If you like lowkey ghosty mysteries, this is a fun story for you to check out. Quirky and entertaining, this new release gives off cozy read vibes. Read my review below.
A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pub Date: October 29, 2024
ISBN-13: 978-1250336675
Overview:
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. As the roommates form an unlikely friendship and get closer to the truth about Jake’s death, they also start to uncover other dangerous secrets.
A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke Review
This author is new to me and since I am in a bit of a mystery run on books, I thought it was a great choice for something different.
This story is as quirky as they come. It gave me distinct cozy mystery vibes, but with a ghost narrating parts of the book, it becomes a fun story with a few minor twists.
For me, Cordelia, the ghost, was the best part of the story as we get to see life from her side of the world. Trying to figure out how to be a ghost was humorous and the interactions with the living housemate were a trip as well.
I did not get a full buy-in from the other characters, however. For me, there was not a lot of excitement and thrills. Ruby, the housemate, was a bit annoying and clueless sometimes. Other characters were incorporated but no one really stood out as interesting and exciting for me.
The ending was a definite twist, and while it was beyond needed, it almost seemed rushed too.
A New Lease on Death is a cute cozy mystery that is simple and straightforward but fun. Top points for the cute cover!!
3.5 STARS!!
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free ebook so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.