A Good Day for Chardonnay

In bestseller Jones’s entertaining sequel to 2020’s A Bad Day for Sunshine, multiple crimes keep intrepid Sunshine Vicram, the sheriff of the sleepy tourist town of Del Sol, N.Mex., on her toes. Sunshine and Chief Deputy Quincy Cooper are called to the Roadhouse Bar and Grill to investigate the near-fatal stabbing of survivalist Keith Seabright, whose life was saved by the intervention of Levi Ravinder, Sunshine’s “former—and admittedly current—crush.” Soon crimes are popping up at every turn, including kidnapping, murder, fraud, and evidence tampering. Meanwhile, Sunshine’s teenage daughter is certain she has discovered the identity of a local serial killer, “half the town is confessing to a fifteen-year-old murder,” and the mayor is demanding that Sunshine investigate the possibly mythical Dangerous Daughters, “who secretly run the town behind everyone’s back, including the city council’s.” Snappy dialogue and appealing characters enhance the crazy, stop-and-go plot, and a bit of a cliffhanger points to more fun ahead. Fans of zanier mysteries will welcome Sunshine’s further adventures. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. (July)