Book 46, 2022

The Guest is a Goner by Carly Winter

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Just finished reading The Guest is a Goner by Carly Winter. It's the first installment in the "Sedona Spirit" cozy paranormal series. The main character is Bernadette "Bernie" Maxwell.

Bernie likes to play up on the haunted angle when it comes to her Bed and Breakfast, but she's never seen a ghost...until an accident suddenly enables her to see her resident ghost--her free-spirited grandmother, Ruby. Bernie is still coming to terms with having Ruby around when a guest is found murdered in her B&B. Now, not only is Bernie a suspect, but the actual killer has been threatening her. With Ruby's help, Bernie strives to solve the case on her own before she's the next one haunting the B&B.

This story left a lot to be desired. I loved the premise of it, but the narrative fell short of my happy expectations. Bernie is a likable character, and Ruby is hilarious, but the plotting lacked cohesion. What really perplexed me was ( Spoiler )

Favorite lines:
♦ While out of town for my cousin's wedding, they'd had a Voodoo priestess come out to release the soul of the caterer who had been killed right after the alligator ruined the ceremony.
♦ "You're wound tighter than a girdle at a pancake breakfast."
♦ "We've found ourselves right in the middle of a big, rotten, smelly pickle."
♦ I didn't hear much of what he'd said because my mind was preoccupied with not being murdered.
♦ "People who like lemon cookies are not to be trusted."
WTF?! I love lemon cookies! Hmpf.
♦ "I've had a psycho javelina chase me, and a colonoscopy is slightly more enjoyable."

I'm on the fence between a score of 2 or 3. Trope test time!

( Trope Test )

Wow, other than the BFF dilemma, it was a solid 9 yes answers out of 10. For that reason, I'm knocking the score down to a two.