Title: A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
Sunshine Vicram Series Book Two
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 416 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
From the New York Times bestselling author Darynda Jones comes the second novel in her laugh-out-loud Sunshine Vicram mystery series, A Good Day for Chardonnay.
Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff—and even fuller-time coffee guzzler—Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.
All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)
Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.
Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunny’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.
Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.
Review:
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones is a hilarious mystery set in a small town in New Mexico (my adopted home state!) Although this newest release is the second mystery in the rollicking good fun Sunshine Vicram series, it can be read as a standalone. But I highly recommend the first book in the series, A Bad Day for Sunshine.
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is on possibly the worst blind date ever when she is called to the seen of a stabbing at her long-time crush Levi Ravinder’s bar. The victim is Keith Seabright who lives off the grid and also happens to be one of Levi’s friends. Sunshine also learns Levi was injured in the course of trying to prevent the three suspects from fleeing the scene. During the investigation, Sunshine is shocked when she discovers a connection between Keith’s stabbing and an old unsolved case of hers when she worked for the Santa Fe police department.
Sunshine is surprised when Levi’s uncle Wynn reaches out to her from assistance. Wynn is currently in prison serving his sentence for a murder he says he did not commit. Although Sunshine is suspicious about what he is really up to, she decides it is in her best interest to help him.
Sunshine’s fifteen-year-old daughter Auri convinces her friends Cruz and Sybil to help her prove her theory about a long unsolved serial killer case. She is certain she knows the killer’s identity and she is determined to bring justice to the families of the victims. Auri finds the evidence she needs but she has second thoughts about her plan. Unfortunately, she has set in motion a plan that puts herself and others in harm’s way.
A Good Day for Chardonnay is an action-packed mystery with a sassy heroine and an outstanding cast of secondary characters. Sunshine is a smart, sarcastic woman who has a great, yet imperfect, support system. She has a wonderful relationship with Auri who is too smart for her own good. Levi is an enigmatic man whose ingenuity has proven beneficial to his family and the townspeople. The investigation into Keith’s stabbing is interesting and takes many unexpected twists and turns. Darynda Jones brings this intriguing mystery to an edge of the seat conclusion. The abrupt ending will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next installment in the marvelous Sunshine Vicram series.
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