The cozy mystery vibe fell flat for me. The mystery felt like a third wheel to the two main characters; Ruby and Cordelia who spend the book figuring out their friendship with each other. Ruby is now renting the dead-Cordelia's apartment - and Cordelia is a ghost. Most of the book focused on mundane interactions such as their learning how to communicate. There was also lots of whining from Cordelia. She was very irritating in the beginning, she can do this, but she can't do that, but she doesn't know the rules (even though she's been a ghost for a little bit). Very wishy washy - not sure what the authors goal in that was.

This book would have benefited from just lots of editing...get rid of Cordelia's whining. Say she can do this , can't do that. And those are the rules.
I felt the author missed a huge opportunity with technology. Ghost Cordelia sets off alarms, ruins phones/computers and cannot use them to communicate. But if we are bending the rules and ghost Cordelia can toss people....than we should probably use technology and make the story move along.

Also feel like Cordelia's death...would have been a better mystery to start the series with. Instead we use a lackluster mystery and it feels it.

I gave this book 1 star. Which is low, even for me - especially because I am very forgiving for cozies generally. But this reminds me a lot of Casey Daniel's Don of the Dead (Pepper Martin series). Casey Daniels writes with many pseudonyms. One being, Kylie Logan. I love Kylie Logan cozy mysteries - so I searched out her pseudonyms and previous books....including Casey Daniels Pepper Martin series. And that earlier series, fell extremely flat for me writing style wise. AND YET, there are 10 books in that series. But it was one of the authors earlier mystery series.

That is the vibe I get here. That this series has potential. And this author will slam out of the park. It's a question of when and getting that formula fine tuned for success.

A New Lease on Death is a fun and unique take on mystery with the perfect mix of supernatural, I didn't know I needed this until I was reading it!

Cordelia and Ruby find themselves as roommates but in the most unsuspecting circumstances. Cordelia is dead. Ruby has just moved into her new apartment, but it used to be Cordelia's. Then, their neighbor Jake, gets murdered. Cordelia and Ruby end up teaming up to solve the case. I love how the two find ways to communicate with each other and brought lighthearted humor into a grizzly situation.

The story is written in both Cordelia and Ruby's POV which I enjoyed the most, I love getting to see into both of their minds and reading their thoughts and reactions throughout the story. And the twist! It was not one I saw coming and that's always the best kind of surprise with a murder mystery. I hope to get more stories with this dynamic duo in the future.

Thank you so much to Olivia Blacke and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book. The detail, the writing, the characters, the plot, the ending!!! Everything truly pulls you into the story.
I was hooked from the very beginning, I felt as if I was shouting at the characters throughout the story, trying to get them to hear me, just bad as Cordelia wanted Ruby to hear her.
My jaw did infact drop at the plot twist with Shannon, I couldn't picture that she could be the killer, so having her ex come into the picture was just very unexpected for me .

This was a very fun read, I loved getting to Cordy and Ruby, getting closer and figuring out how to make things work when one of them literally can't see or speak to the other.
In a way, this book reminds me of dead boy detectives , solving mysteries while dead.
Will absolutely be recommending this book to literally everyone.

I love cozy mysteries but I have never read one where there were supernatural elements at play. It added a different level of complexity to the story and I thought the writing pulled you in and made you want to get to the bottom of Jakes murder. I thought there would be a connection between Jake and Cordelia’s murder but.. maybe I’ll have to see if that’s present in book number two. I enjoyed that this story was told by two narrators and that you got pieces of Cordelia’s story as the story unfolded. I also liked that the killer surprised me - it wasn’t anyone I thought it would have been.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A contemporary term for genre mixture is 'mash-up'. This describes a novel where an author combines two or more genres to create a new work.

Olivia Blacke is known for her light-hearted cozy mystery series. While continuing to write cozies (Rhythm and Blues was released earlier this year), she has ventured into the realm of suspense, combining women's fiction with a crackling good ghost story.

As with her Brooklyn Murder Mystery series, Blacke has relocated her settings northward. This time, she has chosen Boston in a typically frigid winter. Our ghost, Cordelia, recently deceased, has wandered the streets of Boston searching for something—or someone—else. With persistence, she has lingered on this plane, growing increasingly lonely. Determined to uncover the rules of her new existence, she has confined herself to her apartment. Now sharing it with Ruby, a vibrant 20-year-old, impulsive, and perky ghost lover, she might find more than just a cohabitant. These two form an alliance that will lead them into a spooky mystery that unfolds beautifully. If the spirit world were real, one could only hope for connections as compelling as those created by Blacke. I'm thrilled that this is the beginning of a new series. The first volume was a delightful haunting experience for anyone who enjoys exploring the beyond.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from Netgalley and Minotaur in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Olivia Blacke, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Sara Beth Haring for the email invite.

I liked this book. I'm ashamed to say the mystery stumped me; I really should have been able to guess whodunit. The crime is obvious once it's revealed, but Blacke excelled at false leads and red herrings. I was far more interested in what happened to Cordelia than Jake, but alas, we don't find that out in this book.

This is touted as similar to Darynda Jones's Charley Davidson series, but if you go in expecting that, you'll be disappointed. One of the protags has ADHD, though she doesn't appear to know it, and the setting is urban, but that's about where the similarities end. This book's humor is subtle, there's no love interest, they aren't working with law enforcement, and it deals only with ghosts, and very few ghosts at that. And communication between ghost and "breather" is not easy.

Which is one of the issues I had. The co-leads can't talk to each other. They struggle to find ways to communicate, and I got exasperated with them because they weren't trying very hard! Get a Scrabble game! Whiteboard! Alphabet beads! USE the methods and tricks you've come up with. I realize it's a conflict for the narrative, but conflicts can be overcome! Gah!

But aside from the frustration, the communication issue resulted in a LOT of exposition/inner monologue, since they couldn't exchange dialogue. The excessive exposition/inner monologue dulled the narrative and reduced the pace to a trudge. By 60% I was checking my progress every few minutes, wishing I was at 95%.

That was the biggest thing. Smaller frustrations included Cordelia's unsolved mystery and the rather sloppy investigative work. E.g., it's mentioned at one point that Jake could have driven somewhere, but no one searches a vehicle. Did he actually have a car or were they just spitballing? But of course, Ruby and Cordelia were amateur sleuths, so naturally some stones went unturned.

I liked Ruby a lot, but the more I learned about Cordelia the less I liked her.

Overall, an interesting if at times frustrating ghost story. I'll check out book 2 if I come across it, but I'm not super eager for it.

ARC review.
A New Lease on Death
This is my honest to goodness review on this book, despite being an ARC reviewer. 🩵
This book was funny, interesting, and so fun to read. The ghost story of it was fun and different.
This was a fun, cozy mystery. I definitely didn't have any idea who did it and I love that!
I loved Roby and Cordelia together. They made such a fun friend pair.
It was such an enjoyable read. I didn't want to put it down.
My only down fall was the ending. Cliffhanger, I'm hoping...? I need to know what really happened with Cordelia.

I really enjoyed this cozy paranormal mystery. From page one I knew I'd be sucked right in, I usually don't read books like this so I'm glad I did. Cordelia is a ghost, She doesn't remember when or how she died. She still resides in her old apartment which someone has moved into and is killing her plants.Lol Jake who lives across the hall is found dead outside. Ruby and Cordelia try and solve Jake's murder. I really enjoyed the characters in this story and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to netgalley for this one!

The cover and the title are so cute so I have no doubts people will pick this up (the idea is also good). How much people will enjoy the book tho is TBD.

Thank you so much to Olivia Blacke, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this ARC of A New Lease on Death! I’ve been a fan of Simone St. James’ books for a while and this is a similar, supernatural vein. While this books is more cozy and whimsical, it was still a good read! My complaint is that the ending seemed so rushed?! I feel like I still have a few unanswered questions but the cliffhanger really got me and I can’t wait for the sequel!

Ruby has moved to Boston fleeing a cheating boyfriend. She lucks into a completely furnished apartment she can sort of afford, and by completely furnished that means everything including the last occupants clothes. Oh - and the ghost of the last occupant, Cordelia. Not long after Ruby moves in the man across the hall ends up dead in the street in front of their building. Once Cordelia manages to find a way to communicate with Ruby they set out to solve the murder because both f them are convinced it was not just a random mugging gone wrong.
This is an intriguing cozy. While Ruby is aware of Cordelia’s existence their communication is complicated using either magnets on the fridge or a Etch-a-Sketch. While we are sure Jack, the across the hall neighbor, was murdered we have lots of questions about Cordelia - did she really kill herself or was she murdered? The chapters alternate between either Ruby’s or Cordelia’s viewpoints and gives us glimpses into each woman’s personality with Ruby being an optimistic 20-year-old while Cordelia was 40ish when she passed. While we find out what happened to Jack - and I’ll grant it wasn’t what I suspected - we still aren’t sure whether Cordelia was murdered or killed herself so that mystery lingers until the next book. This was an enjoyable read, I like both women and hope to see the next entry in the series soon. Recommended

I was lukewarm on this one. It was mildly entertaining, mildly amusing, and just felt pretty slow. Cozy mystery? I guess so. Would I read more from the author? I'd have to think about it.

The cover was a pretty good representation of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

A New Lease On Death, is the first book in the Supernatural mystery series by Olivia Blake, Ruby Young has recently fled a heartbreak and moved from Marilyn to Detroit trying her best to get over it this is how she got such a great price for an already furnished apartment and the not so great part of town.
Ruby has heard about the previous tenant who “committed suicide“ and the reason for the fully stocked apartment and cheap rent. What she doesn’t know is Cordelia Graves is still living in her apartment only now she’s a ghost. Ruby is open to having a ghost roommate and even talks to Cordelia long before she is certain of her existence win Ruby‘s neighbor Jake is shot in the face in front of their apartment building things just get confusing because Ruby believes Cordelia is encouraging her to investigate the murder even though she is trying to do the exact opposite. There’s a lot of great suspects and LOL moments in this new cozy mystery and I was down for all of it. I was so excited when Cordelia met the dead guy at the pawnshop and that’s when I knew the book had sucked me in. I cannot wait for the next book in the series and I do want to say you may think you know the suspect but OMG it was a total surprise to me because I certainly didn’t see that twist coming. I loved how Cordelia got Ruby a job, money but then again I loved a lot of things about this book. I really like ruby and Cordelia and hope they investigate what they talked about at the end of the book in the next book. If you love para-normal cozy mysteries then you’ll definitely enjoy this one with Ruby and her ghostly sidekick Cordelia.#SaintMartin’sPress, #NetGalley, #OliviaBlake, #ANewLeaseOnDeath, #ParanormalMysteries,

This is a cozy murder mystery with ghosts. I like the cover and that is what initially drew me in along with the synopsis. That being said, this book did fall a bit flat for me but I seem to be the outlier here so if this is your vibe, definitely check this one out. I think maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book and so I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel was so much better than I had expected! I like that this novel goes back and forth between our two lovely detectives, the deceased Cordelia and the new tenant, Ruby. I love their dynamic and their friendship when it seems terribly hard to communicate! The ending/last few chapters were absolutely WILD and such a whirlwind and I desperately need the next novel right now!!! I have so many Cordelia questions that I so need answered!!!!!! Totally worth the read and highly recommend to mystery readers, maybe even those who love cozy mysteries!

This book was such a fun paranormal mystery.

Cordelia died in the bathtub of her apartment, and within a few months Ruby has moved into her apartment and while weird things keep happening she doesn't think much of it until her next door neighbour gets killed outdoor and Ruby suspects more is at play then a simple mugging.

When Ruby finally realizes Cordelia is still in the apartment they decide to investigate together, however as one would expect communicating with a ghost is not as simple as one would hope when trying to solve a murder.

This was such a fun and witty mystery and I couldn't put it down, the only thing I'll say is that the whole book gives the impression both the murders have a connection and in the end it just ends without resolution to one of the two murders and it left me frustrated instead of eager for more!

DNF @ 43%

The premise of this books seemed interesting but it missed the mark for me. Both main characters were so immature and childish, despite one of them being in her 40’s. All of the side characters were so one dimensional and annoying. Every interaction the main characters had, either with each other or with anyone else, was so absurd and didn’t feel like how people actually talk. Also, at almost 50% into this book pretty much nothing had happened and I was fighting to stay interested in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Now this was such an entertaining read!

There are multiple POVs, a ghost, a mystery, and unlikely "detectives". I am really in my mystery/thriller era and this book gave me some comedy mixed in. Kind of like when you're deep in your dark romance era and get to Butcher and Blackbird. This book also ends on a cliffhanger!

A woman named Cordelia passes in her apartment (more develops with that) and the landlord rents it out to Ruby with all of Cordelia's stuff still in it! Once another neighbor gets un-alived outside the building, the ghost and new tenant join up to try and solve the mystery. This was surprisingly cozy and comedic and I ate it up.

I will definitely be reading the next one!

This was an interesting take on a murder mystery. I loved the dual POV, and the search for self/answers. Wildly funny and engaging!

I am generally a reader of horror, scifi, and thrillers, but this cozy mystery jumped out to me as something to request because the premise sounded really interesting.

The story opens with a ghost, a murder, and a new tenant living in a recently-vacated apartment. Our new tenant is quirky and disorganized and terrible and keeping houseplants alive, which annoys its former occupant to no end. When their neighbor is murdered though, they find a way to communicate and try to solve things on their own.

I really tried to get into this story, but it was incredibly slow moving. I think that if you are a fan of cozy mysteries you might really like this one, but for me it felt like a book where very little happened. I even skipped ahead in the story towards the end and I found that I missed basically zero of the plot. This unfortunately wasn't for me, but other people might like it if it's their normal reading vibe.