This book had so much potential. I'm a huge fan of cozy mysteries (especially ones with ghosts!) but this one missed the mark for me.

One of my biggest complaints is that Cordelia and Ruby are the most stereotypical caricatures of GenX vs GenZ. It's almost like the author did a quick Internet search on the lingo or vibes of each age and threw them all into her two main characters. (ie. GenZ can't read cursive so how in the world could a GenX ghost communicate with her??? *eye roll*) It almost felt like they had no personality of their own besides their generations.

The miscommunication trope also got old very fast for me. I understand that death does make for complications when trying to solve a murder with someone but, sheesh.

It wasn't a bad read, just didn't itch the cozy mystery scratch for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book and was not expecting the plot twist that happened. The book kept my attention and is an excellent read. This is the first book. I have read by this author and look forward to reading more.

CSI Meets Ghost Hunters: A Snorting Coffee Kind of Funny

Cordelia Graves was nobody’s fool. And it was that savviness that told her something about her was different this morning. With her brain cells in high gear, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the difference was that she was dead—and she surely wasn’t yesterday. Funny that she couldn’t remember dying, but while the bout of amnesia was strange, her literally tripping over her former across-the-hall neighbor was downright bizarre. The lifeless body barefoot and half-buried in snow, the sight was tantamount to someone waving a checkered flag while shouting ‘Go Daytona!’ in her face. And while she was game to try being a detective, the post-mortem condition she was in just wasn’t conducive to tackling a full-fledged homicide investigation on her lonesome … especially since no one could see or hear her. It meant finding someone to act as intermediary and a certain Gen Z’er renting her vacated apartment would do just fine—if only they could quit fighting long enough to find the killer.

This is the premise of NEW LEASE ON DEATH, Olivia Blacke’s targeted arrow of a book! I was in the enviable position of being invited to read an ARC copy, and am I ever glad I accepted! Ghosts, humor, and solid mystery abound in this whodunit that never takes its foot off the pedal. The pacing set to “high”, Cordelia and her Gen Z’er buddy Ruby James tear up Boston in an all-bets-off effort to uncover who murdered the man obsessed with women and pizza—and not necessarily in that order. The dialogue spot on, Cordelia & Co. are at their hilarious best thanks to the author’s inventive way of slinging out grammar the way your favorite singer belts out tunes.

In terms of writing, the novel is pure pleasure all the way through. The unexpected delights of snark and sarcasm bring on the laughs as the narration hits all the right spots. The descriptive passages are impeccably handled and help bring the story to life … or is it death? Whatever it is, it works! Especially the moments when Cordelia is trying to figure out the new rules of what she can and can’t do after death. Rules such as possessing the ability to walk through walls, but not when carrying anything breakable.

So go ahead! Take the plunge. I highly recommend NEW LEASE ON DEATH. and am giving it five stars. I thank both NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC copy, and thank Ms. Blacke for the very original and entertaining ride. She is a superb storyteller and I had the bestest of ghost crime-solving times!

Ruby Young recently moved into a Boston apartment. The prior resident, Cordelia Graves, had committed suicide in the bathroom a few months earlier and do to this, Ruby’s new apartment comes fully furnished. Ruby experiences mysterious happenings in her new apartment and her neighbor across the hall ends up dead outside of the apartment building. Cordelia isn’t a fan of Ruby living in her apartment and her incessant talking. However, Ruby and Cordelia team up to make an unlikely duo to determine what happened to the neighbor across the hall, as a mugging gone wrong just doesn’t seem to mesh with the circumstances.
While I love anything ghostly and mysterious, this book missed the mark for me. The premise of the book was promising but for me, it was underwhelming, slow, and repetitive. Electronics and Cordelia don’t mesh well. Boston is cold. Ok, we get it. It was supposed to be a “darkly funny supernatural mystery”, but I struggled to find the “funny” parts. This book took me a little longer to read than normal because I struggled to get into this storyline or connect with either of the FMCs. The story is told from both Cordelia’s and Ruby’s perspectives. I didn’t expect the murderer to be who it was so that was a good plot twist and the ending, while I can’t say it was a cliff hanger because I expected it, does persuade the reader to check out book 2. I did feel like this plot bounced back and forth between Jake’s death and Cordelia’s death so I wasn’t sure if we would be solving one or two suspicious deaths.
Thank you NetGalley, Olivia Blacke and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy and allowing me the opportunity to provide my honest review.

I'm so annoyed! But in a good way.

A New Lease on Death is a "spooky" mystery that contains a touch of comedy. It follows two perspectives, Cordelia and Ruby, who become unexpected roommates. So let me explain, Cordelia is dead and is now a ghost who continues to "live" in her apartment. The apartment that Ruby has now moved into. They also happen to be total opposites, I mean aside from Cordelia being a ghost, she is also more of an introvert who likes to be alone whereas Ruby is perky, young and upbeat. Cordelia and Ruby have co-existed up until their neighbour's suspicious death, They begin to work together to figure out what happened to Jake their neighbour. We get a chance to follow these two around while they work together as well as watch them grow separately. We also get a chance to get flashbacks of Cordelia's past.

I liked the book, what's annoying is that I have to wait for a follow-up to get closure! So it looks like I'll be waiting for the next one.

Thank you to Olivia Blacke, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was hooked as soon as I started reading this book! The characters were witty and the plot was a refreshing change from other whodunit books I've read lately. I do wish there was a little more exploration into the spirit life of Cordelia but I'm holding out hope that there will be a book 2 and we'll see that.

Cordelia died in her apartment and lives there now as a ghost with her new living roommate Ruby. Then her neighbor gets shot in the face and she wants to figure out who killed him. Cordelia gets Ruby to help her investigate what happened as the police just think it is a mugging gone bad. This story is cute, funny and entertaining. I like reading how Ruby and Cordelia navigate trying to find a way to communicate since Ruby can't see or hear her. It was a quick read that keeps you engaged without being overly cheesy. I will definitely read the second book that comes out in this series.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review. Solid 3.5 stars.

Oh my god this was so good! I was so into this murder mystery! The two characters co existing together in the same apartment was probably the funniest and cutest thing ever. The way that ended?!? Imma need book 2 ASAP.

A New Lease on Death was fun! It reminded me of that old Reese Witherspoon movie Just Like Heaven combined with Murder She Wrote. I read it in a day and would definitely read another!

This review is my opinion and my opinion only.
This is my first book by Olivia Blacke, and it won’t be my last. I hope there is a second book!
This story is about Cordelia and Ruby with a supernatural twist. Cordelia died in her apartment. After her death, Ruby rented the apartment. At first, Cordelia tried to haunt Ruby, but they bonded over the death of their neighbor. They knew he was murdered, but the police didn’t agree, so they are trying to find the murderer. Since Ruby couldn’t hear Cordelia so they improvised by communicating with refrigerator magnets.
I’m going to stop here because I’m not doing the book justice with my description. It’s a recommended read from me. It is an enjoyable mystery.

I love that this book surprised me right up front (I didn’t read the blurb, just knew I like Blacke’s other mysteries!) and I love that one of the main characters is in her 40s - maybe I’m reading the wrong cozies, but they seem to so often be about 20-somethings. It was fun to watch the relationship between Ruby and Cordelia develop, and to watch them figure out how to solve a crime in a very unorthodox situation. The killer was a total surprise, and the little “to be continued” at the end was perfect. I don’t love cliffhangers, but this was hinted at nicely throughout the story and I could also read this book and feel totally satisfied despite knowing there was more to come (even though I am 100% going to pick up the next in the series)

Looking for a darkly funny mystery with a unique twist? A New Lease on Death delivers! This debut novel introduces us to Ruby, a living woman with a talent for killing houseplants, and Codelia, Ruby's ghostly roommate. When a seemingly random murder takes place outside their window, Codelia, restless and determined, enlists Ruby's help to solve the case.

Their unlikely partnership is the heart of the story. The inventive ways they communicate, from fridge magnets to otherworldly whispers, kept me engaged. While I would have loved more interaction between Cordelia and other ghosts, the glimpses we got were a delightful bonus.

This is a cozy mystery with a fun, easy-to-read style. The premise is unique and leaves you wanting more. In fact, the seeds are sown for a thrilling follow-up that delves deeper into Cordelia's past life and demise. Think School Spirits meets a punchy detective story, with the potential for jaw-dropping revelations.

While the descriptive passages were vivid, they could be a tad repetitive at times. Personally, I would have preferred more snappy dialogue to break up the flow.

Overall, A New Lease on Death is a promising debut with a charming cast and a captivating mystery. If you enjoy witty characters, creative problem-solving, and a touch of the supernatural, this book is worth checking out. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Olivia Blacke for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The idea behind this book is so cute! The cover & the description had me jumping on an advanced reader's copy -- but I was quickly bored by the plot, unfortunately, which left me disappointed overall.

Cordelia Graves is an unassuming forty-year-old single woman who lived a quiet life to herself in a small apartment in a not-so-great part of Boston. When she dies in her bathtub it takes a week for anyone to find her -- and thanks to forces she hasn't quite managed to understand, she's still hanging around as a ghost.

Ruby is a twenty-year-old woman has just moved to Boston to start over after a cheating ex at home. She is stoked to find a fully furnished apartment in that she can actually afford, but her story about getting to Boston leaves a little to be desired. I liked her character for the most part and wouldn't mind hanging out with her in her crappy apartment.

She is delighted to have a paranormal roommate, but when their neighbor down the hall is found shot in the head on the street outside, the two try to investigate his death together, but communicating with the dead isn't as easy as Beetlejuice would have you thinking.

This book started off so strong, but I quickly lost interest in the mystery when it wasn't fleshed out, there was a lot of potential. I was half relieved and half annoyed that this is book one in a series because I'm interested in the circumstances surrounding Cordelia's death -- which are definitely going to be basis of book two and now I will be wanting to read it.

This was so good! It combines mystery, paranormal, and humor. Great combo! Cordelia is a ghost who enlists the help of Ruby, who has moved into Cordelia's old apartment, to help solve the murder of the neighbor across the hall. Naturally, there are some issues with communicating, which makes the job harder. Cordelia and Ruby are both loveable characters. I'm often annoyed by main characters that are "young" because they're written as naive and full of themselves. That's not Ruby! The humor in the book was such a delightful touch and never felt awkward. The way the clues were peppered into the story really kept me engaged and I felt like I was trying to solve the murder myself. There were questions left unanswered, in a good way, which certainly set the stage for the next book! I can't wait to find out how Cordelia and Ruby solve the next mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur books for providing me with this ARC!

I think this book was so cute and fun! Ruby was such a likeable character and the concept of her solving a murder with her ghost of a roommate is admittedly odd but also awesome. This book felt quirky and fun and it felt like a hybrid of thriller and comedy.

Also, no spoilers but big props to how the book ended. It basically guaranteed that, if there is a sequel, I’ll be reading it.

I loved this oddly lighthearted mystery. I say oddly because it involved murder and the ghost of the murdered woman, who didn’t seem to have a very happy life. How that ended up being so amusing, I’m not altogether sure, but it was. I felt very attached to the characters by the end of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me. I look forward to more from this author.

Can a book about death and murder be adorable? A great read in one weekend book and one that I’ll recommend to others. This first in the series book follows Ruby as she partners with her apartments former, now dead tenant to solve a mystery death. Many of the characters both living and dead brought added storylines and elements to the story seamlessly. I was surprised with the ending and felt pulled in different directions throughout the book looking for the killer. I can’t wait for additional books from the series.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This mystery features the unlikely pairing of a twenty-something young woman (Ruby), who is trying to create an independent life for herself and the ghost (Cordelia) who is haunting her apartment. A neighbor is killed in a shooting that the police dismiss as a mugging, but Cordelia believes there is more going on, and she's determined to find out what really happened. It's hard to solve mysteries when you're a ghost, so she enlists Ruby's help.

Ruby and Cordelia's odd-couple relationship develops as they learn to communicate with each other. Despite their differences, the make a good team, and they get to the bottom of their neighbor's murder. I really enjoyed their unorthodox friendship, and I did not guess the solution to the mystery until the very end.

Certain facts come to light during the investigation that suggest Cordelia's death may not have been as straightforward as it seemed.
I recommend this first book in the series, and I look forward to reading about Ruby and Cordelia's efforts to find out what really happened.

3.5 stars. This was a cute book. I loved the ghost roommate angle and their endeavors to solve the neighbor’s murder. It was fun to “watch” them try to figure out how to communicate. The inability of ghosts to be near electronics added an interesting twist in the modern age. I also loved how Cordelia was a millennial and Ruby was such a Gen Z (I mean she had no pen and paper in the house!!).

I do wish that we had had more chapters from Cordelia’s point of view. I found her parts of the story more captivating. There was some unnecessary repetition (Boston is cold and Ruby is short being too examples). I knew that what they figured out in the end was coming, but I expected it to be addressed during this book, not to leave me hanging for the next.

Overall this was a cute, fun read and I will definitely read the next one when it comes out.

I thought this was going to be a "ghost solves their own murder" situation (stay tuned for book 2 lol), but it was actually a "ghost solves someone else's murder" situation. And it was fine! I didn't find the characters or mystery to be super compelling, although the relationship between the ghost and the alive person was fun, especially as they struggled with communication. It was a little cozier than I was expecting, and I prefer my mysteries to be either way cuter or way grittier, and this was kind of in the middle. I can see lots of folks loving it, though! It just wasn't my thing.