This was an interesting story about how to handle one's death and the afterlife. I enjoyed the story as our main character searches for the reasons behind the death of a fellow apartment dweller...the only problem is that she died a few months ago!. I enjoyed the story as Cordela and Ruby search for a killer, but the book is a little confusing because you don't always know which character you are hearing. Sometimes the story is told from Ruby's perspective and sometimes it is from Cordelia's and the transitions aren't always smooth. There are a couple of storylines that end up not being completed, which leads into a new book, likely, but is not my favorite thing. It was also a little interesting because the living couldn't see the dead, meaning that communication was tricky and didn't really always work out.

‘A New Lease on Death’ held me from start to finish. There are some scenes that took my breath away, and others that genuinely spooked me. It’s got the right amounts of mystery, thriller, intrigue and action. Plus, I was very much a fan of the writing style from the beginning. Overall, I enjoyed it immensely.

OK, first off since we’re getting into summer back in my Thriller romance kind of dark humor reads. This was everything paranormal romance enjoyed from start to finish. I love the cover the story. The premise from start to end was a great refreshing palette from my recently literary fiction reads.

4.25⭐️
Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an arc of this book! If you're looking for a light-hearted mystery, this is for you. I liked Cordelia and Ruby a lot, especially as the book went on and Cordelia enjoyed Ruby more. I thought they made a great team solving the mystery together, and overall I thought it was great. The cliffhanger at the end set up perfectly for a second book, so I really hope there is one!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. all opinions are my own.

I will post my full review once SMP address the insensitive comments of their employee.

Love this modern take on ghosts and live human as detectives, a la Topper. Olivia Blacke - please tell me you plan more with Ruby and Cordelia as a series.

This supernatural cozy mystery was the brain candy I needed to unplug this weekend. Cordelia and Ruby make a good, if unlikely, duo and I enjoyed the quirkiness of the book’s characters. As the first book in a series there was a lot of groundwork laid for the overall development of these characters and their stories, which was a bit of a bummer because I’d like to know what is up with Cordelia, the plant, her brother in prison…

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was good as a pallet cleanser I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have hoped but it was a good in between book, I think the idea of the book was good and fun however I feel like it was muted and the plot got lost.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc of this book. A New Lease on Death is the first in the Supernatural Mysteries series by Olivia Blacke. This book is an amateur detective story with two female main characters, Cordelia and Ruby. One of the female main character happens to be recently deceased and is a ghost. The interactions between Cordelia and Ruby are funny and bring a lightness to this book. Once I started this book I did not want to put it down. It was a fun light read. I look forward to reading book two in this series.

This is about Ruby a young lady, who moves into a fully furnished apartment, that is furnished because the previous tenant Cordelia died. Cordelia hasn't exactly moved on, and when the across the hall neighbor winds up dead outside with a bullet hole, Cordelia the ghost decides to try and reach out to Ruby to try and keep her safe, but Ruby takes it as Cordelia wanting to help solve the murder. Ruby can't exactly see or hear Cordelia so to interact they have to come up with creative ways! I really enjoyed this murder mystery book, with the paranormal aspect incorporated. Will definitely read more by this author. Thank you Netgalley for letting me have an early copy of this book.

I truly enjoyed this book thank you in advance.
Its a nice spin on the classic whitty detective books Gives it something refreshing
Some.of the other series have turned into wilted lettuce sadly

I loved Olivie Blake’s Masters of Death, so I was super ecstatic to see “A New Lease on Death” and that my request was accepted. “A New Lease on Death” is a murder mystery involving a ghost and her new (living) roomie. I am so excited for the continuation of this series. Ruby and Cordelia both are amazing characters. Ruby being the living part of their duo and Cordelia being the ghostly aspect, which makes investigating murders a little easier. The pacing was fantastic and the ending was absolutely a cliffhanger because you still have questions regarding Cordelia’s demise, but since it IS a series, that’s to be expected. I can’t wait to learn more about Cordelia’s life, but also just to see more of Ruby and Cordy’s friendship.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cordelia se suicidó hace unos meses a los cuarenta y tantos años, se volvió un fantasma que vaga sin saber porque no puede cruzar como otros fantasmas.

Ruby cree en lo sobrenatural, lo busca y cuando vió que el departamento de Cordelia estaba en renta no dudo en arendarlo para conocer a la fantasma.

Cuando matan al ex vecino, Jake, quien denunció que alguien se había metió en el departamento de Cordelia el día de muerte, ella decide que resolverá su homicidio con la ayuda de Ruby

Cordelia como persona no me gustó y Ruby es algo aburrida, la historia me pareció repetitiva.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had such an interesting and unique premise. Cordelia (aka Cordy) is getting used to being a ghost after her death while still inhabiting her apartment when a new tenant, Ruby, begins to rent the apartment. Shortly after Ruby moves in, the neighbor across the hall, Jake, dies in front of the building. Cordy recruits Ruby in investigating the murder by finding ways to communicate that don’t include talking since she is a ghost.

This was a fun whodunnit told through both Cordy and Ruby’s perspectives. Their contrasting personalities and humor made this book a really enjoyable read.

I really hope there will be a sequel!!!

This was an amusing story, as Cordelia the ghost and Ruby, the young lady who moved into Cordelia’s fully furnished apartment after her “suicide”, attempt to solve the murder of the neighbor across the hall, Jake. This first means Ruby realizing that Cordelia is still around, in spectral form. And then figuring out how to communicate when one party cannot be seen or heard. They then have to talk with his friends and former coworkers and try to figure out the right questions to ask and get answered. Also, what is the situation with Shannon, who has taken up residence in Jake’s apartment and has some connection to him — girlfriend or something more? The story has plenty of humorous moments revolving around what Cordelia can and cannot do as a ghost.

It becomes evident fairly early in the story that Cordelia did not commit suicide. I was somewhat disappointed that neither Cordelia nor Ruby began to suspect that until the end of the story, leaving that mystery unsolved. However, it does create an opening for a sequel.

This was a well-written drama that I could not put down, quickly becoming a page-turner. The mystery was nicely executed with a dead body, a ghost and Ruby as well as a few suspects and clues peppered in to keep me intrigued and in suspense. The author did a great job in staging this tale and I especially like the pairing of the two, each with their own strengths which makes them work well together to find said killer. I liked that there were two points of view, and how they connected to tell a story that would eventually lead to the motive, identity, and apprehension of the murderer. When I thought I knew what was going on, the author made a slight detour, all to enhance my reading pleasure. We also learned something else which necessitates a second book as I want to know if Ruby’s theory could be true. Overall, this was an enjoyable and light-hearted read and I can’t wait for what I hope is the second book in a new series.

This was such a cute, cozy mystery. I enjoyed the switch between Cordelia and Ruby, and the story flowed very well. I could have done with hearing how Ruby was “perky” and “short” about 50% less— maybe more show and less tell.

That being said, the most unrealistic part about this ghost story was people running downstairs through an apartment building in their socks. Maybe slippers, maybe— definitely not socks.

The end felt like a cliffhanger and I’m already excited to read book two.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

A New Lease on Death has me signing up to get into a new series thanks to some colorful characters and what promises to be some fascinating mysteries. Following a ghost, Cordelia, and her much younger roommate Ruby, we see the two pair up to solve the mystery of Ruby’s neighbor’s death and the promise to investigate Cordelia’s so called suicide next. This was a light and easy read that wasn’t focused on being completely humorous (though it had some good moments) but instead on building out a world I think will be a blast to visit again and again.

Cordelia and Ruby’s dynamic is endearing, especially given the former is ‘haunting’ her old apartment and watching the latter kill off all her plants. Ruby brings real joie de vivre to this series and was the joyful lining to it. I’m intrigued about what comes next since we end on a cliffhanger! I really hope we get some more humor in the next book as this series is looking to fall firmly in that camp.

I understand that a series is a series, but given that I was far more invested in one of the mysteries presented here than the other, I found the conclusion deeply unsatisfying.

Ruby and Cordelia make an unlikely--but charming duo in this new paranormal cozy. There's a lot here to love.