Tag: Sunshine Vicram

PUB DAY REPOST: A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones: A Good Way to End the Trilogy (even if I don’t want it to end)

A Hard Day for a HangoverA Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

DETAILS:
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #3
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: November 16-19, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s A Hard Day for a Hangover About?

Wow, this is hard to do. This is the third book in a trilogy, so let’s start off with this—all the ongoing storylines are progressing—barrelling to some sort of conclusion, we get to know everyone a little better, we see the ramifications and ripple effects of the deaths, arrests, plots, and everything else from book 1 and 2, secrets are revealed, lives are changed, and….well, it’s a third book. A lot happens, many things end, and some things start.

There are a couple of new/book-specific plotlines: the town flasher gets stabbed by an unlikely weapon; a prisoner escapes from state custody, which leads to some uncomfortable questions for Sherrif Vicram; someone breaks into the home of one of the town’s elderly residents (and she wants it covered up); a young woman is found beaten and hanging on for dear life—and she may not be the first woman in that situation; and a group of grade schoolers starts a boy band (you won’t believe which of those storylines intersect).

All in all, this is a bad week for Sunny to start hungover.

Hot Ones

I’m not a die-hard fan, but my wife and I watch a lot of Hot Ones—and we frequently buy and use the sauces we see on the show. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should fix that, and this illustration won’t make much sense. Sorry about that.

When I’m eating those sauces, I generally prefer the ones that are in the 1-3 slots, but occasionally, I can enjoy up to a 5 (and, yes, I’ve eaten sauces in all 10 spots—and have consumed “The Last Dab” more than once). If you convert Hot Ones‘s sauces into sex scenes in books, I think you’d find my tastes for those pretty well align. Keep things mild, close the door before things go too far, and let these people have some privacy.

Jones clearly has no designs to do anything like that. This book (like the rest of the series) is definitely not erotica—but it’s far too spicy for my taste. It’s not so distasteful that I have to stop reading, but my skim-reflex does kick in. As I said when I talked about A Good Day for Chardonnay, All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

I would guess that there are fewer spicey scenes in this book, but they rank higher on the Scoville scale. That’s going to please some (most?) fans, but others should know that going in.

Too Much?

Like the previous two books, Jones keeps the action jumping back and forth between Sunny and Auri, from case to case, or from case to personal arc constantly. And every time you think you’re about to settle into one of the stories for a while, she yanks the focus from you to something else (quite possibly something you’d forgotten was going on). There are times I felt like a lab dropped into a herd of squirrels, never sure what I should be focused on because there were so many things to watch.

And, on the whole, I found this as effective and fun as before. I don’t think Jones could write a boring story, but I’m not sure because she never gives you the chance to start to get bored with a storyline, before she changes things.

But…I’m not sure it was the right choice for this book. She’d given us so many great characters, so many wonderful ideas and plots, plus the new ones we that she introduced in this novel. I think it was just too much. There were (at least) two great characters that we never got to see this whole novel—they were mentioned, but the life-changing nature of what transpired in the storyline they’re attached to could’ve used their presence. Mostly, I’m bothered because one of them was one of the brightest rays of sunshine in the series (and in this series, that’s saying something).*

* I take that back. Sort of. One of the two I’m thinking of shows up for one scene. The fact that I remembered this just before publishing both illustrates what I said about this being overstuffed and undercuts my complaint.

Then there are storylines that seem to be given short-shrift—I can’t get into specifics without spoilers—but there were a couple of storylines that we’d spent so much time over the previous two books that I expected something major to occur here—but we get token bits of instead. That’s largely true for some of the storylines introduced in these pages, too.

Still, there’s just so much happening—so much to enjoy and get caught up in—that other than the absence of that bright ray of sunshine I mentioned, I didn’t notice and/or care about this until I sat down to think about and write about the book. I do think that this novel could’ve benefited from another 70-100 pages to give us all the characters readers expect to see and give adequate space for all the storylines. But in 350 pages for Jones to accomplish all that she does is an impressive feat and I don’t want to complain about that.

I guess I’m just feeling like someone who goes to a concert for a favorite band and they don’t play as many of their hits that you wanted them to, just most of them—and seemed to cut off the encore a little sooner than you’d hoped.

So, what did I think about A Hard Day for a Hangover?

I had such a blast with this. I seriously didn’t want it to end—not just because of what I talked about in the last section—but unless this trilogy spawns a sequel or becomes a longer series, this is the end of the road for these characters. I don’t want to be done with them—especially not Auri and her friends. We’ve gone so far with all of these characters and I want to see what happens to them next.

That doesn’t seem fair to this book—it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s sweet—probably sweeter than the rest just because of where various storylines resolve. Even the silly raccoon storyline will elicit a few “awwww”s. The banter between Sunny and Auri is as great as ever—ditto for Quincy and Sunny. I don’t need plots, Jones can just release occasional 30-40 page collections of conversations between those pairs every now and then as they go about their daily lives, and I’ll buy every one.

The mysteries were resolved nicely (and I got one pretty large surprise along the way)—although I thought the missing prisoner story was resolved a bit too neatly (space issue, I’m sure). It’d be easy to overlook most of those stories in the midst of all the other stuff going on, and that’d be a shame—Jones really can tell a mystery story well and I hope she returns to the genre soon.

I’m honestly at a loss for what to say beyond this—if you’ve read A Bad Day for Sunshine and A Good Day for Chardonnay, of course, you’re going to want to read this—and you’ll be so glad that you did. If you haven’t read the previous novels—do not start here, go back and start from A Bad Day and you’ll thank me. This book—like the series—is a little bit Moonlighting, it’s a little bit Veronica Mars, it’s a little bit Gilmore Girls, and it’s a lot of warm-hearted fun.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones: A Good Way to End the Trilogy (even if I don’t want it to end)

A Hard Day for a HangoverA Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

DETAILS:
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #3
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: November 16-19, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s A Hard Day for a Hangover About?

Wow, this is hard to do. This is the third book in a trilogy, so let’s start off with this—all the ongoing storylines are progressing—barrelling to some sort of conclusion, we get to know everyone a little better, we see the ramifications and ripple effects of the deaths, arrests, plots, and everything else from book 1 and 2, secrets are revealed, lives are changed, and….well, it’s a third book. A lot happens, many things end, and some things start.

There are a couple of new/book-specific plotlines: the town flasher gets stabbed by an unlikely weapon; a prisoner escapes from state custody, which leads to some uncomfortable questions for Sherrif Vicram; someone breaks into the home of one of the town’s elderly residents (and she wants it covered up); a young woman is found beaten and hanging on for dear life—and she may not be the first woman in that situation; and a group of grade schoolers starts a boy band (you won’t believe which of those storylines intersect).

All in all, this is a bad week for Sunny to start hungover.

Hot Ones

I’m not a die-hard fan, but my wife and I watch a lot of Hot Ones—and we frequently buy and use the sauces we see on the show. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should fix that, and this illustration won’t make much sense. Sorry about that.

When I’m eating those sauces, I generally prefer the ones that are in the 1-3 slots, but occasionally, I can enjoy up to a 5 (and, yes, I’ve eaten sauces in all 10 spots—and have consumed “The Last Dab” more than once). If you convert Hot Ones‘s sauces into sex scenes in books, I think you’d find my tastes for those pretty well align. Keep things mild, close the door before things go too far, and let these people have some privacy.

Jones clearly has no designs to do anything like that. This book (like the rest of the series) is definitely not erotica—but it’s far too spicy for my taste. It’s not so distasteful that I have to stop reading, but my skim-reflex does kick in. As I said when I talked about A Good Day for Chardonnay, All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

I would guess that there are fewer spicey scenes in this book, but they rank higher on the Scoville scale. That’s going to please some (most?) fans, but others should know that going in.

Too Much?

Like the previous two books, Jones keeps the action jumping back and forth between Sunny and Auri, from case to case, or from case to personal arc constantly. And every time you think you’re about to settle into one of the stories for a while, she yanks the focus from you to something else (quite possibly something you’d forgotten was going on). There are times I felt like a lab dropped into a herd of squirrels, never sure what I should be focused on because there were so many things to watch.

And, on the whole, I found this as effective and fun as before. I don’t think Jones could write a boring story, but I’m not sure because she never gives you the chance to start to get bored with a storyline, before she changes things.

But…I’m not sure it was the right choice for this book. She’d given us so many great characters, so many wonderful ideas and plots, plus the new ones we that she introduced in this novel. I think it was just too much. There were (at least) two great characters that we never got to see this whole novel—they were mentioned, but the life-changing nature of what transpired in the storyline they’re attached to could’ve used their presence. Mostly, I’m bothered because one of them was one of the brightest rays of sunshine in the series (and in this series, that’s saying something).*

* I take that back. Sort of. One of the two I’m thinking of shows up for one scene. The fact that I remembered this just before publishing both illustrates what I said about this being overstuffed and undercuts my complaint.

Then there are storylines that seem to be given short-shrift—I can’t get into specifics without spoilers—but there were a couple of storylines that we’d spent so much time over the previous two books that I expected something major to occur here—but we get token bits of instead. That’s largely true for some of the storylines introduced in these pages, too.

Still, there’s just so much happening—so much to enjoy and get caught up in—that other than the absence of that bright ray of sunshine I mentioned, I didn’t notice and/or care about this until I sat down to think about and write about the book. I do think that this novel could’ve benefited from another 70-100 pages to give us all the characters readers expect to see and give adequate space for all the storylines. But in 350 pages for Jones to accomplish all that she does is an impressive feat and I don’t want to complain about that.

I guess I’m just feeling like someone who goes to a concert for a favorite band and they don’t play as many of their hits that you wanted them to, just most of them—and seemed to cut off the encore a little sooner than you’d hoped.

So, what did I think about A Hard Day for a Hangover?

I had such a blast with this. I seriously didn’t want it to end—not just because of what I talked about in the last section—but unless this trilogy spawns a sequel or becomes a longer series, this is the end of the road for these characters. I don’t want to be done with them—especially not Auri and her friends. We’ve gone so far with all of these characters and I want to see what happens to them next.

That doesn’t seem fair to this book—it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s sweet—probably sweeter than the rest just because of where various storylines resolve. Even the silly raccoon storyline will elicit a few “awwww”s. The banter between Sunny and Auri is as great as ever—ditto for Quincy and Sunny. I don’t need plots, Jones can just release occasional 30-40 page collections of conversations between those pairs every now and then as they go about their daily lives, and I’ll buy every one.

The mysteries were resolved nicely (and I got one pretty large surprise along the way)—although I thought the missing prisoner story was resolved a bit too neatly (space issue, I’m sure). It’d be easy to overlook most of those stories in the midst of all the other stuff going on, and that’d be a shame—Jones really can tell a mystery story well and I hope she returns to the genre soon.

I’m honestly at a loss for what to say beyond this—if you’ve read A Bad Day for Sunshine and A Good Day for Chardonnay, of course, you’re going to want to read this—and you’ll be so glad that you did. If you haven’t read the previous novels—do not start here, go back and start from A Bad Day and you’ll thank me. This book—like the series—is a little bit Moonlighting, it’s a little bit Veronica Mars, it’s a little bit Gilmore Girls, and it’s a lot of warm-hearted fun.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

PUB DAY REPOST: A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones: Sunny and Auri get into Some Cold Cases in their Hot Town

A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay

by Darynda Jones
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #2

eARC, 416 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2021

Read:July 12-14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Last year, on a whim, I put in a request for the first book in a new series on NetGalley, a comedic novel about a Sherriff in quirky Del Sol, New Mexico. I’m pretty sure of the new-to-me authors I tried last year, Darynda Jones was my favorite. The combination of clever comedy, tense crime drama, slapstick, romance, sweet mother-daughter ness, and a splash of sexiness*. With that list of ingredients, you either have yourself a very tasty dessert or a giant mess—A Bad Day for Sunshine was the former.

* I don’t normally like sexy in a book, but if it’s done right, I can appreciate it. This was a bit too much for me, but it was tolerable.

This brings us to…

What’s A Good Day for Chardonnay About?

A typical day—as far as you can consider any day “typical” in Del Sol–is underway when Sunshine is called to the scene of Levi Ravnder’s bar—he was involved in breaking up what looked like a bar fight and things went very, very bad.

The investigation into what actually happened opens up a veritable Pandora’s box. There’s the fight (which leaves an old friend of Ravinder’s near-death) but soon, Sunny finds herself looking into a couple of cold cases from her past, forced to consider she might have been wrong. Meanwhile, she’s dodging the follow-up attempts of one of history’s worst blind dates.

Oh, yeah, and Sunny’s still digging into her abduction from her adolescence—and what she learns and remembers in this book makes the revelations we got last time out seem like nothing.

Auri

As great as I think Sunshine is as a character, ditto for almost all the other characters in this series. They all pale in comparison to Sunshine’s daughter, Auri. Her spunk, intelligence, and humor just endear her to me—and the relationship (particularly the conversations between the two).

We know that she’s done a Veronica Mars-kind of thing at her old school, and she played an active role in one of the investigations. This time out, speaking of cold cases, she’s got it into her head that one of the more colorful citizens of Del Sol was a serial killer decades ago and sets out to prove it (dragging her best friend and boyfriend along with her).

That might sound a little wacky, and it was at the beginning, but in the end, it was one of the richest storylines in the novel. Auri does some foolish, foolish things—but she does so with great intentions and care for others. It’s hard not to cheer for someone doing that—even if it lands her, her friends, and others in peril.

Wow. She Really Did That?

Beyond telling a pretty fun story, ABDfS set up a lot of interesting ongoing arcs and introduced a great cast of characters that I was expecting to enjoy reading for a few novels. And Darynda Jones pulled the rug out from under my expectations.

Not all of the characters from ABDfS survive this book and more than a couple of the ongoing arcs were resolved. This didn’t seem like the kind of series where that kind of thing was going to happen.

Clearly, I was wrong—and, as per usual when an author surprises me, I liked the way Jones did all of those. While I was expecting two of the arcs to go on for another book or three, I was relieved and pleased they didn’t. There are new characters and arcs to take their place–and I’m eager to see what happens to all of them.

My Mother

Yeah, this is odd for me to talk about, but I have to throw this in. Last week on our road trip, my wife and I listened to the audiobook for ABDfS, and I was taken aback by how racey it was. I vaguely remembered it, but my memory was a little off.

But this book? It’s, um, more detailed. Which isn’t my thing, but I get what Jones is doing and am sure that most of her readers will appreciate it. All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

Which is just a long way to say, if you like reading that kind of thing—Jones does a pretty effective job,

So, what did I think about A Good Day for Chardonnay?

Short answer—I think I enjoyed ABDfS a smidgen more than this one, but that was probably the joy of discovery because I think this was a better novel. Either way, it doesn’t really matter, because this was a blast.

Jones throws everything into the pot—crime, romance, teen romance, family drama, dumb comedy, clever wordplay, and more—and it works. It all works. I laughed, I felt the tension, I even got a little misty at one point—well, okay, I got very misty at one point.

Darynda Jones and Sunshine Vicram are a dynamite pair and I hope to be reading them for a long, long time.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones: Sunny and Auri get into Some Cold Cases in their Hot Town

A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay

by Darynda Jones
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #2

eARC, 416 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2021

Read:July 12-14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Last year, on a whim, I put in a request for the first book in a new series on NetGalley, a comedic novel about a Sherriff in quirky Del Sol, New Mexico. I’m pretty sure of the new-to-me authors I tried last year, Darynda Jones was my favorite. The combination of clever comedy, tense crime drama, slapstick, romance, sweet mother-daughter ness, and a splash of sexiness*. With that list of ingredients, you either have yourself a very tasty dessert or a giant mess—A Bad Day for Sunshine was the former.

* I don’t normally like sexy in a book, but if it’s done right, I can appreciate it. This was a bit too much for me, but it was tolerable.

This brings us to…

What’s A Good Day for Chardonnay About?

A typical day—as far as you can consider any day “typical” in Del Sol–is underway when Sunshine is called to the scene of Levi Ravnder’s bar—he was involved in breaking up what looked like a bar fight and things went very, very bad.

The investigation into what actually happened opens up a veritable Pandora’s box. There’s the fight (which leaves an old friend of Ravinder’s near-death) but soon, Sunny finds herself looking into a couple of cold cases from her past, forced to consider she might have been wrong. Meanwhile, she’s dodging the follow-up attempts of one of history’s worst blind dates.

Oh, yeah, and Sunny’s still digging into her abduction from her adolescence—and what she learns and remembers in this book makes the revelations we got last time out seem like nothing.

Auri

As great as I think Sunshine is as a character, ditto for almost all the other characters in this series. They all pale in comparison to Sunshine’s daughter, Auri. Her spunk, intelligence, and humor just endear her to me—and the relationship (particularly the conversations between the two).

We know that she’s done a Veronica Mars-kind of thing at her old school, and she played an active role in one of the investigations. This time out, speaking of cold cases, she’s got it into her head that one of the more colorful citizens of Del Sol was a serial killer decades ago and sets out to prove it (dragging her best friend and boyfriend along with her).

That might sound a little wacky, and it was at the beginning, but in the end, it was one of the richest storylines in the novel. Auri does some foolish, foolish things—but she does so with great intentions and care for others. It’s hard not to cheer for someone doing that—even if it lands her, her friends, and others in peril.

Wow. She Really Did That?

Beyond telling a pretty fun story, ABDfS set up a lot of interesting ongoing arcs and introduced a great cast of characters that I was expecting to enjoy reading for a few novels. And Darynda Jones pulled the rug out from under my expectations.

Not all of the characters from ABDfS survive this book and more than a couple of the ongoing arcs were resolved. This didn’t seem like the kind of series where that kind of thing was going to happen.

Clearly, I was wrong—and, as per usual when an author surprises me, I liked the way Jones did all of those. While I was expecting two of the arcs to go on for another book or three, I was relieved and pleased they didn’t. There are new characters and arcs to take their place–and I’m eager to see what happens to all of them.

My Mother

Yeah, this is odd for me to talk about, but I have to throw this in. Last week on our road trip, my wife and I listened to the audiobook for ABDfS, and I was taken aback by how racey it was. I vaguely remembered it, but my memory was a little off.

But this book? It’s, um, more detailed. Which isn’t my thing, but I get what Jones is doing and am sure that most of her readers will appreciate it. All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

Which is just a long way to say, if you like reading that kind of thing—Jones does a pretty effective job,

So, what did I think about A Good Day for Chardonnay?

Short answer—I think I enjoyed ABDfS a smidgen more than this one, but that was probably the joy of discovery because I think this was a better novel. Either way, it doesn’t really matter, because this was a blast.

Jones throws everything into the pot—crime, romance, teen romance, family drama, dumb comedy, clever wordplay, and more—and it works. It all works. I laughed, I felt the tension, I even got a little misty at one point—well, okay, I got very misty at one point.

Darynda Jones and Sunshine Vicram are a dynamite pair and I hope to be reading them for a long, long time.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

My Favorite Crime/Mystery/Detective/Thriller Fiction of 2020

Finally, we’re at the end of my 2020 wrap-up, it feels like I’ve been at this for a month, not just 11 days. Like I’ve said previously, my intention was to be done three or four days ago, but oh, well.

In a real sense, this was a challenging list to come up with, but the first 7 jumped to mind instantly, even back in December when I started to think about what might show up. It was those last three that I had to labor over—there were so many good candidates (see the list at the end of this post for the six-way tie for 11th place).

Once again, I’ll note that I limit my lists to things I read for the first time (so the nine Robert B. Parker books I re-read last year didn’t make up most of this list). I’d be willing to guarantee anyone reading this page will enjoy at least 6 of these (which six will vary from reader to reader). I’m tempted to say that all the listed books are guaranteed for everyone, but people’s tastes are too varied, so I’ll hedge my bet. Try these, and you’ll be glad you did.

(in alphabetical order by author)

The RevelatorsThe Revelators

by Ace Atkins
My original post
Here, in book 10, Ace Atkins wraps up storylines he’s been building up for ages, characters move on (some are even still alive when that happens), and what comes next for Quinn Colson and his community is anybody’s guess (although, I’m pretty sure there’ll be a white, corrupt politician behind it, because…well, it’s Tibbehah County). A dynamite novel.

5 Stars

Deep Dark NightDeep Dark Night

by Steph Broadribb

My original post
Lori and JT are finally pressured to do the shady work for the FBI Agent that’s been looming over her head forever, and it goes horribly, horribly wrong. Which is a treat for the reader. You’ve got the JT, Lori, and a whole bunch of unsavory people trapped on the top floor of a Chicago highrise, and the thrills start from there. Strong character development in the middle of some of the tensest action you can imagine. Great ride.

4 1/2 Stars

The Law of InnocenceThe Law of Innocence

by Michael Connelly

My original post
I was slightly afraid of that when I read the blurb for this—did we really need two books from Connelly in 2020 where the protagonist is suspected of a murder that there’s no chance at all that he committed? By the beginning of Chapter Two, any trepidation had vanished. By the end, this may be my favorite Lincoln Lawyer book yet. The courtroom action was fantastic. I absolutely loved it.

4 1/2 Stars

The CuratorThe Curator

by M. W. Craven

My original post
What a great hook. What a fantastic series of twists. What a wonderful concept for a killer and modus operandi. Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are a couple of my favorite characters and they got to shine here. I just want to rave and rave and rave about this book, but I have things to do, so I’d better move on.

5 Stars

King of the CrowsKing of the Crows

by Russell Day

My original post
There’s no way I can sum up my appreciation for this book in this post. Set in a world recovering from a pandemic, there’s a straightforward crime story at the heart of this novel—it’s just surrounded by so many layers, that you can miss it—there’s the disease, there’s the horrible social and political context (both mid- and post-Outbreak), there’s what the characters are going through otherwise—and the whole thing is drenched in social commentary about 2020 society, e.g., sexism, economics, medical care. Yeah, it was bad timing that this book came out in 2020 when the last thing that many people want to read is a novel about a disease that’s out of control. But this had been in the works for months before anyone had heard of COVID-19. I’ve wondered what I’d think of this book if I’d read it last Fall. I’d still like it, I’d still be impressed by it—but I don’t know if it would resonate with me the same way. There’s almost nothing about Gondii that’s comparable to COVID-19. But the way that people and governments respond—well, that’s pretty different, too. but if you can’t see what’s going on around us reflected in this novel? You’re not paying attention. That Day appears so prescient says something about his skill and observation (and a lot about Western culture, too).

5 Stars

Lost HillsLost Hills

by Lee Goldberg

My original post
A young detective takes advantage of Social Media stardom to get herself a promotion she’s not quite ready for. But she’s determined to get there. She has to overcome her own lack of experience and a department that resents her. Eve Ronin’s first homicide case starts with a grizzly scene and the apparent murder of a woman, her two children, and a dog. Soon, she’s finding herself racing with an out-of-control wildfire that’s about to wipe out any evidence related to the case and the killer’s last victim. A great start to what promises to be a fun series.

4 1/2 Stars

Luck and JudgementLuck and Judgement

Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

My original post
DC Smith and his trainee are brought along with some other government investigators to look into a missing person/death on an oil rig. Smith’s the only one who doesn’t think it’s an accident. He begins to investigate the death as a murder and uncovers a lot more than he bargained for. Humor, heart, and humanity are the bedrock of this series and all of them shine forth in this procedural.

4 Stars

A Bad Day for SunshineA Bad Day for Sunshine

by Darynda Jones

My original post
This is pure, escapist fun. Think Gilmore Girls mixed with Veronica Mars. A single mom is a new sheriff of a quirky little New Mexico town, with a spunky daughter. There’s a kidnapping, an escaped convict, a missing deputy, and cursed cupcakes. Great dialogue, witty repartee, a mother-daughter relationship that will earn Jones many fans. This is as much fun as you can pack into a police procedural without making it a comedy, but still full of grim, grisly, depravity and darkness. It’s a nice serving of literary comfort food. There’s a freshness to this voice that I just loved, but my appreciation for this book (and the series it launches) goes deeper.

4 1/2 Stars

How the Wired WeepHow the Wired Weep

by Ian Patrick

My original post
There are two protagonists here—one is a small-time criminal, the other is a London Detective Sergeant who recruits and handles informants—excuse me, Covert Human Intelligence Sources. The criminal is fresh out of prison and is being used to get information on an up-and-coming local gang leader. There’s plenty of moral ambiguity to go around here, which is probably pretty realistic for this line of work (on both sides of the law). Patrick gives a more intimate, more powerful novel than he has with his Sam Batford series with this fascinating look into a side of policing most novels don’t.

4 1/2 Stars

Of Mutts and MenOf Mutts and Men

by Spencer Quinn

My original post
I’ve been a fan of this series since chapter 3 or so of the first book. Here in the tenth novel, Quinn is better than ever. There are some really strong emotional moments in the novel, some character growth (not in Chet, our animal narrator, never fear), and a mystery even more complex readers are used to from Chet and Bernie. Still, this is a series about a down-on-his-luck PI and his canine partner—a mix of goofy fun and solid PI fiction, fun, fun, stuff.

4 1/2 Stars

Books that almost made the list—and did in various drafts (links to my original posts): The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes; The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton; The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge; Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kowalski; Far from the Tree by Rob Parker, Warren Brown (Narrator); and Light it Up by Nick Petrie

Pub Day Post: A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones: Now that’s a first day on the job

A Bad Day for Sunshine

A Bad Day for Sunshine

by Darynda Jones
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #1

eARC, 400pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2020

Read: March 31-April 4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


We meet Sunshine Vicram on the first day of her new job, Sheriff of Del Sol, New Mexico. It’s truly remarkable that one of the state’s most successful law enforcement officers won the office in the small town she grew up in, if for no other reason than she didn’t run for office. Somehow, she handily defeated the incumbent and now finds herself living in a small apartment in her parent’s backyard with her daughter, leading a small force with her childhood best friend as her Chief Deputy.

Her first day on the job is marred by an ominous basket of muffins (literally), a car crashing through the front of her headquarters, a threat from the mayor, a stolen (maybe?) chicken, escaped prisoners, and a runaway/kidnapped fourteen-year-old-girl. Not the most auspicious start, really.

The missing teenager is the Sun’s biggest focus—Sybil’s a quiet, socially awkward girl with no real friends. Sun’s daughter, Auri, had spent some time getting to know her, and she’s the closest thing she seemed to have had to a friend. It appears that she has been kidnapped (but Sun has to look into the alternative) and that the clock is ticking to find and rescue her.

Auri’s first day at the public high school is possibly rougher than her mom’s. Her mom has to deal with hardened criminals, but Auri has to deal with Mean Girls™ who seem to have taken a dislike to her before she even started school. Also, her one prospective friend seems to have gone missing. On the other hand, it’s not all bad—there’s a hot guy who might as well be named Byronic—brooding, poetic, soulful, with a penchant for physical violence. There’s also the bubbliest, cheeriest character this side of Sumi (from McGuire’s Wayward Children)—we didn’t get nearly enough time for her, and I hope that book 2 uses her for more.

It turns out that at Auri’s previous school, she basically was Veronica Mars—doing small investigations (which may or may not have used her mother’s police resources without Sun’s knowledge) for her classmates. She unleashes these tools in the hunt for Sybil and essentially has to fess up to her mother about what she’s done before.

Speaking of Veronica Mars, from the get-go (I was at 4% when I made my first note along these lines), I was comparing the relationship between Sun and Auri as a mix of Lorelai-and-Rory and Keith-and-Veronica (and that was before we learn about Auri’s extra-curricular activities). There’s a fantastic banter, the two clearly love each other with the kind of love that’s the dream of every parent, they both have intelligent and wicked senses of humor, and reading their interactions is probably the best thing in this really entertaining novel.* One of the first things that Sun tells Auri is a twisted first-day-of-school pep talk/warning about teen boys, that ends with a repeated call to ask herself WWLSD? What Would Lisbeth Salander Do? My daughter leaves for college in a few months, I plan on adapting this speech. That’s probably also the moment I decided I read the sequel to this book.

* As a sentence, that’s a mess, but I like it.

I wish I knew how to work in a mention of Sun and Quincy talking about why they couldn’t be K-9 officers, but I can’t blend it into one of these paragraphs. So I’ll just leave it hanging here awkwardly. But man, I loved that part.

There’s actually a lot more going on in these pages—but I think there’s enough to whet your appetite. There is a lot of serious, dark, material here—child abduction, murder. Something happened to Sun, too, while she was in high school and the hunt for Sybil digs up some traumatic memories (and evidence). Yet, without once minimizing any of the dangerous, solemn qualities of what Sun, Sybil, Sybil’s parents, and others are going through—Jones makes this a delightful read.

Could I have lived without the three impossibly attractive men who are all into Sun (and vice versa, to varying degrees)? Yeah, it’s a bit much (but Jones made it endearing, actually). I hope future installments dial back a bit on that kind of thing. I’m giving one of those men short shrift, mostly because of time, but I know that in the next book (or the rest of the series), I’ll get plenty of opportunities to talk about him.

Similarly, Sun’s Chief Deputy, Quincy, and some of the other deputies should probably get a paragraph or three, but you’ll have to read for yourself. They’re plenty of fun, and really help to round out the cast (along with the rest of Del Sol’s residents). Jones’ Del Sol, NM is closer to Stars Hollow, CT than Neptune, CA (but you can find traces of the latter in there)—full of larger-than-life characters that you just want to hang out with. Or sit and watch from across the room (or street).

This is as much fun as you can pack into a police procedural without making it a comedy, but still full of grim, grisly, depravity and darkness. It’s a nice serving of literary comfort food. There’s a freshness to this voice that made me a fan, but my appreciation for this book (and the series it launches) goes deeper. I want to find out more about what happened to the teen-aged Sun (although I have pretty strong theories), but more than that, I want to find out what happens to Sun and Auri—particularly Auri—after this.

I strongly recommend this, you’ll have a blast.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén