This was a fun cozy mystery story! I really enjoyed this one. It helps you slow down and just be spooked. It was quite funny and I think everyone should give it a go

Not your average ghost story! Cordelia doesn't remember dying, but she knows she's a ghost. No one can see or hear her, but she manages to communicate with the new girl that's living in her apartment. Communicating via poem magnets on the fridge and condensation on glass, together they team up to figure out who killed their neighbor. I really enjoyed the creativity here!

3.5 stars! This was a cozy, quirky mystery, perfect to read for this time of year. I have never read anything like this and it kept my interest the whole time. The ghost aspect was neat and how Ruby and “her roommate” communicated. Not sure it is a very memorable read but I would be interested in reading the sequel. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you @minotaur_books for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: October 29, 2024 (out now!)

I don’t read a lot of paranormal/supernatural cozies but I absolutely enjoyed this one!

It’s dual pov with Cordelia (the ghost) and Ruby! And the way they figure out how to communicate to each other by using fridge word magnets, so clever and made me laugh. 🤣

I loved that we kinda had two mysteries going on.. one was solved and the other will hopefully be solved in the next book?! Guess we’ll find out!

It was a fun mystery. I liked the ghost aspect and learning (sometimes alongside Cordelia!) how it worked and her abilities. I liked Ruby, she was eccentric and she made me chuckle with her inner thoughts. She was quirky and I was here for it!

Overall, perfect book for this fall season! Hoping we get a book two in the future because I need some answers! 👻🔎

During this spooky time, a cozy mystery with a ghost as one of the main characters is a great fit for me. Cordelia Graves died several months prior and is still finding her footing in the afterlife. When she encounters a neighbor who has joined her on that side, she decides to uncover the mystery surrounding his demise. But first she must figure out how to communicate with the woman who now inhabits her Boston Apartment. Ruby Young is struggling to find her place in her new town when she discovers that all the wacky things that are happening in her new residence are the former residence trying to get through to her. Once they discover a means of communication, they work together to improve her life and solve the mystery. This appears to be the first in a new series by Olivia Blacke. I will look into her other series while waiting for the next volume.

3.5 ☆ // An interesting take on cozy mystery for sure. The characters were quirky , but that’s what made this a fun read. I love that you get the double narration, one being a ghost & one being the girl who moved into the ghost’s past apartment. I enjoyed the idea of the two being amateur sleuths & investigating a murder mystery together, also. 

The ending seemed a bit rushed, but it did end on a cliffhanger. Since the background has been set for me, I’m definitely interested in reading the next book to see how the story unfolds. & added points for the cute & fun cover! 

Thank you NetGalley, Olivia Blacke, & St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Fun. An unexpected friendship and partnership. Lots of twists and turns. Ended on a cliffhanger so obviously I’m anxiously waiting for the next one

Cordelia Graves died in her apartment a few months ago and she's stuck around to see her landlord rent her fully furnished apartment to young Ruby, who moved to Boston to get away from a bad relationship with no plan and no money. Things were already off to a bad start when Ruby's neighbor is murdered right on their building's doorstep and Cordelia convinces Ruby (through magnetic poetry, of all things) to look into the suspicious murder that the police seem to be ignoring. Along the way, things about Cordelia's life come to light as Ruby gets a job where Cordelia worked and meets the people who supposedly knew her best. There's more than one case to be solved, but Ruby and Cordelia first need to figure out how to communicate and stay safe.

It's an intriguing story and Blacke kept me guessing from beginning to end when it came to the main mystery, but neither Cordelia nor Ruby were particularly interesting characters. It's also very obvious what happened to Cordelia so that part of the plot lagging enough not to be resolved in this book is a little annoying. There's also a feeling that the plot drags its feet instead of moving along and things are unnecessarily mentioned several times. So, instead of pulling me into the mystery, I sometimes put it down to get away from it.

Overall, it's not a bad story, not great either, but the writing is top-notch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the read!

Cordelia Graves didn’t see who killed her neighbor Jake, but she was there after, sitting in the freshly fallen snow and waiting for him to start his afterlife. No one had been there for her when she woke up and found herself dead, so she thinks it will be nice for him to have someone there to help with the transition. She can teach him the ropes, or at least the ones she’s been able to figure out.

Cordelia liked Jake and she wants to help him. She wants to figure out who killed him. But there’s only so much she can do as a ghost. She needs someone else, someone who is still living, a breather, to help her with the investigation. So she goes to the place where she is most comfortable. She goes home.

Ruby Young moved to Boston to get away from a bad relationship, and she doesn’t have much. She doesn’t have a job. She doesn’t have much money. But she did find a furnished apartment that she could afford. It’s not perfect, since the elevator doesn’t work, and she’s on the fourth floor. But it will help with her heating bills, as the heat will rise from the apartments below. And she doesn’t need a gym membership, since she’s walking up and down four flights of stairs all the time.

All Cordelia has to do is to introduce herself to Ruby and ask for her help investigating Jake’s death. But first, she has to figure out how to communicate with her. And to get Ruby to stop killing her plants. And to help her find a job. That should be easy enough, right? Except that whenever Cordelia gest close to electronics, they fail. Cell phones, computers, lights, appliances. Cordelia isn’t sure why, but she needs to find a way to talk to Ruby that’s analog, old school, and apparently not in cursive either, as Ruby never learned to read it.

But slowly, Cordelia finds ways to communicate with Ruby. And Ruby, who is interested in true crime, is excited to get started. She talks to neighbors and friends of Jake to try to figure out who could have wanted him dead. He had a steady stream of girls through his apartment, he gambled, and he spent a lot of nights at the bar. That gives them some good places to start. But the more Ruby asks questions, the closer she gets to a cold-blooded killer. Does Cordelia have enough energy to keep Ruby safe? Or will Ruby end up as a ghost as well?

A New Lease on Death is a new cozy mystery from Olivia Blacke. The paranormal twist offers up interesting plot twists and relationship challenges. The learning curve for both ghost Cordelia and breather Ruby makes for comedic moments in this unusual mystery. The story is well plotted, but it’s the characters who steal the show.

I loved A New Lease on Death. The chemistry between Cordelia and Ruby is electric, and reading this book was just so much fun. I love the unusual problems Cordelia comes up as a ghost, and Ruby’s cheerfulness is relentless. There is even a very Boston trip to Dunkin’ Doughnuts. This story is clever, funny, and smart, and I can’t wait for the next book to come out.

Egalleys for A New Lease on Death were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a fun book for spooky season. Cordelia and Ruby are roommates but not in the traditional way as Cordelia is dead…

This is a fun spin on a cozy mystery with the amateur sleuth being a ghost and a human. It was mostly fast paced with some slightly slow spots.

The killer did come completely out of left field and I was not excepting it. This book leave on a slightly cliff hanger so I am hoping there will be another book. I will definitely keep reading more about Ruby and Cordelia.

Genre: Cozy Murder Mystery
APK: Ebook
Pages: 328
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Supernatural Mysteries Book #1

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke
Release Date: 10/29/24
Rating: A Haunting Good Time!

What a fun dark comedic mystery! Cozy mysteries can be hit or miss for me, but Blacke did a great job at keeping this book just silly enough without tipping over into absurd or losing your attention!

This novel follows two roommates as they investigate just what happened to their neighbor who was murdered outside their apartment building…the only thing is one of the roommates is a ghost, and one is the youngin who moved in after she passed!

I really found these characters enjoyable and the ending perfectly set us up for a book two - which I cannot wait for! This was my first book by Olivia Blacke but won’t be my last.

A new lease on death is a cute fun murder mystery. I loved both Cordelia and Ruby throughout the book. The juxtaposition of their lives and thoughts gave this book a fun silly - it’s perfect for fans of only murders in the building! That being said I felt like story wise this felt lacking at times. They would spend so much time looking for something for it to just fall in their laps. However I still loved the book even with this little blips!

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery with a unique storyline, then you’ve come to the right place. When a man dies in a apartment building in Boston, the ghost of a single, 40 year old woman and the young, energetic (very alive) tenant who takes over her apartment come together to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed that this story was told from the POV of both Cordelia and Ruby. While they are certainly the most unlikely of pairings, it was fun to see their relationship develop, especially when communicating was such a challenge! Parts of the book could be a little repetitive but it was a fun read.

I’m looking forward to the next book to learn more about how Cordelia got to where she was.

Thank you to #NetGalley #StMartinsPress and #Minotaurbooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cozy mystery, whodunnit style that ends on a cliffhanger. It's written well and darkly funny. Minimals twists, but filled with secrets; the living and dead have to work this one together, I'm curious to see the answers they get back as well as what Cordelia & friends will get up to next!

What if your new apartment came with a ghost?

This is a fun and cute supernatural cozy mystery that features a young woman struggling to figure out life on her own in her early 20s and the ghost of a 40-something who used to live in her apartment when they team up to solve the murder of the tenant who lived across the hall.

The mystery itself here is just okay and the solve could have been better, but it does all add up in the end, and the real enjoyment of this is in the journey to get there.

I loved both Ruby and Cordelia, and the story adopts a solid buddy comedy style that makes it a light and fun read where experience matters more than plot. And the plot isn’t bad either, especially taking into consideration what appears to be an ongoing mystery that will thread through the series in the future.

Probably more like a 3.5 than a true 3, but Olivia Blake has the ability to craft such humor and lighthearted fun in mysterious or dangerous situations. It honestly is a perfect example of black comedy and makes you laugh out loud. I also appreciate Cordelia's wit and snark. But having a ghost for a main character can make it hard to car about the projection of the story sometimes (because actions can have less of an impact on a dead person), I think Olivia Blacke manages the balance well.

This is definitely a quirky, fun read, especially for spooky season! The ghost was a really fun character since we got to understand her perspective on life. And she was super funny! She was definitely my favorite character-the others weren't as exciting or special. This reminded me of the Finlay Donovan series because it was light-hearted but also had a lot of mystery. Just overall, it was fine. It did it justice for what it was, but it didn't blow me away.

I enjoyed Olivia Blacke’s A New Lease on Death. This not-so-cozy mystery is both dark and humorous. It is really a blend of a supernatural mystery and a cozy mystery. The unconventional crime-solving duo is the recently deceased Cordelia Graves and the young woman who next rents her apartment, Ruby Young.

Set in a not so gentile Boston neighborhood, the story follows Ruby Young and her ghostly roommate Cordelia Graves, as they search for a neighbor’s killer. Ruby and Cordelia are a great duo. Ruby’s youthful energy and Cordelia’s seasoned, worldly outlook create a nice balance. Their evolving “relationship” is sweet in a way. I enjoyed the pace of the story, and the dynamics between Ruby and Cordelia were engaging and funny. Ms. Blacke's writing is clever; there are plenty of red herrings that lead both characters down wrong paths. A good "surprise" ending, that in hindsight, had been hinted at throughout the book.

A New Lease on Death is a a fun whodunnit, offering a delightful escape into a supernatural, cozy mystery. While there is a wholly satisfying ending, the story line leaves room for a much delicious sequel.

This book was very entertaining! I really liked both main character Ruby and Cordelia. The two make for an unlikely pair, but they seemed to find a connection allowing them to work together. I don't normally like paranormal stories, but this twist to the mystery worked really well. The mystery was resolved satisfactorily but there was still some unresolved questions. The book set the stage for there to be more and I am interested in learning more about Cordelia's life and what may have been going on at her workplace. I liked the writing. The pacing was done well and I liked the change of view between Ruby and Cordelia. It would be a perfect weekend escape read! I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

3.5 Stars
This was an interesting way to deliver a mystery novel, told in alternating chapters from the point of view of a nosy ghost and a very alive and helpful younger woman with no direction in life. I liked both characters and the mystery was engaging enough to keep me turning the pages. But it was not only the mystery that I wanted to know more about, I wanted to know more about the dynamic between the two characters and what shenanigans they would encounter next.
The main murder mystery was solved here but there is a huge unsolved mystery that I hope will be addressed in another book (I hate loose ends, I need my books tied up completely, so I am hoping for a sequel).
If you are looking for a paranormal cozy-ish mystery this is a good choice with a very interesting mystery solving duo.