4 Stars – A Fun, Quirky Mystery with Heart

A New Lease on Death was a solidly entertaining read. The ghostly detective premise is a little out there, but it works because Cordelia and Ruby make such a great duo—one sarcastic and dead, the other bubbly and overwhelmed. The mystery had some good twists, and I didn’t see the ending coming. A few moments stretched believability, but the humor and character dynamics kept me hooked. Definitely excited to see where this series goes next!

This one was different! A little slow. But I still enjoyed it! I put it down for a while then decided to pick it back up to give it another shot and was pleasantly surprised!

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Who doesn't want a cozy mystery where the detectives are a ghost and the woman who now lives in her old apartment? This was a fun mystery of "who killed the neighbor." While Ruby is trying to figure out how her neighbor ended up dead on the sidewalk, she's also trying to figure out whether or not she has a ghost in her apartment. Cordelia, who has been dead for a few months, is trying to figure out both who the person is in her apartment but also what are her new powers now that she's dead. Together the two team up and save the day. This was an easy read and the start of a new series for Blacke and I enjoyed it.

Free e-book review is my own.

Overall, entertaining cozy paranormal mystery.

Ruby Young just moved into a fully furnished Boston apartment that comes with the ghost of its former owner, Cordelia Graves. Cordy isnt the only one to pass way though. A neighbor is shot outside their building, Cordelia needs help from Ruby to water her last surviving plant and solve the neighbors murder. A good kick off to a series and a lot of clues dropped for what really happened to Cordelia, even if she doesnt know what happened to herself yet.

Olivia Blacke’s A New Lease on Death is a wildly entertaining supernatural mystery that blends humor, crime-solving, and the afterlife in the best way possible. Fans of The Dead Romantics and true crime enthusiasts will love this delightfully offbeat whodunit.

Ruby Young wasn’t expecting a dead body outside her new Boston apartment—or a ghostly roommate inside it. Enter Cordelia Graves, a sarcastic, restless spirit who refuses to move on until she solves the murder of their across-the-hall neighbor, Jake. The catch? Being incorporeal has its limits, so she ropes in Ruby, a reluctant but resourceful partner in crime-solving. Together, this oddball duo embarks on a hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt investigation, uncovering secrets, suspects, and danger along the way.

The banter between Ruby and Cordelia is top-tier, with plenty of snark and wit that make their growing friendship just as compelling as the mystery itself. The balance of humor, suspense, and supernatural elements is spot on, keeping the story fresh and engaging. While some twists are predictable, the lively storytelling and unique premise make it an absolute page-turner.

If you love murder mysteries with a side of ghostly shenanigans, A New Lease on Death is a must-read!

This was a fun low-stakes paranormal mystery. I liked Ruby and Cordelia and their adventures trying to communicate with each other and trying to solve the murder of their neighbor. There were some funny moments between them when trying to communicate and you also get to see them care for each other, even if one of them is a ghost. Ruby isn’t really equipped to solve a murder, but that’s what makes it fun, she’s all to bring some lightheartedness to the story that a detective might not. Although she is doing more than I would if a neighbor was murdered. But the mystery was good in that I wasn’t able to predict who killed Jake. I’m hoping that there’s a second because I liked these characters and would read about them solving another mystery, but there were also some unanswered questions that I want the answers to.

This was a cute cozy mystery but the writing was very repetitive. I enjoyed the premise of a ghost (Cordelia) and a human (Ruby) working together to solve a murder. The author repeated a lot of things the ghost could and could not do and how Ruby killed her flowers. I plan to check out the sequel but will not continue with the series if the writing continues to be repetitive.

I really enjoyed this book, I haven't read many cozy mystery series, this one was really impressive. I loved the characters and the friendships and the clever story line that has a main plot and a subplot line. I cannot wait until the next one comes out, I have to know what the ghostly roommates story is.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A New Lease on Death was such a fun mystery to dive into. In this, you will meet Ruby. She's the new tenant to this apartment building that has so many problems. Her two current ones are her neighbor's dead body outside and a ghost living in her apartment. Life is surely never going to be the same again, but maybe that's a good thing.

Now I really enjoyed the working relationship between Ruby and Cordelia. They definitely balanced each other out with how different they are but worked so well together. In the beginning, I was a little worried about how they could communicate with each other efficiently, but in the end they somehow figured it out.

The twists and turns definitely kept me hooked because I just wanted to know why the murders happened and who did it. I was not prepared for the cliffhanger ending, and now I'm just twiddling my thumbs until the next book is available. I was also very surprised by the big reveals towards the end too.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend the audiobook!

"A New Lease on Death" is a novel murder mystery from an author who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

From the opening scene, I was hooked. For some reason, Cordelia Graves has not passed on to the afterlife. And she has no idea why. The story opens with her witnessing the death of her next door neighbor. But she arrives after he's already mortally wounded. With nothing better to do with her time, she decides she's going to figure out who killed him.

The new tenant in her apartment, Ruby Young, is a bright and bubbly 20-something, who soon gets caught up in the investigation as well. As much as Ruby and Cordelia can't communicate directly very easily, Cordelia does find ways to make her presence known, and they team up to track down the killer.

While a lot of the story is far-fetched (if you hadn't figured that out already from my description so far), the characters are delightful and the story really pulls you in. And thankfully, it's the first book in a new series, so I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you to Olivia Blacke, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This was an entertaining and quick mystery novel.
The dynamic between Ruby and Cordelia was fun, and I enjoyed the chance to encounter both perspectives. As the two take on the mantel of amateur sleuths, the way ghost and breather grow as characters and evolve their ways of communicating, while crime solving, was engaging.
The paranormal aspect of the story is what makes it stand out with respect to other cozy mystery novels. If that is something that appeals to you, then this is a good one to pick up. The book contains one main mystery, but as it unfolds, the reader is given information that indicates that Cordelia’s death may not have occurred as was originally thought. I like that the book ended with this opening to another. I look forward to picking up the next instalment.
Many thanks to Minotaur (St. Martin’s Press) and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Supernatural and spooky! This one was a hit! I cant wait to see what comes next in this series!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

First I would like to thank St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

When Ruby moves into her new Boston apartment, it comes with all of the usual suspects with the bonus of the ghost of the previous tenant, Cordelia. When her across-the-hall neighbor, Jake Macintyre, is shot and killed in an apparent mugging gone wrong outside their building, Cordelia is convinced there’s more to it and is determined to bring his killer to justice.

Unfortunately, Cordelia, being dead herself, can't solve the mystery alone. She has to enlist the help of the obnoxiously perky, living tenant of her apartment. Ruby can do everything Cordelia can't, from interviewing suspects to researching Jake on the library computers that go up in a puff of smoke if Cordelia gets too close. As the roommates form an unlikely friendship and get closer to the truth about Jake's death, they also start to uncover other dangerous secrets.

What I Love:
- Dual POV, this story is told from both Ruby and Cordelia's viewpoints and with their age difference and overall difference in demeanor it brings a lot of levity to the story
- Ruby, a young girl trying to survive in the big city has to reflect on the type of person Cordelia was and hope she does not fall into the same ruts and find a fulfilling life
- Secret/Mystery, the overall mystery of the book was a bit unexpected and it kept me guessing till the very end
- Ghosts, I do enjoy that Cordelia ends up meeting other ghosts and learns new tricks along the way
- Pizza, there are a lot of pizza deliveries throughout this book and I always seemed to be craving pizza while I read

If you are looking for a cozy mystery with a supernatural element full of fun characters, a great mystery and quick read I would recommend you picking up this book.

A quirky cozy whodunit pairing up a ghost with the tenant in her apartment. Cordelia Graves is a ghost. She died in her apartment under curious circumstances. Now the neighbour next door has been killed and Cordelia is trying to work from beyond the grave with Ruby the new tenant to solve the case. A great weekend read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced read.

This is definitely a cozy read. Where a ghost and the new tenant resolve a mystery murder. This was supper fun to read . And it set ups for a fabulous series . Cant wait to get more of this two

3 stars

This is a charming little paranormal mystery starring the detective duo of Cordelia, a fussy plant-mom ghost, and Ruby, the impulsive and disorganized Gen Z girl who moved into Cordelia’s old apartment. Another resident of their apartment building is murdered (and his ghost moves on before Cordelia can ask him who killed him); as he’d been a pretty good neighbor, Cordelia and Ruby join forces to track down his killer.

I think Blacke makes too much of the generational difference between Cordelia and Ruby, really trying to squeeze every joke she can out of their differing priorities and values, in a way that I didn’t find funny. That said, Cordelia’s increasing fondness for and protectiveness over Ruby is genuinely sweet, and I like their ‘roommate’ relationship a lot.

While reading, I expected there to be two mysteries for Cordelia and Ruby to solve, but one is saved/teased for a sequel. This made the book feel a little empty for me, like a sandwich with not enough filling, and so at the moment I feel ambivalent about whether I’ll pick up said sequel or not. That said, I’d still recommend the book to fans of paranormal fiction, cozy mysteries, and slice-of-life, odd couple whimsy.

3.5 stars.
Full of humour, a growing friendship, and a murder mystery, this novel launches a series with a pair of investigators: Cordelia Graves, a ghost, and Ruby Young, the young woman now living in Cordelia's former apartment.

Opening with the death of a man who lived across the hall from Cordelia, and her trying unsuccessfully to teach him the ways of ghosts, we discover that Cordelia is lonely, and really frustrated with how Roby has let all of Cordelia's plants die, and by how Ruby dresses in obnoxiously cheery colours and patterns.

Ruby is in Boston to rebuild her life after a bad breakup, and find a job as her financial situation is not good. When she accidentally discovers that Cordelia is still inhabiting her apartment, the two slowly figure out a way to communicate, and decide to figure out who killed the man across the hall.

Cordelia convinces Ruby to apply for her old job as receptionist at a tech startup, giving Ruby some financial stability. And Ruby questions people in the dead man's life to determine what his relationships were, and who could have wanted him dead.

Cordelia does her best to help, figuring out the limits of her ghostly abilities, all while pining for the man she loved, the owner of the tech startup Ruby is now at.

A dangerous confrontation concludes the story, and also opens the door to tackling the questions surrounding Cordelia's death, which seemed suspicious from the outset of the novel.

I liked the two main characters, with all their quirks and biases. They both are hurting and lonely, and discover how much they need the other as the entertaining mystery progresses. Each bring different skills to their amateur sleuthing, making a good team, once they also worked out some of their issues with each other. I look forward to the next instalment of this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Have you ever had a ghost as a roommate? Or wondered what that might be like? 🤔

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke is an entertaining and cozy murder mystery that had me flying through the pages!

Bright and bubbly Ruby Young was lucky enough to score her first apartment fully furnished, and that includes the ghost of the previous tenant. Cordelia Graves has had long and boring days since she’s been dead. But Ruby believes in ghosts, and once Cordelia makes her presence known to Ruby, the two team up to solve the murder of their across the hall neighbor.

From the very first page, even the very first sentence, I was hooked. I thought the first chapter was so well done in such a fun way. It does a great job of establishing the rules of death in this universe and introducing our dead characters.

I thought roommates Ruby and Cordelia were such an entertaining duo, and I felt like I could connect with their characters. I found them so compelling that I found myself speeding through this book not necessarily for the plot, but because I loved reading about their adventures together!

I loved that this book ended on a cliff hanger. It sets everything up for the next book perfectly, and I can’t wait to read it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Olivia Blacke for this arc!

Interesting read. A young lady moves to a new town after a breakup with her boyfriend to start over and moves into an apartment where the previous tenant committed “suicide” and now occupies the apartment as a ghost. Then the neighbor across the hall is murdered and the new tenant and the ghost are determined to solve the case which they eventually do. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Solid premise with a decent execution. It didn't work for me, but will definitely work for many readers. I didn't jive with the sense of humor or the ghostly FMC.