Super cute cozy mystery setup that unfortunately did not live up to its potential.

I liked the dual perspectives from Ruby and Cordelia, but overall found Ruby to be grating -- she had a little too much of a manic-pixie dreamgirl quirky dingbat vibe for me.

This was also not particularly funny despite being billed as “darkly funny” and there was SO much repetition that I ended up skimming the last third. Boston is cold! Cordelia likes a drink or twelve! Pizza! Ruby is tiny! Electronics don’t work! Boston is still cold!

I do think this series has a ton of potential, and I'm planning to read book two to see if Cordelia can get Ruby sorted out and have my fingers crossed that these two manage to find a pen...

This one is a really fun quirky concept and I think it will be a great series for some. I was completely engaged for the first couple of chapters then found I was skimming through the rest of the book. I think I was trying to get into fun cozy mysteries, but they’re just not a genre I'm currently ready to spend time with. This book felt a lot like a graphic novel without the graphics (if that makes sense), if you enjoy the lighter side of mysteries this one might be for you.

A great start to a new series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

I wanted to love this, but it was a miss for me. I’m sure there’s a target audience for this, but it’s not me. I had to force myself to finish bc I was bored after I got about 60% in.

A little late to the game but this book made me crack up. It reminds me so much of the Finaly Donovan series. If you are a fan of that series, definitely pick this book up!! Loved every minute of it.

This was a little different from what I usually read. Cordelia passed away and is now a ghost who sticks around in her old apartment. Ruby moves into Cordelias old apartment and they become roomates. They both try to solve the murder of Jake, another tenent in their apartment building. It leaves in a cliffhanger, and the book was a little slow for my liking.

When Ruby runs away from her home town to forget a cheating boyfriend, she moves to the big city and lucks upon an available, fully furnished apartment. She finds out that the previous tenant died in said apartment’s bathtub, and she soon realizes that ghost Cordelia hasn’t left the premises.

This is a fun read and a cozy mystery as Ruby and Cordelia attempt to solve the murder of their next door neighbor. There’s a lot of humor as the two roommates learn how to get along, while finding inventive ways to communicate with each other.

I did have a couple of issues. Even though supposedly no one, including Ruby, could see or hear Cordelia; at certain junctures of the story a few others could, in fact, see and communicate with her. It made no particular sense. It seemed as though the author took liberties with the plot to try and move the story along. And while I really liked Ruby and Cordelia’s relationship, I found myself losing interest when the story moved into mystery solving mode.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Loved loved loved this! Such a fun paranormal read, and I absolutely adore the main characters Ruby and Cordelia! The plot was perfectly executed and each twist and turn was fantastic. I could not put this down! I genuinely cannot come up with anything I did not enjoy, I will be recommending this to everyone I know! I look forward to reading more by this author and more about these characters. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a cozy mystery where we have a ghost teaming up with the woman who took over her apartment to try and solve some murders.

I got more than half way through this one and lost interest.
The characters were cute but left more to be desired. The book had an interesting plotline idea but I found myself not caring how they solved the murders or what was coming next anymore.

Blacke does write in a way that makes reading feel effortless though and I do enjoy that. I may come back one day to finish but just didn't feel the push to get through this time.

I absolutely loved this book!

I can't wait for the next in the series.

We meet ghost Cordelia and her very much alive roommate, Ruby, in A New Lease on Death. They don't get along at first until their neighbor Jake is found dead in front of their apartment building.

When Cordelia decides she needs to solve Jake's murder in order to make up for not being a very good ghost teacher, she pulls Ruby into a murder investigation that almost gets Ruby killed!

I love the humor and the relationships in this story because they feel very real.

How well do any of us know our neighbors? Or roommates for that matter. This is a great story and I can't wait to learn more about the characters in the neighborhood.

This was such a great book! I was drawn to it instantly because I loved the premise of a ghost solving mysteries (I'm a huge fan of the Ghostwriter Mysteries by Mallory Pierce.) What I loved about this was that the ghost couldn't actually communicate with her living partner. The failed attempts added humor but also a layer of complexity to the case. The characters were likeable and interesting, and I enjoyed the dual POV.

My only complaint was that Cordelia should have been able to write to Ruby. I've never in my life met a person who didn't know how to write cursive and not block letters. Because everyone learns block letters first (or, now, exclusively). I'm very intrigued to see what happens in the next book.

I really enjoyed reading A New Lease on Death. I had a hard time putting it down. It was witty, and fun, and quirky. I enjoyed reading from Cordelia's perspective and from Ruby's. I thought it was an enjoyable mystery with a fresh spin.

This really wasn’t for me. I tried to get through it multiple times but it just didn’t suck me in. I really thought I would like it based on the description.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own.

I’m slowly starting to like cozy mysteries. They still aren’t my favorite genre, but I like to sit down with one every so often.
This one didn’t really work for me. It started off decently enough, but I started not really caring. I didn’t feel engaged by the characters. I found myself not caring about them.
I will say that it kept me engaged enough to finish it, so I guess that’s something.

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke is a murder mystery involving Cordelia, a woman who recently died and is now a ghost, and Ruby, the woman who moves into her apartment. Early on the story there’s a murder of someone who lives in the building and Ruby and Cordelia, once they realize they can communicate with each other, partner up to solve the crime.

What a fun, lighthearted read! The characters were interesting, and there were a lot of funny moments, along with the adventure of solving a murder. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author, and I would definitely read more and I’m excited to see that this is going to be a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advanced reader copy of the ebook. A New Lease on Death is expected to be published just in time for spooky season on October 29, 2024.

Thanks so much St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC! While it took me a bit to get into the story, I couldn't put it down once I got into it! I love a murder mystery book and this one fit the bill! I loved seeing the relationship between Cordelia and Ruby form and loved the different ways they found to communicate. I'm hoping that this is just the start of a series! Looking forward to more.

This was a good read, a blend of dark humor and supernatural intrigue that kept me entertained. The quirky protagonist and her encounters with a sassy ghost create a unique and funny dynamic that adds a lot of charm to the story. The plot is cozy and engaging, weaving mystery with lighthearted moments. I did find that it all started to blur together after a while, plot wise, but I really enjoyed the relationship between Cordelia and Ruby.

3.5 *'s
Thoughtful portrayal of the ghost existence, good mystery; things are all setup for a continuing series... my only quibble... (spoiler alert) why did Cordelia drop the search for a pen? There must be pens somewhere!

LOVED this book, which looks like the first one of a series (I hope there are more to come). The premise is very creative -- Ruby, a twenty year old, has just moved to Boston, to a new apartment that she knows was occupied by a former tenant who committed suicide. What she doesn't know, at first, is that the tenant, Cordelia, is a ghost, and is still living in the apartment. The friendship that develops between Ruby and Cordelia is so great, and eventually they team up to solve the mystery of who killed one of their fellow tenants in the building. The characters are so well developed, and the mystery is enough of a puzzle to keep readers guessing a bit. Lots of heart and humor here -- even readers who think they don't really care for supernatural elements in their mysteries will enjoy this one.

3.5 rounded up to a 4.

For fans of Finlay Donovan and Riley Thorn, A New Lease on Death is a fun paranormal murder mystery. The female civilian turned sleuth has been done a fair amount, but I didn't feel like this was too similar to some of the others I've read. I liked the dual POV’s, and the set up for another book in the slight cliffhanger of an ending. While I didn’t find any of the reveals all that shocking, this was still a fun lil read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the opportunity to read and review. Out October 29th, this will be a great spooky "lite" (very lite) read heading into Halloween.