Genres: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Goodreads
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.
Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, its strong cups of coffee—and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff--an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in--and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it's reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter’s new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full.
Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it’s up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
So let me get this out of the way. I am a huge fan of the Charley Davidson series and I love Darynda’s writing but there has always been a special spot specifically for Charley the character, not just the books. Going in to a brand new series from one of my favorite author’s is exhilarating and yet terrifying because I want to love these books and characters and I also don’t want to compare Sunshine to Charley. I have to say, Darynda continues to amaze me with new wonderful characters and a new series that I can not wait to continue reading. Sunshine shines (pun totally intended). While the book is contemporary, it has enough mystery and intrigue to give it a bit of a paranormal feel.
“Do you have everything?”
Sun frowned. “I think so.”
“Keys?” Sun patted her pants pocket. “Check.”
“Badge?” She tapped the shiny trinket over her heart. “Check.”
“Gun?” She scraped a palm over her duty weapon. “Check.”
“Sanity?”
Sun’s lids rounded. She whirled around, searching the area for her soundness of mind. She only had the one thread left. She couldn’t afford to lose it. “Damn. Where did I have it last?”
“Did you look under the sofa?”
Del Sol, New Mexico has a new, albeit reluctant, Sherif named Sunshine Vicram. Returning home was never in Sunshine’s plan but with her daughter in tow and an election that she apparently won, she’s now there to stay. Now if she could only find her missing Lieutenant, and figure out how exactly she got elected when she didn’t know she was running. But with her best friend as Deputy, they can keep the town safe, right?
Told in alternating points of view, we bounce back and forth from Sunshine trying to be Sheriff in her old home town and trying to find a missing young girl, to her daughter Auri trying to deal with high school bullies and a missing new friend. When the two realize they are one and the same girl, both end up trying to solve the case. As clues begin to emerge, they quickly realize that Sybil had premonitions of her abduction, and even though she had told her parents, they never believed her and Sunshine and the gang are scrambling to find her before the rest of Sybil’s premonition comes true.
“Want to explain your face?”
“No explanation would do it justice. Let’s just say the world needed a hero.”
But this town seems to be full of mysteries. Stolen roosters, eyeliner tips, escaped convicts, swoony guys who write poetry, the list goes on. But the biggest mystery of all is Sunshine. Trying to find Sybil has lead to Sunshine having flashbacks of a time when the same thing happened to her. Coming back to Del Sol has Sunshine remembering more about a past she thought she would never get answers about. When a body is found near a mysterious shed in the woods, more questions than answers are raised as to what happened to our dear Sunshine.
One of my favorite parts was that little nod to our favorite Grim Reaper. I did a little happy dance there and laughed way harder than I should have.
“You can’t talk to it, can you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“The dead body? You can’t talk to it, right?”
“The . . . the dead body.”
“Yeah. I knew a chick who said she could talk to dead people. She was crazy. I worked at a bar her dad owned, but things got really weird. That’s when I decided to move here. You know, peace and quiet. Less conversing with dead people.”
As this is the first book in the series, there are several things that are left unanswered and lots of breadcrumbs are thrown to leave the reader hungry for more. What really happened to Sunshine that night long ago? Who is the delectable Levi Ravinder, the boy she was in love with for so long and can we get more shirtless scenes with him? Will Auri and Cruz be the new It couple in school? Inquiring minds need to know. I, personally, am craving more of this series like a coffee addict in need of her next cup. I got so absorbed with the cast of characters, the fun and snarky banter, and the multitude of mysteries in the town, I did not want the book to end. There is more to this little town than what meets the eye and I can’t wait for more.
Autocorrect has become our own worst enema.
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