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.

I enjoyed "A New Lease on Death" by Olivia Blacke. The relationship between Ruby and Cordelia was interesting. Some of the things that Cordelia was able to do even in the afterlife was quite impressive. The 'open' ending, I didn't much care for, However Goodreads is listing this book as "Supernatural Mysteries #1", so I'm hoping that the next book in the series will continue where this one left off. I thought there was too much focus on Jake's watch, that never played out in the story (unless in upcoming books) that detracted from the plot. I would love to see a follow-up as to where Ruby and Cordelia go from here. I would also like to see who the permanent tenant of Jake's apartment would be. Overall, this was a fast-paced read that held my interest.
Thank you to Olivia Blacke and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thanks for allowing me to read this ARC! While I am a big fan of mystery/thrillers generally, I didn’t love this novel. I had a hard time feeling for the characters and felt that the dynamic between them wasn’t great (probably because one of them is dead and they can’t properly communicate!). I would be interested to read other books by the author but probably won’t continue this series if another is written.

Thank you net Galley for the ARC. This was a fun read with a really interesting twist on solving a murder mystery. Cordelia and Ruby are a fun duo to follow. They weren't wrong when they said it was like the Charlie Daniels series by Darinda Jones. There's no romance here just two new friends... roommates really trying to learn to communicate and solve a murder. Told in second person it took me a few chapters to get used to their voices. There's also the wickedly funny difference between a Gen X and Millenial. Poor Cordelia. Please buy this when it comes out in October...it was a fun read and I can't wait for book 2!

This was a new twist for me...the book opens with Cordelia sitting on a snowbank,, possibly sitting there for minutes or hours, waiting for Jake to wake up. What? Suddenly, he does, as a newly formed ghost, and we discover that Cordelia is also one. She is hoping for a friend, but because of Jake's inability to believe in ghosts,, he blinks himself out. As Cordelia returns to her apartment, (even though it now has a human renting it named Ruby) she is determined to find out how he died. This leads to a funny, sometimes unbelievable story of the friendship between Cordelia and Ruby, learning to communicate with each other and working as a team to solve the mystery. We learn a lot about Cordelia's background, but not about what caused her to end up dead in the bathtub. Looks like this might be disclosed in a second book, which I would be interested in reading. Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin's press for a chance to read this book.

Book Feature
A New Lease on Death
Olivia Blacke
Publishing: October 29, 2024
Rating: DNF

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What happens when a girl moves into a fully furnished apartment in a kind of crappy neighborhood? She finds out the ghost of the woman who lived their before her is in the apartment still. And the neighbor across the hall gets murdered. Can the ghost and the new girl work together to solve the murder? Can they learn to communicate with each other?
Ok. This sounded like a pretty good book that I was really looking forward to! I got about 38% through before deciding to DNF it. There was so much potential here!
I was starting to like the contrast between Ruby(the new girl) and the ghost (Cordelia), but it was WAY too slowly paced for me. I felt like very little had happened. The plot kind of bobbed and weaved, but not in a fluid way. I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh but there wasn't enough information to keep me invested, to keep me reading to find out more. Instead of being fed enough good stuff to keep me hungry, I was being fed undercooked oatmeal and I didn't want to keep eating anyway, so no harm, no foul. Ok that was kind of mean, sorry.
If slow burn mysteries (is this a new genre?? 🤔) are something that interests you, throw this on your radar for October.

#stmartinspress #netgalley #anewleaseondeath #paranormal #supernatural #dnf #bookreview #honestreview #canva

I, unfortunately, could not make it through this book. While I found the premise really compelling--a ghost and the current occupant of her former apartment team up to solve a murder, sure!--I found myself too annoyed by Ruby and Cordelia and very disconnected by the story, so I DNF'd around 20%.

Fantastic cozy mystery. Excellent characters and fun plot! Will definitely read more from this author!

I loved this! 10/10 such a fun read! I love a good cozy mystery, and if that is what you are looking for, you found the right book! The characters were enjoyable and I loved how the plot continued to flow throughout the book!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I loved the idea of this book and felt like it had a lot of potential to be a fun thriller but it kind of fell flat. I didn’t really get that page turning thriller feel that I’m use to reading. It almost felt slow and the build up just wasn’t there. By the time we got to whodunnit, it wasn’t a shock or surprise as much as it was, oh ok. I felt like the buildup of the characters was also a little lost in the book, like we knew the characters background but it’s almost like we didn’t see enough depth to their personality or character. Again, I loved the premise and felt like they left the book open for another in the series. Overall, I’d probably still read it again but still hope that some of these changes are made to make it reach its potential.

Took me a minute to get into the story and realize the main character is a ghost! From there it was an adventure...twists and turns, figuring out who murdered Jake and the perfect setup on what really happened to Cordelia. Come on #2!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Recently dead Cordelia is just settling into her new ghostly life when she discovers the murdered body of her neighbor on the sidewalk outside their apartment building. Searching for purpose and direction in her ghostly existence, she decides to spend some time solving his murder and bringing some justice to the world.

Enter Ruby, the young woman who "lucked" into Cordelia's apartment as it came fully furnished with everything Cordy had left behind. When Ruby discovers she's got a ghost on her hands, the two work together to solve the murder case.

I really enjoyed the world and rules that the author has created for her ghost to exist in and how they can communicate. This is an amateur sleuth case, with plenty of missteps and hijinks to find the clues and get justice for Jake. The characters

While the main mystery of this book is solved and things wrapped up for this first installment for a series, there's plenty of threads of the story to bring in the next volume and keep readers waiting for more.