A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

It’s publication day for A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones.  This book is a mystery novel and the second in the author’s Sunshine Vicram series. A Bad Day For Sunshine is the first in the series and I would recommend reading it first as the story is continuous.

Plot Summary

Sunshine Vicram is the Sheriff of a small-town New Mexico police force.  She is also a single mother to a fifteen year old daughter Auri, who has inherited her mother’s fascination with solving crimes.  With several investigations going on at the same time,  Sunshine has been kept busy with work,and keeping track of her daughter.  Luckily she has her parents nearby to help.  While this leaves little time for romance, Sunshine continues to wait for Levi Ravinder to make his move.  At the end of another busy day, all Sunshine really wants is a big glass of Chardonnay.

Book Review

I enjoyed reading A Good Day for Chardonnay.  The book is told from the dual perspective of Sunshine and Auri.  The characters continue to be quirky, interesting and likeable.  There were a number of concurrent mysteries in this story including an event from Sunshine’s past.  I enjoyed following these investigations and remained intrigued to see how each would be resolved.

Although I was entertained by this book,  I must say I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first.  The book is as full of quick wit as was the first in the series, but it became very tiring going in to the second part of this book.  While I loved the Gilmore Girls like relationship between mother and daughter in the first book, I was disappointed to find that this bond had evolved into one more reminiscent of sisters in this book.  I felt at times that Sunshine wasn’t prioritizing Auri,  and counted on her parents way too often.  While this didn’t take away from the actual plot, it affected my enjoyment of the book.

Audiobook Review

I was happy to see that Lorelai King returned to narrate this second book in the series.  She provides another great performance and is believable as both the voices of Sunshine and Auri.  Her voice is expressive and easy to listen to.  I would not hesitate to recommend this version of the book to those that appreciate this format.

What I Liked:

• The quirky, interesting characters
• The intrigue of each of the investigations
• The strong, female protagonist

I Recommend This Book To:

Those readers that enjoyed A Bad Day for Sunshine or a mystery series with less serious police procedurals.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Add A Good Day for Chardonnay to your Goodreads shelf

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced ebook and audiobook copies of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

A Bad Day For Sunshine by Darynda Jones

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

Thank you for reading and supporting my blog.  As always, I hope that you have a wonderful day.