Darynda Jones

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram welcomes readers in a first person narrative as she stares into her coffee cup as if it were a witch’s cauldron, revealing all the ways she could kill her parents; their deaths would be slow and painful, much like the date they had “arranged” for her. They could not help it of course; they were the Illuminati, or the KGB, or Cirque du Soleil or something. Sun continues in her own casual, concerned, and sarcastic tone. Such is life in Del Sol New Mexico, a sleepy show more tourist town near the banks of the Pecos River with a group of women called “Dangerous Daughters” who secretly run the town.
Other assorted characters weave in and out of the narrative including Aurora Dawn, Auri, Sun’s auburn-haired juvenile delinquent daughter. (Sun is really just trying hard to keep her out of prison.) Sun’s support staff in the sheriff’s office includes Zee, a tall black woman who can shoot the wings off a fruit fly at hundred yards, and Poetry Rojas, a fresh graduate from the police academy who looks spiffy in his pressed black uniform.
The narrative continues in Sun’s irreverent, yet humorous tone. It is not a serious book with solemn crime investigations. Of course there are deaths to be investigated and deeply hidden secrets that play into the drama, but events are always tempered by Sun’s satirical, ironic, and fatalistic tone. This is the rural American Southwest after all; this is to be expected. These people might just be descendants of the Roswell aliens; wait while I stop laughing and get my tinfoil hat.
“A Good Day for Chardonnay” is a fun book; it is easy to read with entertaining characters. It is part of a series, and the current book mentions the past events. However, any needed history is included, and I had no trouble following along with the current story. I was given a review copy of “A Good Day for Chardonnay” from Darynda Jones, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Publishing. I am still laughing as I write this. show less

Reyes Alexander Farrow, the sexy son of Satan, Charley Davidsons main squeeze and biggest protector, finally gets a chance to tell his story. Forewarned, it is sad and brutal. This story might be hard to understand if you weren't familiar with the series, but as a long time fan, it is heartbreaking. We have only ever caught glimpses of Reyes' past as seen by Charley. He is notoriously guarded with rare glimmers of his inner thoughts.
This story takes us back to the very first time he saw show more Charley. As a very young abused little boy trying to escape his pain, he falls into, what he believes is a dream, and witnesses her birth. Throughout his life, she is the solace he seeks to heal himself and keep him sane. He loves her and protects her, and eventually, he falls in love with her.

Reyes slowly begins to remember who and what he is, and just what Charley is, and what he did to reach this plane to be with her.

It is a great story, and a huge payoff for all of the loyal fans. To see him protecting his sister by enduring unspeakable horrors, or finally making a friend in Amador, or seeing Charley in the flesh and realizing she's not a figment of his imagination, it's all there. But now you can slip into his thoughts and understand why he did the things he had done.

I love this series for it's snark and it's unbelievable heart, but this story was a different balance. It broke my heart many times and gave me a sense of hope for the smoking hot son of Satan and the Reaper named Charley! show less

Book source ~ NetGalley

Sunshine Vicram is back home in Del Sol, New Mexico where she grew up. Except now she’s the Sheriff and she has no idea how she won the election when she didn’t even run. Ok, that’s not true. She believes her mom and dad had something to do with it, but she goes along with it so they don’t all get arrested for fraud. With her is her adorable mini-her, Aurora or Auri to her family and friends. While Auri sneaks around trying to solve a serial killer cold case show more Sunshine has a lot on her plate to deal with including a bad bar fight, a pesky raccoon, a hunk named Levi Ravinder who may or may not have info about her kidnapping so long ago, and an unsolved case from her early days as a detective. She’s going in all different directions, juggling all these plates, but somehow Sunshine manages to not drop a single one.

There’s so much going on! I always think: what in the hell is happening? How is all of this connected? There’s no way this is going to come out coherently. However, Darynda Jones always manages to pull all these different threads together by the end of the book and in a way that not only holds my attention, but entertains, too.

The mystery (or I should say mysteries) keep me guessing and the revelation at the end of the book is something I figured out in book 1, but having it confirmed is satisfying. The characters are awesome. There isn’t a terrible one in the whole lot. Ok, there are some I want to smack, some I hate, some that make me drool, some that make me laugh…well, you get the idea. It’s small town living brought to life in the pages. The plot seems like such a mess, but it’s really not. I promise. The pace is just right for all that’s going on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more Sunshine and gang shenanigans to come. show less

Sunshine, I love this girl and will miss her adventures. She is such a great character, with the right amount of heart, intelligence, sass, loyalty and bravado. Her love, Levi is a sexy mass of trouble, just the way we like them. I didn’t adore her daughter, maybe because she throws herself into danger at every chance. Yeah stupid invincible teenager syndrome. LOL It’s not that bad but as a mom I was screaming at her.
So in this final book in the trilogy (I wish it wasn’t) everything show more goes crazy, dead girls, mysterious connections lead them to a surprising conclusion. Levi and Sunshine finally talk and resolve their issues. Oh boy is there some history there. Everyone gets their time to wrap up loose ends, still I didn’t feel like the story was over. There is more there, perhaps Ms. Jones will give us a holiday short or brief visit with these characters again. :D
Honestly she is one of my top 5 authors, I’d never miss a book from her. Her books are always fun, with fantastic characters. Give her books a try, you’ll be very happy you did. show less