Sunny Side Up

by Missouri Vaun, VK Powell

Former police officer Sunny Eldridge is about to trade crime scenes for watercolors and enjoy her retirement. But in Merit Bay gossip travels faster than the tide, everyone knows everyone, and trouble knocks on her door. Especially when Nicole Lacy arrives.

Nicole didn't choose Merit Bay for its charm. She came to disappear. Fleeing the fallout of her brother's dangerous past, she's determined to start over with two bags and hope for a better life. But when anonymous threats follow her, it becomes clear that whatever her brother was mixed up in isn't finished with her yet. How could she know that buried in a small heirloom is a truth worth killing for?

As tensions rise and secrets surface, Sunny's instincts kick in. With a cast of kookie locals, a tight circle of friends, and a park ranger catching Nicole's attention, solving this mystery is personal.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2026

About the author

Missouri Vaun is a two-time Golden Crown Literary Society award-winning lesbian romance writer published by Bold Strokes Books. FOREVER'S PROMISE is Vaun's latest, a historical romance. Wes dresses as a man for property rights. Will she risk it all for love?

Vaun spent a large part of her childhood in southern Mississippi, before attending high school in North Carolina and college in Tennessee. Strong connections to her roots in the rural South have been a grounding force throughout her life. Vaun spent twelve years finding her voice working as a journalist in places as disparate as Chicago, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., all along filing away characters and their stories. Her novels are heartfelt, earthy; speak of loyalty and our responsibility to others.

She and her wife live in Northern California.

Reviews

[Sandra]

3.5⭐️
Claire Voss had found her brother Grant, who was involved in criminal activities, seriously injured in her apartment, and before he died, he urged her to run away and take only two things belonging to her deceased parents with her. So, under a new identity—as Nicole Lacey—she sets off across the country to California to build a new, quiet life without drawing attention to herself. But in a small town like Merit Bay, on the California coast, where everyone knows everyone else, that might not be so easy. On the side, she—a computer nerd—hopes to find out more about her brother’s murder on her own.

Sunny Eldrige is the chief of police, about to retire, married to former teacher Kate, and enjoys painting. Sunny and her small team aren’t the only ones curious about the person who bought "Tapping Farm", a property that had been vacant for some time.

It didn’t take long for Nicole to be accepted into the new community and find new friends. But Sunny and her deputy, Dylan, sensed that there was more to Nicole’s reserve than met the eye. Soon, Nicole’s past catches up with her. With Sunny, Kate, and Dylan by her side, however, she has a good chance of surviving and starting her new life.

I especially liked that Sunny and Kate—two older women and an established couple—play a major role. The budding romance between Nicole and Dylan was also nice and sweet.

It’s an entertaining small-town mystery, even though the antagonist is a major crime family. A cozy and suspenseful mystery, without excessive violence, written in a fluid style and featuring well-developed characters—even if Nicole comes across as a bit naive in certain matters concerning her family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an ARC for an honest review.

[Cherie]

This is a cozy mystery story about Sunny Eldridge a veteran police chief in a small town in Northern California. Sunny is married to Kate, a retired school teacher. Dylan is also a police office on Sunny's team. Nicole Lacey is new in town, she's trying to keep a low profile and check out the town before she meets new people. Nicole /Claire has moved from Portland Maine where her parents have passed away and her brother has been murdered. Nicole has changed her identity to hide from the people who killed her brother.

I liked Nicole and her tech knowledge and ability to solve complex puzzles and codes. But she was way too naive, in regards to her dad and uncle's professions. Sunny was a resourceful and knowledgeable person and her wife was very kind. Dylan and Nicole instantly have an attraction that was very predictable.

The mystery and violence were very mild but entertaining. This was fun and quick read.

Thanks to BSB and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Henriette]

enjoyable cozy, small-town mystery
I very much enjoyed this cozy mystery. I loved the quirky small town setting at the Pacific coast, the fun cast of characters and it was great to see older main characters, like police chief Sunny. The focus of this book is very much on these small-town-relations - a lovely surprise. Add to this the mysterious Nicole Lacy who comes into town to vanish from her former life (little does she know about small town life and gossip!) and a pinch of slow-burn romance.
The story was well put-together, well-written and I loved how the community comes together to fend off intruders and criminals.

I received an ARC. The review is left voluntarily.

[Lady Olenna]

3 Stars

I mistook detailed for dragging at the beginning of the story. However, as the story unfolded, I realised the seemingly innocuous details helped build a bigger picture regarding the characters and the community they lived in.

In general, the story was a mixture of low angst, small town mystery. I’m not sure if the authors meant it to be cosy but that’s how it came off for me.

[Fran Sappharc]

3.5 One main, whose point of view we are privy to, is part of an established couple. This is not a romance between two mains, but it is nice for me to see the romance of daily long-lasting couple interaction. There is however a romance with the unattached main and a secondary character.
Having said that I am more interested in one set of point of view chapters, tho the ones from the police women side although her side is starting at about 40%, get a bit more exciting.
I was totally gripped as the book went on but the steps were well laid out which enabled the grippy bits to grip! Rounded up because I read the last hour in a really noisy restaurant and the book made the noise disappear!

[Aleana]

Claire goes on the run after her brother Grant who she has bailed out more times then she remembers dies in her arms before telling her to keep something safe that belongs to their mother. She decides to listen to her brother when whomever he got mixed into comes after her she sells the family nursery erase everything about her and becomes Nicole. Claire aka Nicole winds up in small town of Merit Bay buys old farm and starts to rebuild her life. Sunny is a retired cop and now ready to settle down with her wife Kate but when Claire aka Nicole arrives she smells that there’s something troubling going on with her and wants to get to the bottom of it. This is was a cozy mystery with suspense and nice romance thrown into it not just with Sunny and her wife but with Claire and Dylan were cute and chemistry was good. Hope both these authors will team up again to write another mystery.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos]

Murder, Breakfast, and One Man With Alarming Storage Space: Welcome to “Sunny Side Up”
Missouri Vaun and VK Powell’s queer small-town mystery is warmest when pizza, bird baths, Bigfoot, and midlife desire keep refusing to let federal corruption have the whole room.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | September 4th, 2026

During an hour Sunny Eldridge has set aside for painting in Missouri Vaun and VK Powell’s “Sunny Side Up,” the police chief of tiny Merit Bay, California, plants an easel above the coast and thinks about what the job has done to her vision. Police work trains the eye on the foreground: the immediate fact, the person in trouble, the problem that will not wait. Painting requires the rest of the picture, including the river’s path and the cliffs altered by time. Sunny reaches for her brush. Her phone rings. Someone needs her. Merit Bay, apparently, has declined to recognize reduced hours as a binding agreement.

Early on, Claire Voss has the opposite trouble. She has spent years caring for a dying mother, rescuing a brother from drugs and debt, and keeping the family nursery running until other people’s emergencies have eaten most of the usable space in her adulthood. When that brother, Grant, dies in her arms after warning that dangerous people will come for her, usefulness turns into escape. Claire sells the nursery, leaves Maine, becomes Nicole Lacey and heads west. Sunny is trying to discover who she is when fewer people need the chief. Nicole is trying to discover who she is when there is almost nobody left to rescue. Both have been useful for so long that usefulness has begun to impersonate identity. The parallel is especially effective because neither woman is being asked to become someone entirely new. Nicole needs room for desires that caregiving and Grant’s disasters repeatedly postponed; Sunny needs to believe that a self can survive after the role that organized it loosens its grip.

Much of the crime setup moves without fuss. Grant, a brother Nicole has loved, resented and repeatedly bailed out, leaves behind a deathbed warning and one peculiar instruction: keep their mother’s old knife. Nicole wipes her phone, disguises herself, packs her father’s battered satchel and chooses Merit Bay because the opposite coast seems like a sensible distance from catastrophe. She has cash, formidable technical skills, a false identity and the confidence of someone accustomed to solving whatever is directly in front of her. Her first question is geographical: how far is far enough to feel safe?

Even Merit Bay looks like a mistake at first. Gossip there seems to outrun cell service; diners, garden clubs, a tiny library and a local Bigfoot fixation amount to civic infrastructure. Nicole buys an isolated farm and begins, despite herself, to settle in. She restores furniture. Birds build a nest in the barn. She meets Kate, whose warmth can feel almost tactically efficient; Dylan, a police officer whose attractiveness Nicole would rather not add to the threat matrix; and Sunny, who quickly sees that the newcomer’s reserve has sharper edges than shyness.

The town becomes funny for the same reason it first frightens Nicole: nobody is very good at leaving anybody alone. Someone helps with a bird bath. Someone else insists on dinner. A librarian remembers what Nicole can do. A neighbor knows her truck before knowing much about her. She goes to Sunny and Kate’s house because beneath all the vigilance she wants an almost embarrassingly ordinary future: work, friends, perhaps a girlfriend, the sort of evening in which one arrives with flowers and stays for grilled shrimp. Driving home, she notices a van following her. Comfort here is not the absence of danger. It is the thing danger keeps interrupting and these people keep putting back together.

Read sentence by sentence, “Sunny Side Up” is plainer than its best ideas. Vaun and Powell favor conversational rhythms, abundant dialogue and emotional candor. The prose slows enough to notice salt air, gardens, old furniture, food and the changing light Sunny wants to paint. It grows flatter when information has to move. Characters often tell us what a clue means, what they suspect, what they feel and why, sometimes after the scene has already landed. A novel organized around concealment is oddly reluctant to leave its emotions concealed. At times the narration arrives carrying a caption for a picture we have already seen. The trade-off is real: this directness makes the book companionable and fast, but it also means dialogue frequently bears both conversation and interpretation. The liveliest passages are the ones in which an object, a meal or a patch of weather is allowed to finish the thought instead.

In Nicole’s case, that plainness has one advantage: concealment becomes tiring in a very legible way. Her false name is only the literal disguise. The deeper one is the assumption that competence should make needing anyone unnecessary. She can code, investigate, improvise and manufacture a new identity. Admitting fear is harder because she immediately wants to convert fear into another assignment for herself. When Dylan helps after a suspicious sedan appears near the farm, Nicole begins to understand how much effort it takes to keep every door shut. Asking for help does not reduce her competence. For the first time in years, she can receive something without immediately owing labor in return.

Particularly revealing is the kiss Nicole refuses. Dylan asks just before the lighthouse operation, and Nicole, who very much wants her, says not yet. She does not want intimacy squeezed between surveillance, contingency plans and the possibility that somebody may soon try to kill her. She wants enough future to know Dylan properly. It is a small piece of romantic intelligence in a genre that can treat adrenaline as Cupid’s administrative assistant. Their courtship is comparatively spare, but its refusal to hurry keeps it from becoming another symptom of the emergency. Desire is allowed to want ordinary time.

Across from Nicole and Dylan’s tentative beginning is Sunny and Kate’s marriage, with years already inside it: teasing, affectionate, sexual, occasionally exasperated, roomy enough for two distinct selves. Queer love is allowed duration. Sunny can be nearing sixty, worrying about stamina and retirement, and still inhabit a marriage in which desire has not been promoted to tasteful reminiscence. Dylan and Nicole, both in midlife, are likewise granted a beginning that does not treat age as lateness. These women bring careers, divorces, caregiving, grief and bodies that complain on steep hills. Nobody stops to applaud any of this. Better that way. The book’s most persuasive gesture toward queer middle age is simply to let these women have plenty left to want: work, sex, solitude, friendship, art, another chance at love. Their age changes the texture of those wants without turning them into consolation prizes.

Pizza does a surprising amount of tonal work. Threats are discussed over it; breakfast slides into tactical planning; Edgar’s enthusiasm for old military vehicles, a hobby that initially seems designed mainly to prove that every small town contains one man with alarming storage space, eventually becomes operationally useful. The comedy occasionally lets air out of the menace, but it also prevents danger from taking over the house. Even the title first appears as a diner joke Sunny has heard approximately one thousand times, which suits a mystery determined to keep breakfast on the table. Like Jesse Q. Sutanto’s “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers,” “Sunny Side Up” knows that murder may move the plot while food, interference and other people’s habits make the setting worth staying in.

After the clean setup, however, the conspiracy keeps acquiring rooms. Grant’s murder and a hidden piece of evidence lead to secret intelligence work, a criminal network, a corrupt federal agent, covert surveillance and a lighthouse sting. None of it is boring. It is simply less exact than the quieter material around it. Nicole’s guilty relief at no longer managing Grant’s disasters has pressure. So does Sunny enjoying the fact that people still call. Dylan unloading a bird bath because helping is the most persuasive courtship available to her tells us something about both women without requiring explanation. The Rossi machinery mostly knows how to enlarge itself. By the time the federal apparatus is fully assembled, the bird bath has told us more about the book than most of the spy gear.

Direct explanation does much of Uncle Fred’s work for him. His arrival brings answers about Nicole’s father, Grant, the Rossi operation, the federal investigation and childhood memories that had once seemed merely eccentric. Some of those revisions are satisfying. The battered satchel and Nicole’s mother’s Leatherman remain heirlooms after they become clues; they still contain people as well as information. The larger machinery is clumsier. Nearly every oddity in Nicole’s childhood starts to look as though it had been patiently waiting for the conspiracy to validate it. Vaun and Powell are better at giving an heirloom a second meaning than at giving their espionage apparatus another secret compartment.

In fairness, Nicole never becomes cargo. She agrees to confront Brad Lawson at the lighthouse, helps draw out the confession she needs and uses her technical competence in the trap. Lawson later resurfaces at the hospital after what looked very much like a perfectly serviceable disappearance into the Pacific. Forced into a wheelchair at gunpoint, Nicole spots a reflex hammer and jams it into a wheel. Metal crashes. People look up. Sunny and Dylan finish what Nicole has started. The second climax is visibly engineered, but Nicole acts before anyone rescues her. Even the book’s most excessive turn remembers that solitude and competence are not synonyms.

Merit Bay proves more persuasive than the federal operation by doing something formally simple. As Nicole tells more of the truth, more people enter the room. Early on she travels, researches and hides alone. Later she eats at tables, confesses, lets Dylan help, plans with Sunny and Kate, and walks into danger knowing other people are listening. The rooms get fuller as the secrets thin out. A following car feels different once there is someone beside Nicole whom she does not want hurt. Tapping Farm changes too. At first it is a hiding place with a deed; by the end it has become an address people use. That change is more convincing than any declaration that Nicole has found a community because the structure has made us feel the difference between an empty house she controls and rooms where other people know when to knock, when to stay and when to bring food.

If Nicole’s neighbors complicate her new life, the aftermath curiously simplifies it. Once Lawson is captured, Nicole remembers that she has used false identification, hacked police databases, bought property under an invented name and registered a vehicle to that identity. For a few pages, reinvention casts a bureaucratic and moral shadow. Then Fred explains that the name change can effectively be backdated, the hacks can disappear into ordinary system noise, and mitigating circumstances can smooth out the rest. Grant’s reputation is repaired, the criminal case is poised for victory, suitable work appears, Dylan is waiting. Vaun and Powell do not merely close the ledger. They seem reluctant to leave even a coffee ring on it. That neatness fits the book’s genial temperature, but it also exposes the limit of its generosity: Nicole is allowed to suffer fear and loss, while the institutions that might complicate her new life are mostly persuaded to behave like helpful neighbors.

That neatness costs most when Grant is involved. Early Nicole’s grief comes mixed with relief: she loved him, resented him, paid his debts, watched him relapse and stopped expecting him to change. That is painful because it permits grief after a difficult person to remain impure. Learning that Grant tried to expose the Rossi organization should complicate his moral ledger, not balance it. The richer redemption is that a man who caused real damage still managed, late and imperfectly, to do something brave. “Sunny Side Up” holds that contradiction for a while, then edges toward acquittal. Its kindness is appealing. Its reluctance to leave a bruise is less so.

Read beside Sunny’s abandoned easel, those choices make the book’s loyalties clear. “Sunny Side Up” is not chiefly interested in elaborate sentences, intricate detection or psychological severity. It understands something smaller and more durable: being useful can become such a complete habit that receiving care feels faintly illicit. Nicole has to learn that accepting help does not create another debt to work off. Sunny has to learn that a day in which nobody needs the chief is not a day in which Sunny has vanished. The unfinished painting has been waiting for both of them.

On the last pages, the book finally stops needing to explain the change. Sunny gives Nicole a painting of the lighthouse where she confronted Lawson, turning the site of terror into something she can hang on a wall. The birds in the barn have hatched. Then Nicole rounds the cabin and finds the driveway crowded with vehicles and the yard filled with people who have come to welcome her. The symbolism is not shy, but shyness would feel almost rude by this point. Nicole crossed a continent because she wanted nobody to know where she was. She ends with an entire town that knows exactly where to find her.

Put plainly, “Sunny Side Up” earns 77/100 and 3/5 stars. Its mature queer characters, paired second acts and understanding of what it costs to receive care give it more substance than its breezy surface first suggests; its explanatory prose, swollen conspiracy and spotless cleanup keep the book from pressing harder on the complications it invents. The final reversal still lands. Nicole begins by asking how far she has to go to be safe. Vaun and Powell’s best answer is not California, a false name or a federal security system. It is the least secret image in the book: a full driveway.

[Sue Plant]

would like to to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

when nicole found her brother dying stabbed she knew she needed to run.... and that is what she did after the investigation into his murder.... she tried her best to be incognito and didnt tell anyone where she was going

merit bay was what the dart had landed on and it took a while to get there...

merit bay looked after their own and everybody knew each other... so when nicole arrived its caused a stir....

what nicole hadnt anticipated on her run was that not knowing anyone she also wouldnt know if anyone new arrived.... but the locals did

and when strange things started to occur the locals look after their own...

ohhh man i loved this storyline... i was pulled in right from the beginning and wasnt released till the end.... the characters were amazing and were like long lost relatives i want to live in this town....

cant wait to read what these two authors come up with next

[Meghan]

A good cozy mystery from Vaun and Powell.

Sunny Eldridge is a police officer about to retire in California. She is married to Kate who was a former teacher.

Claire Voss lives in Portland, Maine, has been dealing with the death of her parents and brother. Her brother encouraged Claire to leave Portland and change her name to protect her before he died. She changed her name to Nicole Lacey, and flees to Merit Bay. The story continues with how her past finds her and her new friends help her.

The story was engaging, yet a few of the details seemed a little farfetched, like one of the rural police officers owning an amphibious combat vehicle, just when they needed it to fight and trail the bad guy. The writing was good, very descriptive and build up to the climax of the story and pretty satisfying ending.

I received and ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Shez]

Thank you NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Len Barot, Publisher for the ARC 💓


This story follows a small, tight knit community who, once they accept you as one of their own, will do everything they can to look after you,  and honestly, I LOVED that aspect of this book. 💓


Nicole/Clare gets an intense introduction when she finds her brother attacked in her own home. His instructions? Run, never look back, and take something with you.


With a dart, a map and very little time to think, Nicole throws the dart and lands on Merit Bay.


The world building is immaculate. The author gives so much detail to the town, its people and all its little quirks that I could genuinely picture myself wandering the streets and getting to know the locals alongside Nicole.


And the cover promises a cozy mystery; and it absolutely delivers. ☕🐈‍⬛


Merit Bay is filled with kooky characters, close friendships and a community that really does look after its own. While I initially felt it took a little while to get into the mystery, I came to appreciate that detail as the story progressed. Those seemingly small details weren't just setting the scene, they planted pieces of information that became much more significant as everything unfolded.


Once Nicole arrives, she quickly realises staying under the radar might be harder than expected. People notice her. They're curious.


And then someone starts following her.


Suddenly, the fresh start she desperately wanted could already be compromised.


Thankfully, Nicole finds herself surrounded by new friends, including Sunny and Dylan, two people who work for the police, who help her uncover the truth about her brother's past and, hopefully, finally give her the fresh start she came to Merit Bay looking for.


And then there was THIS quote:


“I'd rather die five years sooner with cheese than live five years longer without it.” I had to put the book down for a few minutes. 😂 So relatable. 10/10. No notes. 🧀


There is also a lesbian romance woven into the story, as well as an established relationship, but this is definitely not a love story. The mystery and the community remain firmly at the heart of the book.


Overall: If you enjoy mysteries but want something softer and cosier, filled with quirky characters, small-town charm and plenty of secrets, this could be one for you!


📅 Publish date: 15 September 2026

⭐ Rating: 4/5

[Michele]

Sunny Eldridge is long term police officer in Merit Bay, California. She is on the verge of retirement, loves to paint, and is married to former teacher, Kate, who is already retired. The police station in Merit Bay is very small for this rural town and Sunny is hoping for minimal issues until she retires.

Claire Voss who lives in Portland, Maine, has dealt with a lot in the recent past including the death of her father, the death of her mother to cancer, and the death of her brother, Grant, to nefarious activities. A dying Grant encouraged Claire to leave Portland and find a safer home elsewhere to prevent the people that hunted him from finding her. Claire changes her name to Nicole Lacey, packs a few vital things, and flees to Merit Bay. She worked with a real estate agent prior to her arrival and purchased a property called Tapping Farm. The story goes on to describe how the past catches up with Micole and how her newfound friends like Sunny, Kate, Dylan (a police officer), help her.

This was a small-town mystery with a larger crime family and FBI impact. The story was engaging, yet a few of the details seemed a little farfetched, like one of the rural police officers owning an amphibious combat vehicle, just when they needed it to fight and trail the bad guy. 3 stars

[Brandy]

Missouri Vaun and VK Powell really deliver in this captivating cozy mystery that transports you to the charming small town of Merit Bay. When retired cop Sunny settles in for a quiet life, she quickly finds herself entangled in a new case involving Nicole, a newcomer trying to outrun a dangerous past. As threats escalate and a shocking family secret surfaces, Sunny’s detective instincts kick back in.

Vaun and Powell have crafted an engaging world filled with quirky characters, genuine friendships, and a heartwarming budding romance. The narrative masterfully blends suspense with humor and emotion, keeping you hooked from start to finish. It’s a perfect escape that combines thrilling intrigue with a wonderfully feel-good community spirit.

Definitely add Sunny Side Up to your reading list!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Autumn Aria]

A cozy murder mystery novel. An easy and entertaining read about a woman who tries to escape her past and start a new life in a small town and a cop close to retirement and wants to pursue her love of painting full time.

The two MCs are not romantically involved since one is already in an established relationship while the other is potentially interested in another.

There's a bit of drama suspense romance and action but nothing overly stressful for cozy lovers. The story takes place in a small town where everyone knows everyone and gossip mongering is the usual activity around town.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

[Josephine Larkspur]

This is the second book I have read from this publisher, and honestly, I am so glad this is now something I will be tracking.

This is a romance, but again, it's not just a love story. The storyline was perfect; the mix of mystery and so many different elements is something I have grown to love. A lot goes on in this story, and there are a lot of different layers; the story is beautifully written, and the characters are well developed.

While the start can feel like a lot, it does all come back around again, making it a very well-thought-out and planned story.

[Red Dragon]

This was a very enjoyable ‘cosy mystery’ with loveable, quirky and funny townsfolk supporting Clare/Nicole, Dylan, Sunny and Kate.
Who’s out to get Nicole, who are the good ‘guys’, what does Nicole father and Uncle Fred have to do with whoever is after her?
The book is very descriptive and the storyline keeps moving along at a decent pace and there’s even a romance developing so it ticks quite a few boxes for me.
Thanks to BSB and NetGalley for the ARC, I has happy to give my honest opinion.

[Chyrl Brown]

Loved this.book.

Both of you are my favorites and together you're unstoppable. I started thi CDs an BBCd couldn't put it down. The characters were well developed and there was some romance too. Keep up the collaboration, please.

[Joyce]

Very enjoyable read

Missouri and VK have written a very good book together. The characters are likable and interesting. The mystery very good. These authors should write another book together. Thanks for a entertaining read.