"A New Lease on Death" presents an intriguing premise, blending mystery with psychological depth. The protagonist’s journey is engaging, as they navigate complex relationships and unravel dark secrets. The writing is solid, and the author successfully builds tension throughout the narrative. However, the plot sometimes feels predictable, with a few twists that fail to fully surprise. The pacing can be uneven at times, particularly in the middle, where the story lags. While the characters are well-crafted, some feel underdeveloped. Despite these flaws, the novel offers a suspenseful read for fans of mystery, though it doesn't fully reach its potential.

4.5 Stars

This was my first time reading anything by Olivia Blacke and it certainly won't be my last. A cozy supernatural mystery with a dose of wry humor was just what I needed and Blacke certainly delivered.

A New Lease on Death focuses on the ghost of Cordelia Graves and her new roommate Ruby who has moved into Cordelia's former apartment where Cordelia was found deceased in the bathtub surrounded by a bunch of empty booze and pill bottles. Despite being complete opposites and with a 20 year age gap and the fact that Cordelia is dead, Ruby and Cordelia find themselves able to communicate and team up to solve the murder of their neighbor Jake. Both Ruby and Cordelia are extremely likeable and well-written characters and whose interactions with one another reminded me of a mother and her teenage daughter who leaves her exasperated (ask me how I know).

With a fast paced plot and a few not so subtle twists and turns that have a resolution for the mystery at hand, but leave open an even bigger mystery to solve in the next installment, A New Lease on Death kept me turning pages while putting a smile on my face at the same time. The lack of a romance subplot was also a nice reprieve from most books on the market these days.

Although I love the word play in the title, I do think the book deserves a better cover as this one comes across as a bit amateur for such an excellent read.

Extremely enjoyable and I can't wait to continue reading this new series, as well as checking out the author's backlist. Recommended for fans of supernatural mysteries with a bit of humor and zero spice or those who enjoy books with unlikely duos.

Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke, and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think Cordelia is a bad person. I was bored by her POV
She treating Ruby wrong and this is not for me

This was a fun and refreshing cozy mystery. I especially enjoyed the ghosty feel to this one. For those who like spookyish reads for the Halloween season but don't want gory and would love to sleep at night, this is perfect.

Cordelia and Ruby mesh well together and made the mystery solving fun. Perfect one for Cozy fans who also like a little supernatural in their reads.

I sincerely appreciate the author and NetGalley for the review copy.

This was a chill mystery and I enjoyed the concept of having a cool ghost roommate who wants to help you. It was giving Casper the friendly ghost if Casper was a grown woman, lol. The dual POV was fitting for the story showing the ghostly version of this book and how it's perceived by the human eye. I thought this book was alright but could've been better wrapping the ending statement plot into this book rather than writing another one. I don't know how big that plot will be but this wasn't so crazy to require a another one in my opinion. She ties it nicely but the "cliffhanger" was so obvious from the start. It was a solid book with the sleuthing and the reveal but it was kinda meh for me. Not bad, just predictable. I think this is considered cozy mystery, which isn't really my main genre so this is new for me but I am getting into different "cozy" genres of books and I'm intrigued to read more.

Thanks for the arc netgalley! :)

A New Lease on Death is a fabulous cozy mystery that will keep you in suspense until the end. Cordelia, a ghost, is still living in her Boston apartment and Ruby, a 20 year old on her own for the first time moves in the fully-furnished apartment. These two unlikely roommates team up to solve their neighbors murder. The plot is unique, the banter is witty, and overall, it's a fun book.

Also, this cover is fantastic.

Definitely one to check out!

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

This is an excellent mystery featuring the ghost of a woman who died in her apartment and the apartment’s new tenant, a much younger woman who is now trying to solve the mystery of a second dead tenant: the recently murdered neighbor across the hall. It’s quite funny, and I would recommend it if you like murder mysteries a la the TV shows Psych or Only Murders in the Building. The ending actually did surprise me! I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook! CW for suicide!

This is an excellent mystery featuring the ghost of a woman who died in her apartment and the apartment’s new tenant, a much younger woman who is now trying to solve the mystery of a second dead tenant: the recently murdered neighbor across the hall. It’s funny, and I would recommend it if you like murder mysteries like the TV shows Psych or Only Murders in the Building.

This was a cute enough story for spooky season. I thought the premise was interesting and unique, with a human and a ghost teaming up to solve their neighbor's murder. I struggled a bit while reading because the pacing felt off at times. There were sections of the book that felt super slow and disjointed. I wasn't totally in love with the ending. Overall, it was a pleasant enough read. I wouldn't buy the book for myself though.

This was a cute read and the first part of a series, but it was also a little difficult to get through because it is predictable and so it got a little boring in some parts. The story centers around a ghost who wants to solve her murder and so she pesters the current tenant of her apartment into helping her.

Cordelia died a few months ago, but she hasn't left behind the tiny apartment she loved so much (she didn't leave it much when she was alive — why start now?). New tenant Ruby was grateful to get a fully furnished apartment, though she hasn't been able to keep the plants alive. When the guy across the hall turns up dead, ghostly Cordelia and Gen Z Ruby team up to solve his murder.

This was a surprisingly fun and funny mystery novel. The author clearly spelled out the rules of ghost/human interactions, which made the whole thing easier to believe and created some fun hurdles. I also appreciated that both Cordelia and Ruby brought their own skills and talents to the investigation. I loved it, and I'll happily read more in this series when it comes.

An interesting take on a cozy mystery, this was a great read for October. And I am intrigued to see where the series goes from here.

I didn’t know I needed a Gen Z/elder millenial ghost crime investigating duo in my life but apparently I did! Ruby and Cordelia had such a fun dynamic and I enjoyed watching them bumble through a murder investigation. The communication problems inherent in a ghost story felt interesting and were dealt with in a fresh way and I thought the mystery was compelling. I wish some more loose ends had been tied up, but it’s definitely well set up for a sequel!

Cordelia Graves died in her apartment a few month ago and she's still there - as a ghost. Her new "roommate" Ruby is living in her old space with all her old things and Cordelia is trying to figure out how to be a ghost in her former life. When their neighbor also ends up dead, Ruby and Cordelia seem to think it wasn't an accident. They take it upon themselves to solve the murder, but communicating between a human and ghost makes it quite challenging to work together.

I was not expecting to laugh out loud so much during a book about death! I really loved Ruby and Cordelia's relationship and how it evolved over time. I will say that I have never read a book like this, in a delightful way. It was funny with a side of mystery and reflection on life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of A New Lease on Death.

This is the first book in a new series that features Ruby, a young woman, and Cordelia, a 40 something woman who is a ghost and used to live in Ruby's apartment. I enjoyed it as it was a decent mystery about the death of a neighbour and had nice humor and quirky characters. The ending sets us up for the next book, which I look forward to reading. My only beef is that Ruby being young, cannot read cursive or Cordelia's handwriting, but why can't Cordelia just print? Of course this problem does set up many of the communication problems in the book. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reading copy. 4/5 stars!

A New Lease On Death is the first book in Olivia Blacke's Supernatural Mysteries series, and it was so, so, SO good!

Five stars go to Ruby, Cordelia, and their fun, breathers versus ghostly antics! And speaking of ghosts, this one gets all the Ghost vibes, but in a non-romantic way! I loved how this unusual duo worked so well together to overcome their obstacles!

The themes run strong throughout the book, but not in a brow-beating way. This was extremely refreshing, as the book already has an obvious dark undercurrent!

This two narrator audiobook is fantastic; entertaining and full of life, while being somber and dark when needed. It's one of my very favourites of the year!

The cliffhanger ending snuck up and hooked me, and I can't wait to see where this series goes from here!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

This book was a fun and easy read. Kept the reader engaged. Characters were funny but there was still a good mystery aspect going on.

This was an interesting read! Kind of gave me Only Murders in the Building vibes but with ghosts. I had the same thought that Cordelia might have been murdered! I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one!

3.25 stars rounded down

I love a cozy mystery! The beginning of A New Lease on Death started so strong but the story fizzled a bit towards the end because I was expecting some major questions to be answered only for me to find out that this will be a series! As such, the ending felt a little rushed. But I loved the characters and their chemistry. And I will obviously have to read the next in the series to get answers to the cliffhanger!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke, and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Ruby impulsively moves to Boston, she's glad to get a fully furnished apartment for a decent rate. She does not even mind that the previous inhabitant committed suicide - though those views may change when she realizes that Cordelia is still hanging around, and keenly interested in the murder of a neighbor.

Say 'an unlikely crime-solving duo' in application to a cozy mystery, and I will be there in a flash. Also, roommates of all stripes can be tricky, so I was curious how it would be to have the added twist of one of those roommates being deceased. 

The relationship between Cordelia and Ruby is definitely the highlight of the book. The two women are quite different in pretty much all ways - their ages, their personalities, their outlooks on life - and the author does a great job in correspondingly making their narrative voices distinct. I really enjoyed seeing the two of them grow closer and figure out ways to communicate better. Seeing Cordelia take back some of the power she never had in her life is also very satisfying.

However, the actual mystery fell a little flat for me. We get such a big clue right at the start of the book that the characters miss that I felt like I spent a lot of time waiting around for them to catch up. Cordelia and Ruby's investigation is pretty haphazard too, and so things seem to just meander until almost the very end. The mystery itself was never terribly gripping. If it weren't for the paranormal aspect of the plot, I might have lost interest completely.