Meet Sunshine Fields along with a Shelved Under Murder Review & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Sunshine Fields to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Sunny on the pages of the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series by Victoria Gilbert. SHELVED UNDER MURDER is the second book in the series and was released earlier this week.

Hello, readers! I’m Sunshine Fields, but please call me Sunny.

Yes, that’s actually my name. I was raised by my grandparents, P.J. and Carol Fields, who were full-fledged hippies back in the day. They even ran a small commune on our family farm for a few years in the 1960s.

You might wonder why they named me, and not my parents. Well, the sad truth is that I’ve never known the identity of my dad, and my mom hadn’t given me a name yet when she dropped me off at their house as an infant. She left my unfiled birth certificate, with just “Baby Fields” listed on it, so my grandparents – or, as I like to call them, the “grands” – decided to name me “Sunshine.”

Sure, I’ve been teased about my name all my life, but let’s face it—it could be worse. They could’ve gone with “Strawberry.”

Anyway, a lot of people think my name suits me. I guess my personality is pretty upbeat, most of the time. I like to have fun, that’s for sure, although I’m not really what you’d call a party animal. I don’t drink much, for one thing. I do enjoy being around people and dancing and singing (badly, my friends tell me) and, most of all, flirting. I suppose my looks fit with my name too. I’m a little above average height, slender, and have long blonde hair and blue eyes. I get told all the time that I’m very pretty, which is nice of them, although I’m not all that obsessed with my looks. There are so many more important things in the world to focus on, like protecting the environment and saving endangered species, and books.

I know, I know—to look at me you might not suspect that I’m a bookworm, but I am. I’ve loved reading since I was a kid. I even work in a library—I’ve been the director’s main (and only) assistant at the Taylorsford Public Library for several years. Like my name, my occupation always seems to surprise people, which I find odd. I mean, why can’t a pretty blonde who likes to wear bohemian chic clothes love books?

But you know how it is—a lot of people stereotype based on appearances. For instance, strangers expect me to be vapid and, even worse, snobbish and catty. I’m not like that at all (I hope!) The same thing happens to my best friend, Amy Webber, who’s the library director in Taylorsford. Just because she’s a bit short and curvaceous, people assume that she’s this brainless sex-pot. Which is so not true—Amy’s extremely intelligent and the opposite of a vamp, even if she does resemble a (curvier) Clara Bow from those old silent films. And, as for the weight thing, that is so silly too. I’ve overheard people say that Amy “would be gorgeous if she just lost a few pounds.” Well, I think she looks stunning just as she is, and apparently so does her boyfriend. (Who is as handsome as he is nice, which means very).

That’s the thing about opinions based on appearance alone, though. They tend to be shallow and often just plain wrong. They can also be dangerous. I should know—I’ve made mistakes in the past, assuming someone was a good person just because they were charming (and not hard on the eyes). Honestly, based on my past experiences I’ve certainly learned that you must look below the surface to discover the real person inside before you can make any sort of reasonable judgement. I hope more people will give that habit a chance. I’ve found that someone who looks plain on the outside might just be the most interesting person you’ll ever meet. And conversely—simply because someone is beautiful doesn’t mean that they are going to be haughty or shallow or full of themselves. I have to admit it always bugs me when all the pretty girls in books are depicted as “mean girls.” That just isn’t true, and I’m here to (I hope) prove it.

Anyway, I’m happy to meet you all. I’m sure you’re delightful people. I mean, you like reading and books, so we’re bound to be friends!


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Review

SHELVED UNDER MURDER by Victoria Gilbert

The Second Blue Ridge Library Mystery

When Amy Webber agreed to help her library assistant Sunny pick up some donations from a local artist she never expected to find herself embroiled in another murder. Yet while looking for the artist she and her boyfriend stumble upon the painter's body. Did her murder have something to do with her daughter's drug addiction and shady boyfriend? Or was it something to do with the paintings found hidden in the studio? Could Taylorsford actually be home a forgery ring? As Amy prepares the library for the annual Heritage Festival she'll try to uncover the truth without becoming another victim.

As I picked up this second book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series I remembered how much I enjoyed the first. It turns out I enjoyed this one just as much. I love this series! The charming setting, fully developed characters, and intriguing plot make SHELVED UNDER MURDER a quintessential cozy. The only thing missing is a cat! (Perhaps in book three?) The relationship between Amy and Richard gives me the warm fuzzies and I'm delighted to see it grow.

The mystery was a good one, and although I figured out who was involved early on, it by no means detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I got a little annoyed by the attitudes of two of the characters, but that just goes to show how involved I was, wanting to shake them each and tell them they were wrong.

SHELVED UNDER MURDER is a delightful mystery that held my interest and didn't let go.

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