The Neighbor is Nixed

Sedona Spirit #5

by Carly Winter

When the house across the street sells and a new person, Sylvia, moves in, Bernie’s quiet neighborhood is turned upside down.

Demanding, rude and determined to have things her way, Sylvia threatens to have Bernie’s bed and breakfast shut down while also making life difficult for the other neighbors.

Just as the residents ban together to fight Sylvia, she’s found murdered. The suspect list is long, but because Bernie stood the most to lose, the Sheriff has her in his sights.

Can Bernie and her ghostly grandmother, Ruby, solve the killing before she’s arrested for a crime she didn’t commit?

Genres: Cozy Mystery

244 pages, Paperback

Published January 22, 2022

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Carly Winter writes fun, small town cozy mysteries, always with a dash of humor and quirky characters. When not writing, you can find her spending time with her family, on a Pilates reformer or enjoying the fantastic Arizona weather (except summer - she doesn't like summer). She does like dogs, wine and chocolate and wishes Christmas happened twice a year.

Reviews

[Emily Pennington]

The Horrible Neighbor . . .

A new neighbor, Sylvia, moved into the neighborhood and proceeded to make everyone’s life miserable. She has threatened to have Bernie’s B&B closed down. And now she has threatened one of the neighbors with a shovel. She has argued with at least a half dozen of them already. So they are meeting to discuss what they can do, such as calling the cops or hiring a lawyer. Sylvia has been nothing but rude and demanding since she arrived here, and everyone is sick of it. The only good thing was that the neighbors came together over this and got to know each other better. They didn’t deserve Sylvia’s nastiness and harassment.

With a plan in place for Tina to be their spokesperson to confront Sylvia about her treatment of everyone, Sylvia’s body is discovered and it looks like murder. The suspect list is very long, but since Bernie has the most to lose with her B&B, the Sheriff is going after her. Sylvia had filed a false complaint that Bernie held a huge party, 30 cars parked all over the street, loud partying into the night, and in violation of her occupancy permit. Sylvia had sent a recorded soundtrack of wild partying noise to the Sheriff who never thought it might be faked. Bernie had been alone all night, no one even staying at the B&B yet. Having to prove her innocence now to the stubborn Sheriff, will Bernie and her ghostly grandmother, Ruby, solve the murder before the Sheriff arrests her for a crime she didn’t commit?

[Douglas Williamson]

The new neighbor is not particularly liked by, well, anyone. That means the suspect list is pretty long when she turns up dead. Our heroine better figure out what happened pretty quickly or she just might be on her way to the big house.

This is book five of the series, but it is written as a standalone. No prior reading is required to enjoy this one.

This is a cozy mystery with a bit of the paranormal. The story is well written and easy to read with a nice comfortable setting, until someone ends up murdered that is. The characters are well developed and certainly the stars of the show bringing a variety of personalities to the story that make it a lot of fun to read. The plot provides a good mystery sprinkled with plenty of humor to keep things from getting too heavy. All together, this makes for a very entertaining read and I look forward to exploring more books in the series.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes

[Wannee]

Another Fun Exciting Paranormal Cozy Mystery!!!

The Neighbor is Nixed is the fifth book in Sedona Spirit Cozy Mysteries Series.

Bernadette 'Bernie' Maxwell is the owner of Sedona Bed and Breakfast. When her new, mean & rude neighbor is murdered, there is a long list of suspects and Bernie is one of the prime suspect. Bernie needs to find the killer with help from her ghostly crazy, fun-loving, hippie grandmother, Ruby, before Bernie is put in jail for the crime she didn't commit.

This is a page-turner, fun, exciting read that is hard to put down, The plot is very well written, it's full of humor, mystery, action, a fast-paced read full of twists and turns that keeps me entertained from the beginning to the end. I really enjoy this book and I highly recommend it to any cozy mystery fans. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lise]

The worst neighbour in the world has moved onto Bernie's quiet cul-de-sac. The woman arrives to say hello and demand that Bernie immediately cease running her Bed and Breakfast business. She then proceeds to alien all the other neighbours on the street by issuing other irrational ultimatums. It's hardly surprising that she'd wind up dead, but with so many suspects, narrowing down who did it will be a challenge.

At first glance, the new neighbour, Sylvia, is ridiculous. And at second glance, too. She's one of those infuriating characters you know will come to a sticky end, and it's hard not to sigh with relief when she does. But when all of the good neighbours, are imperilled, the main character feels the need to go into detective mode and straighten everything out for them and the reader is happy to go along for the ride.

Recommended as a quirky paranormal cosy.

Thank you to BookSirens and Carly Winter for the opportunity to read this eARC. As always, my opinions are my own, honest and true.

[Christine]

Imagine being the neighbor that everyone hates. Then imagine being the neighbor that seems to go out of their way to make everybody hate you. Now imagine being that dead neighbor and nobody misses you. That’s what we’re presented with here. Everyone on the street is a suspect with a motive. But Bernie and Ruby are on the case. Never mind that Bernie said she wanted to kill the victim to the sheriff himself. Or that Ruby can’t travel far from Bernie. They’re on it and will keep you entertained along the way.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson]

Bernie and her ghostly grandmother Ruby are hunting suspects again after a toxic neighbor is murdered. No one in the close area could stand her rudeness, false accusations and complaints so there are a lot of suspects. When the police arrest a neighbor, Bernie has the feeling that it is very wrong so they keep digging and something interesting. Loved Ruby as she is like a teenager let loose for the first time. The storyline grabs you from the start and keeps you guessing until the very end. Well written addition to this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Molly]

Sylvia was proving to be a nightmare neighbor for the whole neighborhood

Not only did she make false and vicious claims about most of her neighbors, but she had a terrible amount of baggage from her past as well

what catches up to a vindictive neighbor? can the bad vibes ruin relations between the other neighbors?

whodunnit meets bossy ghosts and neighborhood troubles plus complex romance- what else would it be when a ghost ogles your beau? macabre humor and some ghostly fun!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lynn]

A new, rude neighbor named Sylvia moves in next to Bernie’s B&B and she wants to shut the B&B down with rumors and lies. All the neighbors are complaining about Sylvia for various reasons. When Sylvia is found dead, Bernie needs to figure out who the murderer is before she takes the fall for a crime she didn’t commit. A great read with fun characters (Ruby!) and plenty of suspects.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sharon S]

Fun storyline and characters.
Bernie’s neighbor is found dead. She was a problem for everyone on the block, so who could have done it? Once again Bernie and her ghost, Ruby, are on the case.
Will Bernie be able to solve this one without getting into too much trouble?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J]

I'm a newbie to Cary Winter but I will say that after this read - I'm addicted! Well written and delightful! Amazing characters who interact perfectly and a captivating storyline. Fun and curl of the couch binge worthy! I loved this read and can't wait for more!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tracy H]

Sylvia, the menacing new neighbor has been nothing but rude since she arrived in town. Her body is found dead, it appears to be murder. The sheriff has his eye on Bernie for the murder, can she prove her innocence with the help of her ghostly grandmother Ruby. Read this story and find out.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Heather]

Another fun cozy mystery starring Bernie and Ruby. Bernie and Ruby are at it again when theyvtry to solve the murder of their neighbor across the street. The two characters are always good for some fun shenanigans. I would definitely recommend both this book and the entire series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Juanita E. Arp]

What an entertaining, Intriguing storyline, the interaction and chemistry between the characters is wonderful. I can't wait for more from this author. I received this book 📚, as a FREE ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.

[Kat M]

This was another wonderfully done Sedona Spirit novel, the story was what I wanted from this series and the characters were just as good as I remembered.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danielle]

This is another great read by this author, I was absolutely hooked and it was really well written and fast paced so there was never a dull moment throughout. This book had lots of laughter and comedy aspects that makes the book just that more enjoyable.

[Tracy Fritts]

This was a exciting, fun and a page tuner. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's well written. It has a great storyline. I loved the characters.

I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara]

Enjoyed reading this mystery. What a twist at the end; I had no idea of who the villain was until they were unmasked. The MCs are likeable and interesting. Ready for the next and last book. Recommend reading.

[Eileen Bailey]

Nice read

I just enjoy reading about Bernie yes, but, Ruby she is a hoot! She really is a character keeping things stirred up.

[Kathy Tozzi]

The nasty new neighbor has been killed. The suspects? The whole neighborhood. There isn't one person this woman hasn't attacked, Bernie included.
Bernie and Ruby have to work hard to figure it all out before the entire neighborhood ends up hating each other.
When things get touchy, Ruby shows just what she can do. No one tries to hurt her granddaughter.
This is such a fun series! I hope we get to see more of the wonderful characters.
The Neighbor is Nixed

[Deb Mohr]

Don’t miss this easy reading, fun series! #1530.

[Katherine]

I really enjoy this funny paranormal cozy mystery series.

[Carol]

Sylvia goes out of her way to annoy and cause trouble so when she was found murdered, the potential list of suspects was longer than most arms! Ruby, Carly's ghost grandmother is delighted of course - something to keep the boredom away but Carly is not too thrilled to be included in this list.

You gotta love Ruby, outrageous, unrepenting and unrelenting for her lecherous and law breaking ways - shame she is dead! I think Carly needs to grow a thicker skin and get used to her ways, if she is to remain sane!! I always enjoy a visit to this B&B, and look forward to more.