This had such a strong start and premise and then fell a bit flat for me. Sharing your apartment with the ghost or the past tenant had me hooked.

I liked it enough but it felt like a lot of descriptions that told me nothing and it took the WHOLE book to really get any information and even then we only got half of it. I wanted more.

So it was enjoyable enough but forgettable.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were so great. It reminds me of Ashley Poston books but with a mystery. I was sucked in to the story start to finish. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke is about a woman, Ruby, who moves into an apartment where the previous tenant died. Unbeknownst to the new tenant, she is now sharing the apartment with the ghost of the woman who died. Eventually Ruby figures out she is roommates with a ghost and the two work together to solve the murder of the neighbor across the hall.

This was a so so read for me. I think someone who frequently reads and enjoys supernatural mysteries would enjoy it. It’s not really my jam and I felt like parts of the story dragged a bit for my taste.

This is a fun murder mystery! Ruby, the new tenant in 4G, teams up with Cordelia, the deceased tenant in 4G, to solve the murder of their neighbor across the hall. Ruby can't see or hear Cordy, but somehow they manage to communicate, sometimes in very entertaining ways. Picture a trail of Skittles. This is a fun read and I happily anticipate the next book!

Very exciting and different premise. Cordelia is dead, however she is still around- sort of- as a ghost. She considers the new tenant of her apartment to be her roommate of sorts. She talks to a newly dead neighbor the first time she’s been able to communicate since she was alive. Taking place in Boston during the winter adds to the mystery and fun of this book.

Here’s a review for A New Lease on Death:

This book was an absolute delight! From the start, it drew me in with its charming characters and engaging story. Each page offered something to enjoy, and I found myself savoring the details and humor that made the world feel warm and inviting. The plot twists were lighthearted yet satisfying, and it kept me smiling the whole way through. I really didn’t want it to end – it’s one of those reads that leaves you wishing for more. Perfect for anyone looking for a cozy, feel-good read that lingers long after the last page.

A New Lease on Death is the first book I’ve read by Olivia Blacke, but it won’t be the last. Blacke’s writing style does take a bit of getting used to. Or maybe it was the fact that I wasn’t able to give myself over to the story as much as I had hoped. How dare life get in the way of reading!

This book is set in Boston, and many details to help sell the setting. Many of these are through the conversations between the characters. You can pick up on the inflections when they talk about Jakey, Markie, and Scotty. There are also a few references to being a “Southie,” which is how someone from the neighborhood known as South Boston is often referred to. And, of course, there’s mention of Dunkin’ being everywhere and the best place for coffee and donuts.

The story is told from Ruby and Cordelia’s point of view. It is easy to know who you are seeing things from, as each chapter is labeled with their name. This is especially useful when Ruby starts working at the company Cordelia worked for before her death.

Who should read A New Lease on Death? Everyone! But especially if you enjoy reading books with unexpected characters. How many cozy mysteries have you read with a ghost as one of the people working to solve the mystery? As such, the story has a darker vibe, but it’s still a cozy mystery people should read.

This was such a fun book. I loved it and the story line. Solving murders is one of my favorites but they also made the characters very likeable! I can’t wait for the next.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

I really enjoyed this! It was a cozy mystery where the two crime solvers couldn't communicate very well... because one of them was a ghost! Cordelia and Ruby couldn't be stopped once they figured out how to communicate, and while they might not have been sophisticated crime stoppers they used their unique skills to solve the murder!

Eh this was fine I guess. It was a cute premise, and some of the writing was pretty funny. But it was very bland. The story didn’t really come together for me, which isn’t great in a mystery. And it contained one of my biggest pet peeves - it’s set in a specific city (in this case Boston), but to accomplish that the author just threw in a bunch of vague city stuff so it didn’t feel like it was set in that place at all.

This also clearly is being set up to be a series, but I’m not invested enough to continue. So I guess the overarching mystery will remain a mystery to me (unless someone wants to read the future installments and tell me what happened).

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this ARC, which is our 10/29.

2.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for a complimentary copy of this novel!
When Ruby Young rented an apartment in Boston, with the previous owners’ belongings still there, she expected nosy and loud neighbors, and an occasional malfunctioning appliance; but never did she expect to find the ghost of the previous tenant of the apartment. And on top of all that, Ruby gets pulled into a murder investigation when her neighbor Jake, across the hall, is found outside their apartment building with a bullet in his forehead from an apparent mugging. Cordelia, the previous tenant where Ruby now lives, died of an apparent suicide a few months back, in her own apartment. Now, Cordelia is convinced Jake’s death is not a simple mugging. So, she finds a way to communicate with Ruby and convinces her to help solve her neighbor’s murder! As Ruby works to find suspects, she begins to suspect that not just Jake was murdered, but also Cordelia herself!!!
This was a cozy, ghostly read perfect for Halloween!!! I do hope there is a second book because......major cliffhanger!!!
AVAILABLE October 29, 2024

Welcome to the afterlife! Cordelia is dead and lonely. But actually she’s not in the afterlife. She’s a ghost. In her own, somewhat dismal, apartment!

Not very long after she dies, her building super rents the apartment to a young woman from Baltimore who is moving to Boston to get away from a bad breakup. She has sold her car but otherwise has very little money and needs a job.

Blacke has written a ghost story and a murder mystery that makes it an unusual candidate for the label “cozy” but that’s where I think it probably belongs. Ruby, the new tenant, can't see or hear Cordelia, the ghost tenant, but figures out that she is there. They use a magnetic poetry kit and an etch-a-sketch, among other means, to communicate with each other--well, at least Cornelia does. She can hear Ruby just fine.

The murder involves the neighbor across the hall, who may not be exactly what he seems. Cordelia begins by helping Ruby get her old job at a tech company, and by leading her to a stash of money she has hidden in the silverware drawer. Freed from utter poverty, Ruby is in for the chase.

A New Lease on Death is an easy read, but fun. If you want the equivalent of a beach read while you're curled up in front a fire this winter, it might just tickle your fancy.

This cozy, supernatural mystery novel was so binge-able and perfect for this spooky season! I was instantly drawn in by the uncommon duo, who pair up when their neighbour, Jake Macintyre, is found dead right outside their building. Communication is initially difficult between the two, mainly because Cordelia is a ghost, while Ruby is very much alive. Since Ruby is currently living in Cordelia’s fully furnished apartment (ghost included), the two embrace their new “roommate” situation in order to solve the mystery behind Jake’s unexplained death. This novel has some pretty heavy subjects such as suicide, substance abuse and domestic abuse, which I found to be approached with care and awareness. I was super invested in the uncommon friendship, the humoured interactions, the enigmas and the hint at the series continuity.
Can’t wait to read more by Olivia Blacke!

✵𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖲𝗍. 𝖬𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇’𝗌 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌／𝖬𝗂𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖺𝗎𝗋 𝖡𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝖽𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋’𝗌 𝖢𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.✵

"A New Lease on Death" is the first book in a new series by author Olivia Blacke. It's a quick, easy, and fun to read cozy mystery set in and around a rundown apartment building in a "down on its luck" section of Boston, Massachusetts.

With a quirky set of characters that include:

a plucky twenty year old with questionable fashion sense and absolutely no verbal filter

an aging, pizza-loving sleazy-adjacent lothario

a nosy septegenarian who just might be a serial killer

and a quiet, but mysterious bookloving office manager.

Now add a little unsolved murder, mix in a line up of likely suspects, and just for a bit of extra fun, throw in a meddling ghost, and you have yourself a wintery Boston mystery to solve!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced galley copy of "A New Lease on Death." This book has a publish date of October 29, 2024.

I was excited to read this but it's very slow moving. I didn't end up caring about who killed the dead and didn't care for the ghost roommate angle. One narrator would have been better; I don't feel like there was enough to differentiate between the living and nonliving characters.

"A New Lease on Death" by Olivia Blacke offers an intriguing premise with Ruby Young navigating the ghostly mysteries of her Boston apartment. While the pacing felt a bit uneven at times, the story’s charm lies in Ruby’s determination to uncover the truth behind her across-the-hall neighbor, Jake Macintyre’s death. Blacke’s creative approach to blending the supernatural with a cozy mystery keeps you engaged, making it a worthwhile read for fans of the genre. Overall, it's a curious start to what could be an interesting series!

Okay. I messed up. I was bored, trolling NetGalley and I didn't read the blurb. I also thought I was requesting a book by a different author I had read and liked. Although I do read some paranormal, it is not my preferred genre. But it being Halloween time the book fit a challenge I was doing, read a book about ghosts. Check. Unfortunately, that is about the only positive thing about this book. It just didn't grab me, and all the introspection was just boring. I did enjoy the dark, sarcastic humor, but not enough to redeem the book.

Cordelia Graves - Ghost. She died from mixing pills and booze, a lot of booze, but that was normal for Cordie. She was forty-two, lived in a tiny apartment in a iffy part of Boston. She had no friends, and her last fling was with her married boss. Not a great life and now she's dead.

Ruby Young- Twenty-year-old who has rented Cordie's apartment and helps figure out who shot Jake. She left home with no plan on how to make it on her own. Ruby had no job prospects when she hit Boston and basically moved into Cordie's life.

Jake Macintyre - Dead guy who lived across from Cordie, he was murdered in front of his apartment building. Jake was loved by everyone, a great guy who gambled and moved from woman to woman often. But he was a great guy, everyone thought so, except maybe the person who shot him.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

This darkly funny series starter is a creative take on your typical cozy mystery. Readers will delight in the unlikely crime-solving duo of the annoyingly perky Ruby and the grumpy Cordelia (her recently deceased neighbor). Their developing camaderie throughout the story offsets any shortcomings in the mystery's plot. Can't wait to see what case these sleuths get caught up in next!

Want a ghost story that isn't scary and still features a ghost? Well this is just what you need. A ghost and human team up in this fun who dun it type novel!

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Why I Chose It: I loved the premise of a ghost and perky roommate.

This was a cute, fun read that will check off a box for “ghost story.” I liked the characters well enough, but they weren’t explored to their fullest potential. I liked the plot, but it got repetitive and didn’t surprise me. I felt like some stuff was a bit superfluous and didn’t need to be included (bus scene). All in all, while a surface-level read, it was enjoyable and made for a great spooky season addition.

Fans of cozy mysteries, supernatural elements, and quirky characters will enjoy this one.