It started off a little slow, but it came around in the end. A fun setup and it certainly made me want to read the next one - a lot of groundwork was laid for what I assume is the next mystery to be solved. Solid 4 stars.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

For some reason it did not register with me when I got an email inviting me to review the first book in “a clever, new supernatural mystery series” that it was, in fact, the first book in said series. With no other books yet available.

Because as much as I read, it seems as if I cannot read…..it wasn’t until I ran slap up against the cliffhanger ending that I realized what was what.

My preference, for the record, is to wait until there at least three books in a series available. But like I told my husband, I reckon sometimes I’ve gotta be one of the ones to go first.

Am glad I did. Oh, make no mistake, this isn’t any sort of high art, or even a really good mystery. Instead, it’s a great deal of cosy fun in Boston with two _very_ different roommates. Very much looking forward to reading more, especially if I can do so beside the pool or at the beach.

PS
Kinda reminded me of the British TV series Being Human, which I loved so very much: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349938/

But I certainly do hope that when we shuffle off this mortal coil that we are not really expected to spend eternity in the same outfit in which we were attired at the moment of our demise.

DESCRIPTION
Death is only the beginning in Olivia Blacke's A New Lease on Death, a darkly funny supernatural mystery that introduces an unlikely crime-solving duo.

Ruby Young's new Boston apartment comes with all the usual perks. Windows facing the brick wall of the next-door building. Heat that barely works. A malfunctioning buzzer. Noisy neighbors. A dead body on the sidewalk outside. And of course, a ghost.

Since Cordelia Graves died in her apartment a few months ago, she's kept up her residency, despite being bored out of her (non-tangible) skull and frustrated by her new roommate. 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 is twenty, annoying, and has never met a houseplant she couldn't kill. But she also 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.

When Ruby gets a fully furnished first apartment for cheap, she knew something fishy. Little did she know, she would be sharing her apartment with a ghost!
Homebody Cordelia never realized she would be sharing her apartment with a 20 year out going, bubbly, good hearted girl.
Together they set out on a murder mystery to figure out who murdered their neighbor across the hall. All the while not realizing they should be figuring out a different murder all together!

I really liked the relationship between Ruby and Cordelia and found the book to be fun and light-hearted- no gore- and I wasn't able to figure out who the murderer was- which I like!

However, I had a hard time staying focused. I feel like the book drug on with details, side stories (or maybe I should say thoughts) that it didn't really need. I had a hard time finishing because I would get a little bored and then came back because I did need to see what was going to happen.
I'm not fond of books that leave you on a cliff hanger, but I am glad to see that this is #1 in a series so that I can find out the cliffhanger!
Overall, I am glad that I finished the book and enjoyed it for the most part. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend that wants a good lighthearted murder mystery.
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

#ANewLeaseOnDeath #NetGalley

A cozy ghostly mystery. Being a dual POV I double enjoyed it…and honestly this was just a lot of fun/refreshing. It was a great palette cleanser from some of the more gruesome thrillers that I have been reading. Looking forward to a sequel as I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this mystery.

A humorous mystery with a ghost. Ruby has become the housemate of Cordelia who is no longer alive. Each chapter is either Ruby or Cordelia’s point of view. I enjoyed this book and look forward to a sequel.

A New Lease on Death was a quick, fun paranormal mystery. The character duo reminded me a bit of the characters in the Finley Donovan series. I loved how Cordelia and Ruby had an almost sisterly relationship as time went on. I was compelled to see if they were able to unravel who murdered their neighbor, Jake, seeing as how one of them is a ghost. Cordelia and Ruby had to get creative and figure out ways to communicate. I'll definitely be looking out for the next book since it was major cliffhanger!

I was invited to read & review A New Lease on Death based on books I had previously requested & reviewed. Olivia Blacke is a new author for me & I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This book has an interesting storyline, well written characters, & is a great cozy mystery. The dual POV in this book certainly adds to it, as well as the unexpected humor. Such a good book!

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect cozy comedy mystery book. The characters were enjoyable and getting to know each and their backgrounds were a lot of fun. I can’t wait for their next adventure! Ruby is such a fun and quirky character while Cordelia has a lot more baggage and unknown. I really had a lot of fun reading this one!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Olivia Blacke for this ARC.

Cordelia is a ghost, she supposedly died of suicide. But she doesn't remember when or how she died. Someone has moved into her apartment and is killing her plants.

Ruby Young is twenty years old and moved to Boston to get away from her ex-boyfriend. She found a cheap furnished apartment. She can keep the stuff in the apartment or sell the stuff. The neighbor Jake across the hall is found dead outside. Ruby and Cordelia the unlikely duo decide to try and solve Jake's murder.

The premise is fantastic but the middle of the book just didn't hook me. It took me forever to want to finish this book. I think it's going to be a series. So maybe I'll read book 2.

So the beginning was way too quick, we were just thrown right away to the characters not even a short warm up before being put in that situation. It felt like a sitcom, which was okayish but it was defiantly a choice. The main character Cordelia needs her own show and she can live rent free in my mind. She was super likable and was a great ghost. Ruby added with Cordelia makes for a perfect duo. I did enjoyed the POV from both these characters. I liked how campy it was regarding ghosts, and giving Cordelia extra perspective on the ghost world. This novel was defiantly giving only murders in the building vibes

A New Lease on Death is a delightful, cozy mystery with a touch of the supernatural. This is not one of my usual go-to genres, however it was very entertaining. Ruby, age twenty, moves into a fourth floor walk up apartment in Boston. Struggling to make ends meet, she takes the apartment as is, fully furnished with dying houseplants and very noisy and nosy neighbors. The previous tenant, Cordelia, died in the apartment, and Ruby soon figures out that Cordelia’s ghost still stays there. When neighbor Jake Macintyre is found shot to death in the snow outside the building, Cordelia and Ruby disagree with the police conclusion that he was shot in a robbery. The duo investigate the murder as only a living person and ghost can. It’s charming and fascinating how the two discover each other and learn how to communicate. The book alternates chapters by Ruby and Cordelia, with the reader learning each one’s POV as they struggle with the many side characters to solve the mystery. Highly recommended. With thanks to Sara Beth Haring, Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Minotaur Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

This is a promising new series where a ghost teams up with a female to solve crimes. When a neighbor is shot and killed they will team up together to solve the case. It is a paranormal cozy that will have you guessing. Life does not stop even in death.

When Ruby signed a lease on a vacated apartment that came fully furnished, she didn’t expect it to contain its ghostly 40-something former resident,

Just as she’s still learning how to communicate with her new spooky roommate, Ruby discovers that another tenant of the building, from the unit right across the hall, died under mysterious circumstances.

Cordelia wants to investigate; Ruby wants to afford groceries again. In order to meet their ends (sorry) the two women will have to work through their insecurities and look out for one another as good roommates should.

This book might work for you if you like mysteries on the cozier side, with a sprinkle of literary fiction. It’s easy to read, but the plot moves slower than most thrillers or caper-style mysteries, with our two main characters developing at an even slower rate than the case.

Things that didn’t work for me:

• I didn’t feel connected to either protagonist, so I lost interest in the storytelling.

• There was some repetition in the writing that felt like it needed a bit of dusting up. I get it, Boston is cold, we are in Boston, brr. No electronics are safe, oh dear.

• It’s not my cup of tea with a knitted granny blanket, but it just might be yours!

A New Lease on Death was unexpectedly charming and at times laugh-out-loud funny. With such a novel (albeit dark) story concept, it opens from the POV of a ghost trying to find companionship in her neighbor who was recently killed on a cold winter night in Boston, and the I was immediately intrigued. Did I really just read the narrator was dead?

This story is a clever take on a murder mystery told from two perspectives: Cordelia, middle aged, recently dead ghost, and Ruby, young, broke gen Z woman trying to get a fresh start in a new city who inadvertently moves into Cordelia’s apartment after she passed away. The story opens with the tragic murder of the neighbor across the hall. Separated by generation and by the fact that one of them is very dead, the miscommunications abound when they determine to solve the mystery of his untimely demise. This was a murder mystery that I could not put it down.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.


I really enjoyed this book. It's told from dual POVs, one being Cordelia (who is dead) and the other is Ruby (who is still very much alive). We aren't just getting Cordelia's memories here, we are seeing her as a ghost who is present in Ruby's life. She is staying with Ruby in the apartment that was hers in life, and she's doing her best throughout to interact with Ruby through various means: an Etch A Sketch, refrigerator magnets, getting Ruby drunk, and finally just coming into direct contact with her, even though it's physically painful for them both. When one of Ruby's neighbor's is murdered out in front of their building, she and Cordelia work together to try to solve it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6500541944

I really enjoyed this book! It had all the ingredients for a cozy murder mystery and the "buddy-cop" relationship between Cordelia and Ruby was perfect. As I said in my Goodreads review I did find the method of communication between the two to be a little annoying, however this is something that could easily be fully fleshed out and improved upon as the series continues (and I do hope the series continues!). I do think readers will have a fun time trying to guess who the killer is, but the reveal at the end will not have a "out of left field" ending which I really liked. It was a good blend of shock but still cemented in realism. This is the perfect book to spend your Halloween reading but giving the mentions of Christmas I could also see it easily fitting in there as well. I loved the open ending that allows for a easily set up sequel without having it left to open ended. I cannot wait to see what Cordelia and Ruby get up to next.

The premise of this book is decent. Cordelia is a ghost. The books begins with a comedic scene with a newt dead Jake. This scene explains how ghosts are possible. It’s a unique explanation that works very well for the plot. If Cordelia focuses really hard, she can interact with the world around her. A young woman named Ruby moves into Cordelia’s apartment - a cheap, fully furnished apartment. Ruby and Cordelia begin to investigate Jake’s death together.

The idea is a good one. I wanted to enjoy it. But the execution was lackluster. There were so many unnecessary storylines, but the main plot was anticlimactic. They could’ve added more oomph to the mystery, even add some extra small crime solving storylines in here.

And how many times do I need to be told “electronics don’t like me”…? We get it, ghosts make electronics blow up. I don’t need to be told every chapter.

Thanks to netgalley, Minotaur books, and Olivia Blacke for the arc!

So I've actually never read anything like this book before and I was surprised by how much I liked it. I wasn't expecting to hate it, I just didn't know how it would go. I kept turning the pages just so I can figure out what happened next so I blew through the book. Would definitely recommend

It's been quite some time since I've finished a book and thought, "I really hope there's a sequel and I hope it comes out soon."

Cordelia Graves doesn't live in the best neighborhood in Boston but she loves her apartment, her plants, and the quiet life she's made for herself. She's also grown fond of her roommate except for one small thing: Cordelia's roommate is alive and Cordy...is not. Ruby moved into Cordy's apartment mere months after her lifeless body was found in her bathroom, an apparent victim of suicide. And though Ruby never met Cordelia, she feels as if she knows her, living as she does amongst Cordy's furniture, plants (the one she hasn't yet killed), and her books. She knows Cordy is still there in the apartment. Things move when Ruby isn't looking-- the curtains part, the clothes she laid out for the next day are replaced by more corporate choices- but Ruby has never had reason to reach out to Cordelia's ghost until the day their neighbor Jake is is shot and killed outside their apartment building and Cordelia is convinced it's murder. Using any means possible to communicate, Ruby and Cordelia embark on an investigation of their own, trying to track down what really happened to Jake.

In the meantime, Ruby is not only occupying Cordelia's apartment but also working at Cordelia's old job and she's beginning to wonder whether or not Cordelia really committed suicide after all.

It was nearly impossible to put this book down. For anyone who loves the TV show "Ghosts", this is a must read. Despite the heavy overtones of Cordelia's suicide and perhaps troubled family life, this book is an enjoyable, light-hearted mystery with a satisfying ending paired with a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting the next installment immediately!

When Ruby rents a fully furnished apartment, she doesn’t expect it to come with the ghost of the previous tenant too. When her neighbor across the hall winds up dead, and the police dismiss it as a mugging gone wrong rather than a murder, she and her deceased roommate decide to investigate.


I got this book through Netgalley and requested it primarily because of the cover and I wanted a mystery. It’s a decent mystery that was fun to read. I liked the main characters of Cordelia (my favorite), and Ruby. Ruby I thought at times was annoying, but I can’t explain why exactly. I think it was because she was so outgoing? Example, who in their right mind is gonna go to the murder victim’s work and interrogate his coworkers? What company would even allow this woman to walk on in and conduct an investigation in their break room. This is probably where I should say that this begins what I disliked about the book. Why in the world would all of Jake’s (the dead guy) coworkers answer this woman? She isn’t the police, she has no power or authority. There’s a bit later on when one of Jake’s girlfriends turns up at Cordelia’s and Ruby’s apartment to answer questions. What?! Why? Why would she do that. I can suspend my disbelief for ghosts, but I can not envision a world where a woman who seems to be so full of herself would travel to the apartment of some unknown woman to answer questions to help further along Ruby’s investigation. It doesn’t make sense.


Also, this book has me wondering if everybody in Boston is obsessed with beer and drinking? Because I would have thought that no, of course not, but this book has every character (besides Ruby) asking for a beer. I’m surprised the author didn’t write in the bus driver as drinking on the job.


I also liked some of the explanation on the ghost mechanics, like why ghosts don’t want to actually come in contact with a living person. That’s a great idea, make it painful for the ghost too. However, I did not care for the whole “if I believe it to be true, it suddenly is”. Need to make a whole garbage bag disappear, just will it to be so! Yet Cordelia struggles with floating, but can walk through the walls, and sink through the ground. I get that ghosts have magical abilities in a folklore sense, making things appear and disappear. I just thought explaining it away with simply thinking it’s true makes it true was a bit lazy. Furthermore, I would rather have not had it explained. Along with maybe a whole garbage bag disappearing. There has to be rules to this, right? If you can cover it with your ghostly hands it disappears, if you can’t wrap your whole body around an object it’s going to be visible. It’s just the way it is. I have read, watched, and listened to ghost stories, I’m a paranormal expert, 😛 Just kidding. I have no idea. But that’s just what I found annoying.


Overall, I enjoyed reading it. I liked the story line. I loved Cordelia’s character and look forward to reading the next one in this series.