What a quirky, fast-paced book - this was such a fun read! If you're looking for a mystery that has it's fair share of humor and friendship, look no further :) Also, fans of Lucy Score's Riley Thorn series will for sure enjoy this one!

A New Lease on Death has got to be one of the most unique mysteries I've read in a while. While, yes, the heart of the plot is solving this mystery, the book is so much more. I soaked up every single Ruby + Cordelia moment and my heart is so warm following their budding friendship.

A New Lease on Death releases October 29, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for giving me the chance to read this ARC!

A New Lease on Death is a fun paranormal mystery based in Boston. Ruby has moved into a shady part of town because she can afford the rent for an apartment that comes fully furnished. Never mind that the neighbor's dead body has been found outside and then she discovers that the previous tenant died in her bathroom and that her ghost still remains. Cordelia is surprised the new young woman can sense her presence. They find a way to communicate, although not quite clearly at all times, and set off to solve the murder of their neighbor.

Cordelia and Ruby are opposites in almost every way. In real life, they would never be friends. But in death, Cordelia grows to like being around her young roommate. Since she is a ghost, her sleuthing is easier than Ruby's. Ruby finds herself in predicaments that Cordelia has to help her out of. There is a lot of dry humor, not slapstick, but it works. And the mystery of who dunnit leaves you reading to the very end, where of course, there is a cliffhanger to indicate something not quite right with Cordelia's death.

Olivia Blacke has created this series that involves all the elements of a great mystery speckled with some otherworldly beings. The two main characters grow on you even when you think you shouldn't like them. There are great friend vibes, and getting to know the neighbors is surprising. I look forward to the next installment!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Quirky whodunnit,
some inconsistencies but
entertaining, cute.
⭐️⭐️⭐️


I write haiku reviews but am happy to provide more feedback.

This unfortunately did not work for me but I can see where others would enjoy it. Just not for me. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC.

Ruby’s new apartment comes with a perk she wasn’t expecting – a resident ghost. When her neighbor, Jake, is killed right outside the building in what the police are calling a mugging, ghost Cordelia knows there’s more to it and persuades Ruby to help solve the crime.

This is the first book in a new series by this author, and it’s off to a good start. Ruby and Cordelia couldn’t be more different, even without considering the living/dead thing, but those differences make them a great team to conduct an investigation. Ruby kills plants without even trying, Cordelia kills electronics if her ghostly energy gets too close. Cordelia was a neat freak, Ruby is more laissez-faire when it comes to cleaning and tidying. But they’re both intelligent women whose curiosity leads their questioning in the right direction.

There were several characters on my list of suspects, although I couldn’t really come up with a motive for any of them that seemed worth killing someone. I was surprised when the killer was revealed, and still can’t decide whether I should have seen that coming or not. The book ended on a cliffhanger, something I’m not a fan of overall, but I liked the book well enough to read the next book when it’s released, if only to get answers to those unanswered questions.

I ended up DNFing this one. I read about 25% before I decided to put it aside. I just couldn't connect to the characters and didn't really care about the plot. I do want to give this one a go at some point - maybe when the sequel comes out!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery, Mystery, Girl Buddy Book, Ghost
Spice Level: Affairs are mentioned, but the spice is not on the page
Language: Periodic swearing, including a few f-bombs

A NEW LEASE ON DEATH has a fantastic opening line—it sets the tone and gives us a hint for the entire story.

Being dead doesn't come with a rule book, and Cordelia is making it up on the fly. AND. . . her first experience helping someone doesn't "ghost" as expected.

The humor is a little macabre, but I found it funny. There are also some serious issues that characters are dealing with.

Interestingly, I really liked Cordelia, even though I vehemently disagreed with some of her life choices. Her ghost choices are a different conversation. The other main character—Ruby—is the quintessential Gen Z, making her way through life and relationships. Except for her care for plants, I could relate to her even though I'm not her age. She's funny and really trying oh so hard to solve this murder.

I liked how the clues went together. Was the final thing a twist? It wasn't for me, but I still enjoyed the rest of the book so much, it didn't spoil my fun.

I hope you enjoy this too.

Happy reading!

Ruby moves to Boston, away from her family and a bad breakup, and gets an apartment very cheap. It's also furnished. Soon Ruby finds out why it's so cheap- the previous tenant, Cornelia, died there. And now Cornelia's ghost lives there with Ruby. Instead of being scared, Ruby tries to find ways to communicate with Cornelia and they team up to try to solve the murder of the man across the hall, Jake. Can this supernatural duo find the killer (and figure out how Cornelia really died?)

I actually really liked this cozy mystery! I liked the characters and the not scary ghost and the lighter tone. This is the beginning of a planned series, and I can't wait to read the next one! I think Ms. Blacke has a hit on her hands with this one. This is a nice mix of mystery and character driven plot.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

3.5! I need to preface and say I really enjoyed this and it is so readable I gobbled it all up quite quickly. Unfortunately, I do think there were some let downs. Mostly, it gets pretty repetitive; I found that most of the time I could tell what was going to happen in a chapter purely because something really similar had happened before but this is less the specific plot and maybe the writing. Other than that I found that a lot of random things happened that were not really necessary? Harp and Ruby getting drunk specifically really annoyed me because I just found they were not at all relevant to the story or at least they didn't enhance my reading experience. Mostly I am a bit annoyed this ends on a cliffhanger but I understand and it has worked as I will be reading the next one so jokes on me I guess.

Thank you, Minotaur Books and NetGalley, for my free E-book for review.

Imagine a dynamic detective duo with a supernatural twist: one's alive, the other's a ghost! "A New Lease of Death" introduces us to Ruby and Cordelia, an unlikely pair of amateur sleuths. I was thoroughly entertained watching them navigate the challenges of communicating across the veil between life and death.

Ms. Blacke cleverly removes modern technology from the equation, forcing our ghostly detectives to rely on good old-fashioned sleuthing skills. It's a brilliant move that adds an extra layer of intrigue to their investigation. As they pieced together clues, I found myself right there with them, trying to crack the case.

While their amateur status shows in their methods, it only makes Ruby and Cordelia more relatable and endearing. Their learning curve kept me engaged throughout the story, rooting for them at every turn.

"A New Lease of Death" is a delightfully light and cozy mystery that serves as a charming introduction to the series. And that cliffhanger ending? Let's just say it's got me curious what ghostly adventures this dynamic duo will tackle next!

the idea of a ghost and the new tenant in her apartment working together to solve a mystery is definitely a fun concept and one that i found intriguing. while i think that this was a fun story, it fell a little flat for me. certain aspects of it were very repetitive; lots of the same phrases and information were repeated, which maybe wouldn't have been as noticeable if i wasn't reading it in one sitting, but still. the characters were fine --- i just don't feel like i got to know that beyond the surface even though we had first person pov for cordelia and ruby. the mystery was fine, but i didn't find anything all that surprising. i don't think the book was bad by any means, it just wasn't for me and i don't think i'll be continuing the series

An unlikely duo, mysteries, twists, all make for a great novel. However, the book came to a sudden stop but maybe we will get a sequel - tbd?! Thanks #netgalley #anewleaseondeath

I grew up in MA and just came back from spending a week in Boston visiting friends and having two weddings to go to. Idk if it's that or what, but this book just hit the spot. Honestly, I love a good cozy story so this was super fun. I love the idea of Cordelia going around her city as a ghost. Ruby was such a fun, energetic quirky character! If anyone deserved to have a haunted apartment (in a good way, a good ghost) it's her!

I was a little iffy on this in the beginning. I wasn't sure where it was going, but as soon as Ruby and Cordelia started "talking" I was in all. That reminds me, I need to get my word magnets out the bag and put them on the fridge! Just in case, you know?

The author artfully intertwines the stories of Cordelia and Ruby. Ruby moves to Boston to a neighborhood some would say is less than desirable. She happens to rent the apartment where Cordelia died, but the ghost of Cordelia is very much alive. The book opens to Cordelia sitting with the body of Jake, the neighbor from across the hall, who was killed. Both Ruby and Cordelia are motivated to solve Jake's murder - which inherently involves multiple plot twists. The interplay of the two characters really forms the basis of this novel. Well done, Ms. Blacke!

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I enjoyed this cozy mystery, the first 1/3 kept me interested and the middle 1/3 kinda drug on a bit, just to speed back up in the last 1/3.

I’ve learned I’m not a huge “cozy” trope reader after slugging through a handful of them.

This is definitely a good pickup for all those readers that do love this type of book!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of a mystery solving duo between the living and the dead is interesting. Cordelia is the ghost of a woman in her 40s who is believed to have committed suicide and Ruby is the 20 year old woman who has moved into Cordelia’s apartment. The two team up to solve the murder of Jake, a man who lived across the hall in their apartment building. The police have determined that his death is the result of a mugging gone wrong, but both Cordelia and Ruby believe there was more to his death. The story is told from the dual perspectives of Cordelia and Ruby as they struggle to find a way to communicate with each other without the use of alcohol or touching one another, which is uncomfortable for both of them. This book is on the darker end of the cozy mystery spectrum in my opinion. It’s a solid introduction to the series and it’ll be interesting to see how the author carries the series forward.

3 stars - I was looking for a cozy, spooky season read, and accepted a widget of "A New Lease on Death", but it didn't really do it for me, sigh. There were things I really liked about it - the premise was good (and worth a star) - a ghost & new tenant of apartment where ghost died team up to solve the murder in the building. But I didn't like the characters, failed to engage much & the cliffhanger ending really sucked, so this one is a miss for me. My thanks go to Net Galley & the publisher for the widget for the DRC, I sincere appreciate being offered the title.

.Can I just stay this book keeps you on your toes from the first sentence to the last one. We first meet Cordelia out in the snow with a corpse. My first thought was why are we outside in Boston weather with a dead body. Quickly we find out she too is dead and waiting for this body to rise. Not in the living dead sense but the hovering over your dead body. Just as soon as we meet the corpse he is gone in a flash and we are left in the presence of a ghost that has been existing for awhile. Cordelia is a source of information of what can be and can not be done by a ghost. She has a roommate Ruby living in her old apt. The corpse happens to be Ruby's neighbor and we are taken on a quest with Ruby and Cordelia through the streets of Boston.
The characters are vivid even Cordelia, love their personalities. The plot thickens as the book keeps you guessing with a plethora of suspects. The story is intriguing and you are left with wanting more. Luckily for fans of Ruby and Cordelia and Ms Blacke it looks like we will have more adventures in the future.

I am always ready for a paranormal cozy mystery. When I read the synopsis of "A New Lease on Death" I was very curious to see how the author will tie in the paranormal aspects with the story with the mystery. While I liked Ruby and Cordelia on the whole, I found the mystery behind Jake's death to be lack luster. Jake is really not that interesting. I had hoped that the book would have focused on Cordelia's suspicious death instead which didn't quite gel and is eventually hinted at in the next book. At times, I thought the story was a bit repetitive and I had hoped that the women had found a way to communicate with one another without resulting to being black out drunk. I was also missing the dark humor in the book, which was mentioned in the book's blurb. Overall, a decent mystery that I might stick around just to see what really happened to Cordelia.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur/Macmillan for an early advanced readers copy of the book.

One thing I've noticed in reviews of this book: there is a cliffhanger mentioned. I wouldn't necessarily call it that, since the main mystery in Book 1 (this is a new series) is resolved, but there are larger issues that will be addressed (I assume) in future stories. So reading this book won't leave you on a true cliffhanger.

This story starts with Cordelia watching her neighbor, Jake, as his dead body lies on the snowy, Boston sidewalk. Cordelia lived across from Jake when she was alive, but now she's keeping a vigil over him until he's found. Cordelia has only been dead a few months herself, but she still hasn't entirely figured everything out. She knows she can disrupt electronics like crazy, and she can move some things but not everything. She also knows the woman who moved into her old unit, Ruby, drives her a bit crazy but the fact is that Ruby is alive and Cordelia is dead and they need each other to find out what happened to Jake.

This book is classified as a cozy mystery and I'd say that's accurate. There are definitely parts that are cheesy but this story never takes itself too seriously and remains a light-hearted and easy read.

Cordelia's character is really the star of the show. She has a moral code and she desperately is trying to do good, even though she's no longer alive. She's navigating the afterlife without any direction and everything is trial and error, which can lead to some hilarious situations.

In the beginning, Ruby's character is a little hard to like. She's written as very "Gen Z" or "Gen Alpha", and she comes across as just boneheaded. You can easily see why she drives Cordelia a bit crazy. That said, as the story deepens, we see growth in her character and I ended up admiring her tenacity.

If you're looking for an easy read, with a few well-intentioned ghosts, and a mystery in Boston, this will be the one for you.