Cordelia Graves is dead (have to love her name), has been for a little while when the story starts. She’s a ghost just trying to make her way in the afterlife. She’s still living in her old apartment (I guess technically she’s now haunting it) but when her next-door neighbor is killed in a ‘mugging’ things just don’t seem to add up to her. But being dead she can’t really go digging into his death. Not on her own anyway. That’s where her ‘roommate’ comes in. Ruby is a young woman who moved into Cordelia’s apartment, and instead of being scared when she discovers Cordelia, Ruby thinks its cool to have a ghost. And before you know it the two of them are digging into the their neighbor’s death. I really liked the characters and thought the story, while not perfect, was definitely fun. This is a promising start to a new cozy mystery series. I’d like to thank St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Olivia Blacke’s A New Lease on Death.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2NQS8RIVWC23M/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This is an interesting mystery. Ruby is young and moves away from home to live in an apartment where a woman committed suicide. She is loving the apartment, but she needs to get a job, or she will be out of the apartment. The woman, Cordelia, left behind everything so Ruby starts clearing out everything. When a man who lived across the hall was murdered, Ruby thinks she might have to find out why he died. The police don't seem interested. Ruby has a feeling that Cordelia might still be hanging around. Wouldn't that be cool? Ruby and Cordelia need to find a way to communicate. Cordelia helps Ruby find a job and is helping her investigate the neighbor's murder. Ruby finds out so much about Cordelia and she finds that the neighbor was a very likeable guy. So, who killed him? There are quite a few suspects, but they don't pan out. Could it really have been a mugging as the police say?

OMG this book has it all. It’s a funny who done it. A did she OD or did she have help. The cast of characters are hilarious and witty and kept me in stitches. I loved everything about this book and as a first time reader of Olivia Blacke I am hooked.

The idea behind this novel was so intriguing - a ghost shares her apartment with the new tenant, her "roommate", and together try to solve the mystery behind the death of another tenant in their building.

The story started strong, but as it progressed it felt there were a lot of description of events without any real developments. The eventual resolution felt very quick and anticlimactic and left me wanting much more.

Unique and humorous, this book was enjoyable overall but just felt lacking.

This was such a fun cozy mystery! The paranormal roommate was such a fun idea. This is perfect for Spooky Season without being super scary.

Olivia Blacke has been writing mysteries for a while. In A New Lease on Death, she begins a new series. I think that readers will enjoy this one and will be happy to know that more titles should be forthcoming.

The one who knows about a murder is Cordelia Graves (Graves!). The victim is Jake Macintyre. The problem is that Cordelia is herself deceased. She needs to find a way to be involved.

The solution? Involve Ruby Young (Yes, she is young). How well will these two work together? Will the killer be brought to justice? Readers will enjoy finding out.

This book is for those who like their traditional mysteries spiced with the supernatural. Perfect for an October release date.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Ruby has fled to Boston to get away from a bad relationship. She has no job and little money, so when she finds a furnished apartment in a somewhat seedy part of town she takes it unaware that it is already occupied.
Ruby is a great protagonist. She’s smart, tenacious, and doesn’t frighten easily. She’s also a pretty good detective. I liked the mystery within a mystery aspect of the story. You’ve got the one regarding who shot the nearby neighbor and then the one about Cordelia, Ruby’s “roommate.” It’s a well crafted whodunit that kept me guessing right up to the end. A haunted mystery without the horror. 4.5 stars

Another solid entry into the recent fiction category of “unprofessional women detective mysteries.” It’s been a popular trope the last few years and I’m enjoying every one of them.
Cordelia is a ghost, still hanging around her old apartment after her - suicide? Murder? Accidental death? She’s currently helping the current tenant solve the murder of the neighbor across the hall. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I’m assuming we will revisit Cordelia’s own death in the next installment?
Thanks to Olivia Blacke, St Martins Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

The description sounded so fun, a ghost and the new unsuspecting roommate must team up to solve the death of their neighbor. While sure I get that they can be opposites the extent that it was pushed was a bit much. Some aspects of the book were well done and thoughtful. Then others treated the reader like a toddler who couldn’t read the room. In the end, this was just a slightly average read.

Set in Boston, this book follows Cordelia, a ghost with limited powers, and Ruby, her new tenant, as they try to solve a murder in their rough neighborhood. Despite the “paranormal mystery” label, the supernatural aspect is minimal, with Cordelia barely able to communicate, and the Boston setting feels generic. The characters’ personalities are overemphasized (tall, serious Cordelia vs. bubbly, petite Ruby) to the point of repetition. While the twist at the end is surprising, the detective work feels unconvincing, relying more on luck than skill. Despite an intriguing premise, the execution missed the mark, and I won’t be following the series further.

would classify this as a cozy mystery and I did enjoy it. I liked the characters and the mythology behind becoming a ghost. The writing itself was good and I would definitely read the next book in this series. My hopes for improvements on the next one: better pacing, a more interesting mystery, and not every single man calling women “sweetheart”. Nothing really happened for a large portion of the book and then it felt like the clues were really heavy-handed. The big cliffhanger at the very end of the book was something that had been obvious since the second chapter BUT it’s still a story I would be interested in reading.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This start to a new series is my favorite yet from Olivia Blacke. Back and forth perspectives between ghost Cordelia and the new inhabitant of her apartment, Ruby, readers really get a sense of both characters and I can't wait for more books in the series to investigate some untied up threads. Sometimes in paranormal mysteries, things get a little too convenient as the paranormal element solves parts of the mystery that couldn't be solved without them, and while Cordelia definitely led Ruby to some evidence, it didn't fully drive the story. Looking forward to more!

Oh my gosh, this was so much fun! A ghost woman who died at around forty years old and a human girl of twenty couldn't've been more unlikely friends let alone sleuthing buddies, but Ruby and Cordelia made it work.

I loved these two characters and really got a kick outta Cordelia and some of her comments she made even though she knew Ruby couldn't hear her. I enjoyed how the chapters took turns being first person told by one of the two main characters. It was easy to keep track of who was telling since the chapters were labeled either Ruby or Cordelia.

I absolutely can't wait to read the next book because of how this one ended. No worries though, the current murder was wrapped up nice and neat but there's always been a question in my mind and Ruby addressed that. We’ll have to see what happens next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin/Minotaur Books via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading A New Lease on Death. The story was slightly dark but funny. Olivia Blacke did a great job with this story.

I will definitely be looking for other works by Olivia.

happy release day to A New Lease on Death!

Olivia Blacke’s books are some of my favorite cozy mysteries, + this book is no exception! I loved the premise of the book, the friendship between Cordelia + Ruby, + the supernatural element to the story! this was such a great read, + I can’t recommend it enough!

thank you to @netgalley, @minotaur_books, + @oliviablackeauthor for my advance copy! #anewleaseondeath

A New Lease on Death is a cozy mystery set in Boston during the winter time. Cordelia Graves is a ghost with a new roommate who never stops talking. Ruby Young is a young 2o something trying to start a new life and ends up in the middle of a crime scene. Together they try to unravel the mystery of the neighbor across the hall (Jake). One of the many set backs is that Ruby can't actually see or hear Cordelia resulting in some humors missteps.

The first half of the book had similar humor to Finlay Donovan and Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies as Ruby and Cordelia learn to work together. Unfortunately, I thought the last half of the book dragged on and was predictable. The foreshadowing for Cordelia backstory seems heavy handed just to be set up for a sequel and I thought that was pretty unsatisfying.

I love the cover art.

I've never read a book like this before, so unique and clever! I was hooked from page 1 and can't wait to see what this unusual duo get up to next!!

Cordelia finds her neighbor, Jake, murdered in front of their apartment building. He is outside in the snowy Boston weather with no shoes or coat on. Cordelia wants to investigate but unfortunately she is also dead. Cordelia has to enlist the help of the new resident of her apartment, the annoying Ruby, to do all the hard questioning of suspects. Can this unusual duo work together to find out what happened to Jake? Will both women get A New Lease on Death after realizing that ghosts are definitely real?

I love the idea of combining a ghost story with an amateur detective tale. However, the mechanics of what Cordelia can still do and how she communicates with the living are clunky at best and distracting at worst. Hopefully, this is just an issue with this introductory book in what is obviously intended to be new cozy paranormal mystery series. I did spend the entire book missing the easy camaraderie of Sarah Booth Delaney and Jitney. Even the flirty mystique of 1940s Private Investigator Jack Shepard and his human foil, Pen, of the Haunted Bookshop series seemed more believable to me than the dynamic here.

Overall, A New Lease on Death is a fun cozy mystery, but the pacing is slowed by the task of introducing all the characters. The two main characters’ many insecurities were annoying, rather than endearing, too. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced review copy.

A great premise for a mystery series. Ruby moves into a furnished apartment in Boston after leaving home because of a cheating ex. The previous renter, Cordelia Graves committed suicide in the bathtub. Or did she??
Cordelia is now a ghost who eventually communicates with Ruby after her neighbor is killed and they set out to solve the murder.
There is humor as well as sadness. Cordelia is constantly learning how she can interact with breathers, as she learns to call us from another ghost.
Ruby is only twenty, so she is just learning about life. The book ends on a cliffhanger so I will certainly be watching for the next book.
This was a fun book and a good mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review. It was a fun read.

***ARC received from Minotaur Books and NetGalley, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

A New Lease on Death is a new cozy mystery by Olivia Blacke. I’m going to be honest, I’ve never really read anything classified as cozy mystery but I found this a delightfully sweet read.

Cordelia is dead, a ghost haunting her apartment when she gets a new roommate in very much alive Ruby. These two women are very different, not just in age by in personality. I liked how well they played off each other even if their communication was just a few simple words. Ruby is bubbly and outgoing while Cordelia is more reserved and the age difference cast Cordelia as more of a protective older sister caring about helping Ruby get going out on her own. They do have a very sweet dynamic and as the story switches between their points of view we get to see the unique struggles of learning to live with a ghost. The secondary characters are not as well fleshed out and I wished that we had gotten to know Shannon a little better but they do have their own unique personalities in how they interact with Ruby.

While the book focuses mostly on the murder mystery part of it I really liked getting to spend time in Cordelia’s chapters as we get to learn more about how the ghost word works in the book. Why are some ghosts still around, how are they able to interact with the real world particular their interactions with electronics and her interactions with other ghosts. I do hope that any other books explore this more in depth as I found that more interesting that the mystery.

There is a murder mystery going on and it isn’t just a secondary story even if it wasn’t my favorite part of the story but that is just me. As with any good mystery there are a lot of false flags that all make sense with who the characters are and how they are interacting. Any of these could lead to the murderer and the book handled them well.

For someone that doesn’t normally reach for a cozy mystery I really did enjoy this book and would love to read more of Cordelia and Ruby.

Twenty-something Ruby Young can’t afford much, but she finds an apartment in Boston to rent. It’s far from perfect, but it’s home for now. The apartment comes complete with a ghost, not to mention a dead body on the sidewalk in front of the building.

The ghost is the previous tenant, Cordelia Graves, who died a few months before Ruby took over the apartment. The dead body is her next-door neighbor. Cordelia and Ruby are on a mission to find the killer. It’s not easy for Ruby to work with a ghost since she can’t see or communicate with her. The two of them find unconventional ways. They must be on the right track of a murderer since Ruby is being threatened.

This is an entertaining and unique story. Ruby and Cordelia are fun characters. They make for an unusual sleuthing team. The storyline is intriguing and kept me guessing. I was quite surprised at who the culprit turned out to be.

I did find some spots to be a little slow, but it did keep me laughing. It's filled with dark humor. Ruby and Cordelia’s antics were amusing. Although the murder mystery is solved in this book, there is a continuing thread carried over into the next book. I’m looking forward to reading that one.

I’ve read one of this author’s other cozy mystery series, Record Shop Mysteries, and love it. This one has the potential to be another good series.






FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.