The Readers -- October 18, 2023

The Readers Book Club met on October 18 to discuss A Bad Day for Sunshine, by Darynda Jones. The book is the first in a series about Sunshine Vicram, who returns to her hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico, as the newly elected sheriff. Sunshine's first day on the job proves to be much more interesting than she had anticipated. The day begins with the delivery of muffins, which everyone swears are bad luck. This seems to ring true, as shortly following the delivery, a car crashes through the front window of the department. The car is driven by a distraught mother, whose daughter is missing. Also filling Sunshine's first day on the job is an escaped convict, a stolen prize rooster, a missing boy, and an ex flame, who may or may not be involved in her own unsolved abduction from years ago.

The group was all over the board with how they felt about the novel. The ratings were as low as a 2, and as high as 4.5, giving the book a final score of 3.375. One of the issues the group had with the novel was how many story lines were introduced, many of which seemed unnecessary and contrived. Sunshine was abducted as a teenager and much of the book touches on this. The case went unsolved, and it is still that way at the conclusion of the book. In spite of this, the book was fun. The characters had good rapport, particularly Sunshine and her daughter. The people surrounding Sunshine are loyal and kind, and she comes across as witty and intelligent. A few of the club members intend to finish the series, and have been instructed to report back to the rest of the group as to who actually abducted Sunshine and fathered her daughter.