I really enjoyed this and LOVED that it ended with a cliffhanger! I sincerely hope this is book one of many following the escapades of Cordelia and Ruby!

Cordelia might be deceased but that doesn’t mean she’s going quietly into the dark. Lingering at her previous apartment, she is felt by the new tenant, Ruby. The two unlikely women, quickly find a way to communicate and help one another.

Cordelia was in her forty’s when she was found deceased in her bathtub after ingesting prescription meds and alcohol. It’s believed to be a suicide albeit a possible accidental one. She has one brother who was in jail at the time of her passing.

Ruby is a young 20 year old, living on her own, doing what she can to make ends meet. While it seems she comes from a large family, I’d be interested to learn more about what caused her to jump out of the nest at such a young age.

I really enjoyed this light and entertaining story from a new-to-me author. I can’t wait to check out her other works and will keep my fingers crossed that a sequel will be coming soon!

The supernatural elements made this a delightful cozy mystery and easily earned four stars from me! Go check this one out!

A New Lease on Death is a quirky, fun new take on a haunted apartment. When Ruby moves into a pre-furnished apartment, she doesn’t realize she has a roommate in its previous tenant, who just happens to be of the paranormal variety. When her neighbor dies on the sidewalk outside the apartment, things look fishy, and Ruby is roped in by her ghostly roomie to help solve the murder.

This was such a fun read - I loved the characters from the start. Cordelia is such a fun ghost - she is a dynamic, deeply written character who just happens to walk through walls. And Ruby is a sweetheart who I felt protective of from the start. This was a fun, cozy mystery vibe and the ending…!!!!! Well let’s just say I will be dying to read the next book in this series.

Dollycas's Thoughts 

Cordelia Graves died a few months ago in her Boston apartment but her spirit did not pack up and leave. Twenty-year-old Ruby Young had no idea her new furnished apartment comes with its own resident ghost. It also comes with a dead body on the sidewalk outside. Jake Macintyre, her across-the-hall neighbor is dead. Pretty sure the bullet in the center of his forehead is the cause of death for the Boston Bruin hoodie, flannel pajama pants, fuzzy sock, wearing man lying in the snow. The police declare it a "mugging gone wrong". Cordelia tries to help his ghost by that goes badly. Now she wants to find out who killed him. One problem, she's dead too. She going to need help. Someone who can talk to suspects and do some research. Who better to help her than her new roommate?

_____

Cordelia was a busy woman before her death and she is not slowing down as a ghost. Ruby is "petite, perky, and alive". When she saw the ad for the "fully furnished" apartment she jumped at it, and found fully furnished included furniture, books, clothes, tons of plants, and a ghost. She has killed most of the plants. If she was going to stay there she needs to find a job. Both women are cleverly crafted. They make a unique sleuthing team. A way to communicate is their only real problem. I appreciated this didn't have a quick fix and that one way would work in one place but not in another.

The author has written the story from alternating points of view. This does cause some repetition but makes the story easy to follow and sets a good pace through most of the story. Ms. Blacke adds an abundance of humor as Cordelia figures out just what she can do in her ghostly state and Ruby learns to live with a roommate she can't see or hear who keeps trying to make choices for her and moves objects or opens the drapes without warning. Ruby is also dealing with some real-life issues which made her feel more real.

The mystery is complicated. There was no shortage of suspects between all the women he had wronged and any friends or family who wanted to avenge them, his own family members who wanted something from him, bookies he may have owed money, and maybe something sketchy happening where he worked. Ruby and Cordelia had to find a way to interrogate the suspects and follow the clues. Cordelia had a few different theories but I as the armchair sleuth knew there had to be another twist, and there was. The showdown was surprising and effective and I was delighted.

While Jake's murder mystery is solved, the author ends the book with a cliffhanger I had hoped for and expected. I just hate that I have to wait for book two.

A New Lease on Death is a special mystery with curious characters that immediately piqued my interest. I found these roommates to be very entertaining and I am excited to see this series continue. I can only imagine the possibilities.

Note - This story contains some explicit language.

Cozy mystery, I thought the pacing was a big slow and parts really dragged.

Thanks for the advanced reader copy Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books.

I loved getting to know Ruby and Cordelia in this funny, paranormal cozy mystery. I enjoyed how these two characters solve this mystery. I could not put this book down. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

Really fun cozy mystery! I really like the friendship between Cordelia and Ruby! Their banter (or attempts at banter) was really entertaining.
The story flowed really nicely, I never felt like there was a lull.
The ending was good, the solution to the mystery wasn't something I saw coming. The "twist" ending (I put quotes because l'm not sure if it would be considered that or not) was predictable but didn't take away from anything! It was the perfect set up to continue the series!
Also really liked that this story didn't have a romance story intertwined with the mystery. Not often you see a straight forward women's story without a romantic subplot. Not that I wouldn't be open to that in the future with this series but it was refreshing to see!

𝑨 𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑵 𝑫𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑯 𝒃𝒚 𝑶𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆 was such a fun read read, out this week!

When @minotaur_books offered this to me via @netgalley I thought it looked like a fun story, and I was not disappointed, so thank you!!

When Cordelia discovers that she is a ghost, she has to learn all the rules of this weird new existence. Then her neighbor is shot and she is unable to help him. It doesn't help that now Ruby has moved into her apartment and as a young woman 20 years her junior, it feels wrong somehow. But then Ruby grows on her, and it doesn't hurt that she is just as curious about the neighbor's death, so they begin a tricky investigation to figure out the real story.

This was just a lighter, fun read. I really enjoyed both Cordelia and Ruby, though both were humanly flawed. The way they had to learn to communicate and work together taught them both lessons about the values of the generations! The mystery portion was clever enough to keep my attention and surprised me with the conclusion. I will be happy to keep up with this new mystery duo as they look to solve a mystery that was teased through this first installment.

Cordelia and Ruby are an unusual pair of roomates. One of them is a ghost. When a neighbor, Jake, dies under suspicious circumstances the women join together to solve the murder. I enjoyed the dynamics between the two & there were humorous moments. It did get a bit repetitive with the constant mentioning of Jake being a player & having a rotation of women. I thought the mystery was good & I loved where it ended. I'm excited to read the next one in the series.

3.5*

Ruby Young though she lucked out when she was able to find a fully furnished apartment in Boston. Unfortunately, the apartment was haunted by the woman who left everything behind. Shortly after her across the hall neighbor, Jake, was found murdered outside the building, Ruby realizes that Cordelia Graves ghost is still in the apartment and that Cordelia is also trying to figure out what happened to Jake. With the help of some magnetic poetry and the occasional drunken night, Ruby and Cordelia must work together to find out who killed jake.

I love a good cozy mystery and throwing in ghosts made this even more interesting. I liked how Cordelia went from resenting the fact that Ruby had moved into her home and killed her plants to being so protective of her that she pushed herself to burnout to protect her. I liked the way that Ruby and Cordelia had to find a way to communicate and that even when they couldn't necessarily figure out a set way they were more than likely thinking the same thing.

This is the first book in a series and I think that's what bothered me. A lot of the plot felt like it was trying to build up a story for the next book and that left the plot that was relevant to this book feeling rushed. There were so many hints towards Cordelia's death not being a suicide or an accident as well as references to Ruby's past that I kind of forgot that they weren't the true plot at times. I would be interested in reading the next book, though, especially since the backstory has already been laid out.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing this ARC to me!

This was the detective duo that I didn't know that I needed! Cozy mysteries are my thing, and this one was great.

Cordelia is a recently deceased ghost. Ruby is the new tenant of her apartment. When someone gets murdered in their building, they team up to find the killer.

This was such a cute read. It was propulsive and fun. I liked the dual POV from different generations. Cordelia was fussy and proper. Ruby was a Gen Z free spirit. I liked their opposite personalities also. It added a lot to the story. I liked that there was an overarching story line that will carry through to the next book, but I was looking for a way that the two cases connected throughout this book. I guess we will see in the next book! If you are a fan of Finley Donovan or any cozy mystery series, try this one out!

One note for the audiobook: Cordelia was supposed to be around 40 but the narrator made her sound 60ish. I'm 39 and I have a 6 year old. Let's not lean into grandma age yet for the 40 year olds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Absorbing, funny mystery with two leads, one of them a ghost. The tone feels closer to hard-boiled than cozy, but there isn't too much on-page violence or suspense. And, actually, half the time this feels not like a mystery at all; it's just as much the story of two women growing into themselves and their odd-couple friendship. I really enjoyed this and didn't mind the resulting leisurely pace, but others may disagree.

Cordelia Graves died a few months ago but she is ghosting around her old apartment with nothing to do. When Ruby moves in and acquires all her stuff she thinks she’ll be less bored. Really she is just annoyed. Then, Jake the neighbor gets shot outside the apartment and she can’t believe the police thinks it a mugging gone bad. There has to be more to the story. Cordelia decides to put her mystery solving skills to the test, but she needs Ruby’s help.

This is a weird and quirky mystery with a cast of unusual characters that ended on a cliffhanger setting itself up for book 2.
Cordelia is the ghost of a woman who killed herself by overdosing on alcohol and pills. But did she really? Her landlord didn’t even clean out her stuff before he rented it to the next tenant, Ruby, an unemployed young woman who soon realizes that Cordelia is hanging out with her. Then Jake, the neighbor across the hall dies in front of their building, Cordelia and Ruby team up to solve his murder.
This was definitely unlike any other cozy mystery I’ve read before but at the same time, when I was done, I wasn’t left feeling wowed. I may get around to reading the sequel at some point, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to get to it any time soon.
Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke, and St. Martin's Press for the ebook. This murder mystery is a delightful blend of quirky humor and unexpected twists. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

This was not my first Olivia Blacke story, nor will it be my last. A New Lease on Death is the first book in Blacke's new Supernatural Mysteries series. It was a great series debut. I found this story to be just as cozy and entertaining as the others I have read by her. It was cute, spooky, funny, and so enjoyable. I can't wait to see what the characters get into in the next book in the series! My favorite cozy mystery writer, hands down.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the characters interacted with each other and the other characters in the book. I laughed a lot. I think I may have cried some. Definitely can not wait to read the next one! Add this one to your TBR list.

This was a fun cozy mystery book - great for spooky season if you don’t like scary thriller or horror stories. I enjoyed the writing style and there was enough mystery to keep me coming back to find out what happened!

As soon as I saw this cover, I knew it had to go on my TBR!

I loved this from the first page. Cordelia and Ruby's relationship is hilarious and adorably endearing. Cordelia has been dead for a while—long enough for Ruby, who has moved into her apartment, to kill off most of her beloved plants.
I loved their friendship, and how they worked together to figure out who killed the man that lived across the hall. This is a fun and fast-paced book that had me laughing out loud, and glued to the pages. I can't wait to see what happens in book 2!

A ghostly murder mystery or an ad about the dangers of underage (and general) drinking?

I can't shake the feeling this could have gone two ways: make it a kids' story, or make the protagonist older and less obnoxious; but, don't know why, this is what we got.
It's not exactly bad - I was here for a mystery and that's what I got -, but I also can't say I enjoyed it very much.

The story was fine, the narration was way too stretched, and the ghost roommate was the heart of it, but Ruby was a problem from the beginning.
I'm of the idea that everybody can and should spend their life how they want, except for being harmful to others; well, essentially, Ruby has spent the entity of the book judging and criticising anything others did that she didn’t agree with. And, at the bare age of twenty years old, I don't think you have that right.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I read "A New Lease on Death" by Olivia Black on NetGalley. Ruby is a young adult who just moved to Boston to get away from a cheating boyfriend. She rents a fully furnished apartment, where the last tenant, Cordelia, is a ghost. They set out to solve the murder of a neighboring tenant.
I really enjoyed reading this murder mystery and am hoping Olivia Blacke has more with Ruby & Cordelia.