.

I was already behind and didn’t write reviews for a huge chunk of the pandemic, so anything I read from February-July was reviewed in August or later… hence the lack of details!

Sunshine Vicram is the new sheriff in her former home town. On her first day, she starts investigating a case that is eerily similar to some experiences in her past. The case starts to creep into every aspect of her life, even involving her daughter.

This story had it all, suspense, action, love, and a little mystery. It was an entertaining read for me - I would definitely suggest this book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review