Monday, October 28, 2024

Review: A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke

 




About the Book


Genre
Paranormal, Cozy Mystery

Format
E-ARC

Publisher
Minotaur Books

Release Date
October 29, 2024

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this darkly funny supernatural mystery about an unlikely crime-solving duo that launches a commercial, unique, and genre-blending series, death is only the beginning.

Ruby Young's new Boston apartment comes with all the usual perks. Windows facing the brick wall of the next-door building. Heat that barely works. A malfunctioning buzzer. Noisy neighbors. A dead body on the sidewalk outside. And of course, a ghost.

Since Cordelia Graves died in her apartment a few months ago, she's kept up her residency, despite being bored out of her (non-tangible) skull and frustrated by her new roommate. When her across-the-hall neighbor, Jake Macintyre, is shot and killed in an apparent mugging gone wrong outside their building, Cordelia is convinced there’s more to it and is determined to bring his killer to justice.

Unfortunately, Cordelia, being dead herself, can't solve the mystery alone. She has to enlist the help of the obnoxiously perky, living tenant of her apartment. Ruby is twenty, annoying, and has never met a houseplant she couldn't kill. But she also can do everything Cordelia can't, from interviewing suspects to researching Jake on the library computers that go up in a puff of smoke if Cordelia gets too close. The roommates form an unlikely friendship as they get closer to the truth about Jake's death…and maybe other dangerous secrets as well.

My Review

Twenty-something Ruby Young can’t afford much, but she finds an apartment in Boston to rent.  It’s far from perfect, but it’s home for now.  The apartment comes complete with a ghost, not to mention a dead body on the sidewalk in front of the building.

The ghost is the previous tenant, Cordelia Graves, who died a few months before Ruby took over the apartment.  The dead body is her next-door neighbor.  Cordelia and Ruby are on a mission to find the killer.  It’s not easy for Ruby to work with a ghost since she can’t see or communicate with her.  The two of them find unconventional ways.  They must be on the right track of a murderer since Ruby is being threatened.

This is an entertaining and unique story.  Ruby and Cordelia are fun characters.  They make for an unusual sleuthing team.  The storyline is intriguing and kept me guessing.  I was quite surprised at who the culprit turned out to be.  

I did find some spots to be a little slow, but it did keep me laughing.  It's filled with dark humor.  Ruby and Cordelia’s antics were amusing.  Although the murder mystery is solved in this book, there is a continuing thread carried over into the next book.  I’m looking forward to reading that one.

I’ve read one of this author’s other cozy mystery series, Record Shop Mysteries, and love it.  This one has the potential to be another good series.

For reading challenges:

Craving for the Cozies Reading Challenge 2024
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2024


FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

4 comments:

  1. This sounds delightful! Thank you for sharing it with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a fun read.

    Have a fabulous day and week. Scritches to the kitties. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have this on my TBR! Looks fun.

    ReplyDelete

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