This cozy supernatural mystery was exactly what I needed between heavier reads. Blake has created two unsuspecting roommates, Ruby, a young woman running from her small-town heartache, and Cordelia, a mid-40’s single woman, who might have a bit of a drinking problem. Oh, and did I forget to say, Cordelia is a ghost.

The dual POVs kept the story moving quickly, and offered truly unique experiences. After all, opening apartment doors as a ghost takes a bit of doing!

I wasn’t expecting the cliffhanger, but will be watching for more stories for Ruby and Cordelia.

Thank you to Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts..

I knew from the very first sentence that I was going to love this book. I was getting Beetlejuice & The Frighteners vibes along the way, in only the best ways possible. I loved that there’s chapters from both Cordelia & Ruby’s perspectives, it adds such a uniqueness to a cozy mystery, which are usually only from one POV. And the story is set in Boston, not a small town. This is a perfect way to have the supernatural mixed into your mystery, the author successfully melds it all together. Both characters are well drawn, funny & full of personality quirks but also with sadness & their own pasts. Cordelia is one of the most interesting main characters I’ve read in a while. Together they’re an odd couple & that makes them even more interesting!

I can’t wait for another book! And to learn more about them. This is such a strong start to a series.

🔑

Read if you like:
* Haunted Haven series by Carol J. Perry
* Kitchen Witch series by Lynn Cahoon

This book is a great read, very clever, and a lot of fun. A ghost, a murder/mugging and some very interesting characters. Ruby is just looking for a new start in a new city. She moves into a haunted apartment, but in her words “the ghost is real nice”. The ghost is the previous inhabitant of the apartment who committed suicide. Ruby gets a job and works with the ghost to solve a murder. This is a lovely, intelligent mystery. I cannot wait to read more in this series. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Overall this was an enjoyable book. The pacing was a little strange and there were a bunch of loose ends I didn’t understand but it was pretty good!

Cordelia died. She's a ghost and Ruby, who moved into her apartment knows she's there. When Cordelia's and Ruby's neighbor is murdered. Ruby with Cordelia's help is trying to solve the murder.

This is a cozy, supernatural mystery. I have a hard time with younger characters and found Ruby to be annoying. However, if you are looking for a easy mystery with a ghost, this may be for you.

A new Lease on Deaths was charming and funny. It kept me interested until the very end. Would highly recommend!

A New Lease on Death is a murder mystery between two roommates Cordelia and Ruby, however Cornelia died in the apartment months ago but is now a ghost. When their neighbour, Jake is killed Cordelia decides to try and find who killed Jake and bring his killer to justice. However, since Cordelia is a ghost she needs Ruby´s help to try and navigate the things that Cordelia is not able to.

This book is a supernatural mystery that involves a duo where one of them is alive and the other is a ghost and the reader is brought along for the ride, while these amateur detectives try to find Jake´s murderer. I thought this book was funny, had multiple POV´s which I love, and was an easy read, however I did not expect it to kind of ending in a little cliffhanger, which I was thinking we would get the answer of it at least at the end of the book, as a theorised this possibility early on,

I give this book 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 as it deserved 4 stars more than 3.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚ARC Review 📚

A New Lease on Death ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cordelia Graves isn’t a fan of her new roommate, Ruby. She moved in and is taking over her space and killing all of her house plants. The problem is, Cordelia may have died a few months ago.

Ruby Young was so excited to get an apartment at a great price and it was fully furnished. That’s a win, win in her book! So what if it could be haunted, she isn’t bothered by a ghost.

When the neighbor across the hall is found dead, on the sidewalk out front, Cordelia and Ruby team up to find out who killed him.


Overall, this was a cute, cozy mystery. I liked that it was a dual point of view and that it was fast paced. Cordelia and Ruby friendship/partnership was so fun to watch. Cordelia is very dry and uptight whereas, Ruby is a free spirit and this combination makes for lots of laugh out loud moments. If you like light and cozy, supernatural mysteries, this would be a good book for you!


This is already out so be sure to add to your TBR list. Thank you to NetGalley, Saint Martin’s press and Minotaur books for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Well, this was fun.

I loved this platonic take on the Grumpy Sunshine & Forced Proximity tropes.

I loved the backstories of the two MFCs.

I loved the setting of the tiny apartment and the new-to-being-dead world-building, where we don’t know wtf is happening, because SHE doesn’t know wtf is happening. I loved learning along with her.

While I’m generally allergic to cliff hangers, I’m excited to read the next in the Supernatural Mysteries series.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this quirky ARC.

Ruby is renting an apartment where Cordelia was found dead in the tub. The ghost of Cordelia haunts the apartment and tries to communicate with Ruby. The man across the hall was also found dead. Cordelia wants Ruby to help find the killer.

This crime solving duo is so fun! I loved Cordelia and Ruby's story and hope to hear more from them! I loved watching them solve this crime and get into a little bit of trouble doing so!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. While this is written by 2 POV one of the FMC is a ghost. There is nothing scary about this book or I definitely would not have read it. Both FMC Ruby and Cordelia are trying to solve the murder of one of their neighbor. This is a fun easy read. But it is the first book in a series and there is no conclusion on why one of them is a ghost. So while one murder is solved it is not the main one.

This book was amazing. I loved the dual viewpoints in the story and that it continued where the last one left off as the story went on. These two make quite the pair solving crime. I'm so curious to see how they continue to involve their communication skills and what other cases they might tackle next, though I can probably guess what the next one might be.
Loved the banter and voices of each character. Definitely a good read!

This was a cute, cozy mystery set in Boston!

I really enjoyed the setting & the character buildings.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cozy mystery - perfect for someone who likes a bit of mystery without the scary aspects of a thriller.

Went into this book knowing next to nothing about it and I’m so glad I did. This story is a super refreshing cozy mystery that starts off in such a cute & quirky way.

I loved Cordelia’s commentary about her new “roomie” and the dynamic between a 49 yr old ghost and a 20 yr old that’s a bit lost in life.

If I were a betting person I would have bet that this book would be more ooky spooky ... especially given its release around Halloween. BUT I would have lost that bet, because the only thing ooky spooky about this was a ghost and a couple m*rders.

Personally, I loved Blacke's take on paranormal beings/ghosts. Is it weird to say this felt believable? Because it kind of did. At least, if I believed in ghosts I would want them to be like the ones in this story.

But ghosts aside, both characters were charming in their own ways, and their dichotomy was refreshing. Where it lost me a bit was the ending, it felt a little rushed.... to the point where I was certain I missed some parts.

Overall it was a fun easy "whodunit". Imagine Finlay Donovan meets The Dead Romantics but held in a janky neighbourhood in Boston.

3.5 stars and looking forward to reading the next in the series when it makes its debut!

As always, thank you St Martins Press and Olivia Blacke, for the early e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Death is only the beginning in Olivia Blacke’s A New Lease on Death, where a ghost and her living roommate team up to solve a murder in a Boston apartment building full of secrets.

Ruby Young is new to Boston and, with little money and no job, can’t resist the setup she finds in Cordelia Graves’s “as-is” apartment. Fully furnished and affordable, it’s a deal too good to pass up—even if the building isn’t exactly in the best part of town. Ruby quickly learns her new home comes with some eerie perks: barely functioning heat, neighbors she can hear through the walls, and a spirit who is very much still in residence.

Cordelia has been stuck in her apartment since her untimely death and is desperate for a distraction from her afterlife boredom. When their neighbor Jake Macintyre is shot in an apparent mugging, Cordelia suspects foul play and ropes Ruby into investigating. With Cordelia’s sharp mind and Ruby’s living status, they make an unexpectedly perfect team, even if they occasionally drive each other nuts. From interviewing suspects to digging through old records, Ruby and Cordelia stumble upon more secrets than they bargained for, bringing them closer not only to the truth, but also to an unexpected friendship.

The dynamic between Cordelia and Ruby is fantastic—Cordelia’s dry wit and frustration with Ruby’s free-spirited ways make for laugh-out-loud moments, and the multi-POV storytelling keeps the pace lively and engaging. I did struggle a bit to get into the story initially, but it quickly redeemed itself around the 25% mark, and I couldn’t put it down from there. Blacke’s writing balances humor and suspense effortlessly, and there are subtle hints that this won’t be the last we see of these two, which has me eagerly awaiting more adventures with them!

If you’re in the mood for a cozy supernatural mystery with a fresh, quirky twist, A New Lease on Death is a must-read.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC. 4.5 stars and excited for the next installment.

4.25 stars

This is the first book in a new paranormal mystery series from author Olivia Blacke. Ruby and Cordelia are two vastly different roommates in a tiny Boston apartment. Beyond the fact that an elder Millennial Cordy can't seem to figure out what Gen Z Ruby is talking about most of the time, Cordy is also a ghost which does tend to complicate their relationship. Their neighbour across the hall winds up dead outside one evening, and Cordelia is convinced it was murder. It takes a bit of time for Cordy to get Ruby to understand what's going on, but once they're on the same page they make a pretty good crime solving duo. Ruby is an excellent sleuth - young, perky, and fearless - but soon she starts getting threatened by whoever wants their murderous secret taken to the grave, and it's up to the two women to keep digging for the truth.

There are some pretty good characters in this series, who will be fun to see again as recurring characters in upcoming books. And this book ended EXACTLY where I thought it would so I'm very excited to get into the second book as soon as it comes out - I need resolution!

Thanks to NetGalley, author Olivia Blacke, and St. Martin's Press for giving me access to a free digital advanced readers copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided voluntarily.

This is a (new to me) author and I will definitely be looking for more of her works. I was immediately pulled into the story and felt like I was right there with the characters and I love me some Cordelia and Ruby. I can’t wait to see what they get into next.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Ruth and Cordelia are unlikely friends. Cordelia is the ghost that lives in Ruby's new appt. When Ruby's neighbor is murdered the pair try to solve the mystery.
Full of fun banter between an unlikely duo.