Welcome friend! If you like cozy paranormal mysteries with humor, A New Lease of Death is a great fit. As a story with a ghost as the main character, it is the perfect Fall read. The first book in the new Supernatural Mysteries, it is not my usual mystery novel but I love the idea of a ghost renter and got a chuckle out of the synopsis so I decided to pick it up.
Olivia Blacke | Goodreads | Supernatural Mysteries #1
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.
A New Lease on Death – Book Review
Set in the winter months in Boston, A New Lease on Death begins with a middle aged woman, Cordelia, discovering her neighbour’s dead body on the pavement in front of their apartment building. A bunch of things are odd about his death – for one he is not wearing shoes or exactly dressed to be outside, for another it does not seem like an incident of mugging and thirdly he has been shot.
I found the interaction between Cordelia and Jake hilarious when he finally wakes up. She was found dead in her apartment some months back and Jake remembers her. Since her death, she has learned a lot about being a ghost and she is delighted to finally find another ghost because her search of the city so far hadn’t revealed anything. I haven’t read a light hearted spin on being a ghost nor the perspective of a ghost in a long time so I was hooked as soon as I realized Cordelia was dead. (The synopsis had told me but I tend to forget them as soon as I read them. A blessing in disguise?)
After her death, Cordelia’s apartment is rented by a young girl, Ruby. It is important to note that the rental was completely furnished with Cordelia’s things. Not yet eligible for a drink, Ruby moved far away from home to the city of Boston to put some distance between her ex who cheated on her. She is a sweet girl and she can sense Cordelia in the apartment.
The part of Boston that Ruby and Cordelia live in is not a safe neighborhood. The world-building is really well done through the bus rides, Cordelia’s exploration of the city on her own, the kind of people Jake used to associate with, the pawn shops and the police’s attitude towards the crimes in the area. There is an edginess to this side of Boston that kept me on my toes. I wasn’t sure what kind of person we would run into in the alley or on the bus.
After Jake’s untimely demise, Ruby and Cordelia find rudimentary ways to communicate. Cordelia helps Ruby get a job and Ruby finds a purpose in looking for Jake’s killer. This Nancy Drew style sleuthing with a ghost was a fun adventure. Once Cordelia gets to know Ruby, she becomes protective of the young girl. The two make a good pair and though they don’t quite talk to each other in full sentences throughout the book, Cordelia makes her ghostly presence known when needed.
The main plot of A New Lease on Death is Ruby and Cordelia’s investigation of Jake’s murder. In the process of learning more about him, Ruby also learns about Cordelia. She doesn’t have any family and she makes ok money but her reasons to stay in an apartment like this one with mostly plants are unclear. Though she abused alcohol while alive, she died of an overdose which seems suspicious to Ruby as no pills exist in the apartment. Focusing on Jake, he seems to have been liked by everyone. He cheated on his girlfriends so the working theory is his murder has something to do with that. Cordelia’s experience as a ghost added depth as she could take tours of Jake’s apartment with the police and was privy to their investigation. As she grew to work with Ruby, she started to get more confidence in her interactions with the world around her.
I enjoyed the character cast in A New Lease on Death. Jake’s many friends and family that Ruby interacts with are quirky. Ruby comes off as naive but Cordelia’s presence helps keep danger away for the most part. Living in a poor neighborhood, pizza is the staple diet of the renters in the apartment and I liked how all the pieces introduced by the author had a role to play in the final reveal. The banter between characters flowed easily and as Ruby met new people, the awkwardness of the interactions were portrayed well. Her day job as an office assistant at a small company also added humour and depth to the story.
Overall, A New Lease on Death has an unforgettable crime-solving duo and is a page turning whodunnit. It balances paranormal and mystery really well and was an enjoyable light read. I am excited for the next murder these two solve together!
Would you like to give it a read? Add it to your Goodreads shelf.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book for an honest review. Stay tuned for an interview with the author, Olivia Blacke, coming later this week.
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