Book Talk: A New Lease on Death – Olivia Blacke

“Mind over matter went out the window when you’re not made of matter anymore.”

–Olivia Blake, A New Lease on Death

Book Details

Author: Olivia Blacke
Published: October 29, 2024
Pages: 336
Chapters: 32
Audio Length: 9h 29m
Series: Book 1 of 3 (The Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries)
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genres: Ghost Mystery, Paranormal/Supernatural Mystery,

Back Cover Blurb (via oliviablacke.com)

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. 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.

Ratings ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Amazon: 4.0/5

Barnes & Noble: 4.0/5

Goodreads: 3.6/5

Audible: 4.2/5

Review

A New Lease on Death is an interesting take on your typical cozy mystery. This story features a living and dead duo that teams up to solve their neighbor’s murder mystery. The setting is a somewhat seedy neighborhood in Boston featuring a blue-collar community.

While not explicitly marketed as a cozy mystery, it still manages to feel cozy. So if you enjoy that genre I would suggest checking out this book and series. By the same token if cozy isn’t quite your vibe you might still want to give this book a try since it has a bit of edginess to it.

I’m excited that it is part of a series. Book 1 does a nice job of ending on a cliff hanger and leading into the second book. So far it looks like there are three books in the series. I’m not sure if more are in the works or if the upcoming third book, which is due to release on October 2026, will be the final one.

How do you feel about book series? Do you like them or do you prefer to read stand alone stories?

To see other books I’ve read this year check out my 2026 reading list here.