A New Lease on Death is a paranormal
Murder mystery that follows Ruby and her ghost roommate Cordelia as they try to figure out who killed their neighbor.

I really enjoyed the dual POVs between Ruby and Cordelia- I really loved Cordelia and she was the star for me. I liked how the two characters interacted with each other and figured out how to communicate. Magnetic poetry, anyone?

I couldn’t guess the end so that was a positive for me but at the same time, it wasn’t surprising.

The book does end on a cliffhanger to set up for the next book, which I will be reading!

I really enjoyed this cozy-ish murder mystery with a ghost as one of the detectives. Cordelia Graves & Ruby Young make a pretty good team. Ruby is the young woman who moved into Cordelia’s apartment after her death. A little bit of a grumpy sunshine duo, Ruby & Cordelia try to solve the murder of a neighbor. I loved the ghost rules in the book- although we’re still learning those along with Cordy. Can’t wait for the next installment.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke is a unique mystery novel that showcases comedy and supernatural elements.

The novel centers around Ruby Young who discovers that her new apartment comes with an unexpected roommate-- a ghost. That ghost is the former tenant of Ruby's apartment, Cordelia Graves. Cordelia convinces Ruby to help her investigate their neighbor's murder which appears to be a mugging gone wrong. The two form a friendship while hunting down a killer.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this mystery. I like that the author did not get too caught up in explaining the supernatural aspects of Cordelia's presence. Blacke did not overcomplicate Cordelia's character, which I believe would be challenging for any author. For example, she explains how Ruby and Cordelia must communicate via writing without getting bogged down in the details of why Ruby can't hear Cordelia speak.

I don't particularly appreciate that this book ended on a cliffhanger. I don't like reading books that do this unless the sequel is already out. I feel that the book didn't get as deep into solving the mystery as I wanted it to. I feel that for long portions of the book, I was just reading about Ruby and Cordelia's day-to-day lives. I was overall left wanting more from a novel promising an investigation into a murder.

👻 Book Review 👻

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: October 22, 2024

Rating: Not for me

I was hoping that this would fall closer to humorous cozy mystery but I found the humor falling flat. Some things that I think were meant to be funny, really weren’t and fell more into the serious category.

For fans of:
👻 First person POV
🔑 Dual POV
👻 Paranormal
🔑 Cozy mystery
👻 Amateur sleuthing
🔑 Heavier topics

🛑 Triggers 🛑
⚠️ Description of suicide/murder

Our patrons LOVE all things supernatural! This book will be a fan favorite throughout our community.

This was my first book by this author. I loved the mystery and supernatural aspect, but I definitely didn't love the cliffhanger, but that's how authors keep you coming back for more and I do want to see where this goes. I loved all the characters and I found myself turning page after page.

A great curl up and read novel. This book was cute. A little supernatural, mystery, one to read.
I enjoyed this read and will read the next in series.
A little long in some places and not enough in other spots. The ending leaves you on a cliffhanger even though the premise of this book is finished.
If you need something to get into with not too much thought just the feeling of enjoying a soft read this one is it

Cordelia Graves has a roommate problem, she’s too talkative, energetic and keeps killing her plants. But.. Cordelia is dead and can’t exactly evict the living lease holder, particularly when no one actually knows she’s still around. When Cordelia stumbles upon her neighbor’s lifeless corpse and new ghostly spirit it Cordelia decides she has to figure out what exactly happened to Jake and she will need Ruby’s help to do that.

It was a cute premise and a fun ghost story perfectly timed for spooky season. The story overall was fast paced and it felt like there were a lot of little clues being thrown around and set up for some big twisty reveals. I was sadly underwhelmed with how it all ultimately played out. The author leaves you with far more unanswered questions and loose ends than they do closure and honestly that is a huge pet peeve of mine when it comes to these types of cozy mysteries. There was so much potential for greatness and it just fell short.

(Actual: 3.75⭐, rounded up) I choose to request this book for two reasons: 1) The cover drew me in; and 2) The premise honestly sounded very intriguing to me! Like most mysteries, I decided to go into this read mostly blind and was not disappointed! I found ANLoD to be surprisingly equal parts cozy, funny, and entertaining! The FMC was "quirky" in a non-annoying way haha (which I deeply appreciated, tbh) and the overall plot and pacing of the story kept me engaged. The one thing I wish I had known beforehand was the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger because now I'm impatient lol but, despite that, I'm very excited to see where Book 2 takes us next!

I decide to read a book by Olivia Blacke and surprise myself by choosing her supernatural mystery, A NEW LEASE ON DEATH. I like the television shows GHOST and NOT DEAD YET, so I think I might enjoy a book with a humorous take on the supernatural. I’m happy to take a chance on this mystery.

For most of the book the chapters alternate between the points of view of Cordelia and Ruby. Cordelia finds a dead man with a bullet hole in the center of his head lying on the snowy street in front of her Boston apartment building. He’s dead like her. Cordelia is able to stick around and intends to help Ruby solve the mystery of the man's death. How are Ruby and Cordelia going to work together to solve the mystery?

This book is an interesting and fun read. Ruby and Cordelia working together to solve a mystery is an interesting premise and leads to some funny happenings. Some of the humorous moments in this book occur because Ruby has no way of knowing when Cordelia is with her. Once they figure out a way to communicate with each other, they’re off and running. Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of A NEW LEASE ON DEATH.

I have been provided with a review copy of this title from NetGalley for an impartial review. I just really enjoyed this story and I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I loved this quirky, yet at times dark, novel. It has a great premise, and I love the relationship between Cordelia and Ruby, which within the world of the novel is strangely believable. The pacing is just right, and the action really sucks the reader in. Although one of the main characters is a ghost who teams up with the current tenant of her apartment to solve the mystery of her own murder, the writer's dry humor and sharp observations on human behavior keep the book from being a 'cozy mystery'--it's never corny or cloying. I loved how Ruby and Cordelia found a way to communicate with each other via refrigerator magnetic poetry words until Ruby was actually able to hear Cordelia. The unraveling of the murder mystery as the novel progresses is a lot of fun, and I hope the hint at the end of the story that Cordelia and Ruby's adventures means that this is the start of a series.

I've got to admit, the premise of a ghost somehow investigating a murder drew me in. I was probably more invested in the frustrating situation between Cordelia, the ghost, and Ruby, the living, then sorting out who killed Jake. I love such character driven stories. Their ability to even communicate seemed limited, so how could they work together? What fun to see how they gradually found and then smoothed out their means of communication, albeit Ruby seemed to have a tendency to misread or not even catch some of Cordelia's initially fumbling efforts. Next time something electronic goes poof at my place, I think I may simply blame it on wandering ghosts. Grin.

Cordelia and Ruby basically alternate perspectives, giving us a view of life, er, death from Cordelia's side and Ruby's struggling real life. While there is humor, there is also an air of sadness to the story, one that deals with more than one real world issue. While they're not situated in a bad area, they're not in a good one, either, hence life isn't easy for Ruby. In any case, as the book progresses, we get to experience the frustration Cordelia feels as a ghost watching things happen that she had no power in which to intervene. Cordelia hasn't even been dead long and is still learning the abilities and limits to her powers. Not exactly the ideal working relationship but somehow they make it work.

I found myself genuinely liking both Cordelia and Ruby, even if she never seemed to stop talking. The chasm that existed between the deal and living was seemingly insurmountable and we don't know much about either as the book begins. How will they figure out who killed Jake? For that matter, who'd want to kill Jake? Was his death somehow connected to Cordelia's mysterious, reported suicide earlier? Why can't ghosts remember the details of their death? Will Ruby discover any workable leads from Cordelia's awkward prods? What do Cordelia's "flashbacks" have to do with anything? Why are people fighting over Jake's not particularly great apartment? Why was Jake outside without shoes anyway? And....nope, more than enough teasers. Thanks #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for introducing me to this bewildering but fascinating duo. I'm most definitely looking forward to book two after that teaser at the end from Ruby!

I was genuinely bored.. It fell so flat for me I feel because the characters are fully developed, we are missing a lot so I just didn’t connect to them at all.
I did like that it was dual POV and that could have really got me attached to learn about them from their own povs… it just didn’t work for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "A New Lease on Death" and all opinions expressed are my own. I found this book entertaining. I like unusual storylines. The characters in the book were interesting. I hope this is a series because I wanted more from the book.

A New Lease on Death was an entertaining, quirky, murder mystery with fun characters that prove that even death can’t stop women on a mission. Looking forward to book 2 in the series.

This was fun! A ghost trying to solve a murder? So fun!
It does lose a bit momentum in the middle but licks back up and to end, I think, satisfyingly so you’re hopefully wanting to read book two. Which I would be delighted to read.

This was such a fun book. A ghost trying to solve another murder through someone still alive. The interactions between Ruby and Cordelia were so fun because they were so different. I loved how we got the POV of both women. This was a quick read and full of humor. It ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I am hoping this is explored more in a future book.

*3.5*

I love a good murder mystery, and with paranormal aspects as well? Count me in!

A New Lease On Death is a cozy murder mystery that follows Cordelia, who has recently left this world by suicide, (or not) and has been forced to watch her new roommate, Ruby, kill all of her beloved plants. When the neighbor across the hall shows up dead outside their building, the two decide to investigate together, but how will a ghost, and a living human solve a murder on their own?

I enjoyed this read, and the MCs. Cordelia and Ruby have such a great dynamic together. Ruby, the bubbly, talkative extrovert, paired with Cordelia, her roommate ghost who likes to keep to herself. I loved them! There were some points that made me laugh, which is always a win. The plot was pretty good, I was interested in Jake's death from the start. The end had me shocked, I was no where near correct in my theories!

I will say, the story gets a little boring and slow in the middle. Nothing was happening, and it just got a little repetitive. The end was very abrupt, and didn't explain much. The cliffhanger kept my interest, and I am very interested in the next book.

This was a very easy and fun read, and I highly recommend!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A NEW LEASE ON DEATH introduces an intriguing pair of detectives. Ruby Young is twenty and has just moved into a fully furnished apartment in Boston which happens to still be occupied by Cordelia Graves who died there of a drug overdose a few months earlier and is now haunting the place.

When the guy from across the hall is shot and killed outside the apartment, Cordelia and Ruby decide to investigate the death. Cordelia was there when Jake's ghost appeared but couldn't convince him that ghosts were real before he passed on to elsewhere. Ruby walked onto the scene on her way to her latest job interview and had only seen Jake a few times in the hallway.

The first obstacle to the pair working together is the issue of communication. While Ruby believes in ghosts, she can't talk to them and being thoroughly modern doesn't have a pen and paper anywhere. Since Cordelia kills electronics if she gets too close to them, she can't use technology to communicate. Poetry refrigerator magnets are one way to solve the problem but a frustrating experience for both of them.

As Ruby investigates Jake's friends and many, many girlfriends, Cordelia investigates the local pawn shops to find out who pawned Jake's missing watch and along the way meets the only other ghost she's run into in Boston. He is a great help to the loneliness she's been feeling since her own death.

This story was entertaining. It is the first in a new series by the author.