I was excited to read Olivia Blacke’s mystery, A New Lease on Death. It just won the Anthony Award for Best Paranormal Mystery. It was okay, but it didn’t work for me as a “Best” mystery.
Cordelia Graves died a few months ago. The police called her death a suicide, but Cordelia doesn’t remember killing herself in her bathtub, with a combination of pills and alcohol. Now, Ruby Young, a twenty-year-old from Baltimore, has moved into Cordelia’s old apartment in Boston. While Cordelia tries to scare off Ruby, blowing out lightbulbs and annoying her, Ruby can barely afford the rent in this shabby apartment. They’re stuck with each other as roommates.
When Jake Macintyre, the man who lives across the hall from Ruby, is murdered, it’s obvious he was killed. He was shot in the head. But, there’s something fishy about it. He’s not wearing shoes, and he doesn’t have his key, billfold or cell phone on a snowy day. Ruby finds the police out in the street, but they call it a mugging.Ruby and Cordelia aren’t so sure, and they find a way to team up, although Cordelia is a ghost. They both have issues, but somehow, Ruby and Cordelia make their investigation and their life together work. When Ruby is threatened, though, Cordelia finds ways to help out her new roommate.
Neither Ruby nor Cordelia is qualified to investigate a murder. They both have their weaknesses. They’re likable enough, but not enough for me to follow them into the next investigation. Maybe it was the “Best Paranormal” mystery of 2024, but it didn’t make me want to stumble through the next case with the two roommates. For those who are interested, though, the next book, Death at the Door, is due out Oct. 21.
Olivia Blacke’s website is https://oliviablacke.com/
A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke. Minotaur Books, 2024. 325p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publicist sent me a copy of the book, with no expectations of a review.
I read this when it first came out. It wasn’t very memorable so I’m surprised it won that award.
I agree with both of your statements, Sandy. I didn’t find it memorable, and I’m surprised it won that award.
You really do have to wonder at some of these award winners. I remember years at Malice Domestic when it seemed like the “best” books lost to the bigger-named authors, but clearly that was not the case here. Perhaps it was just a weak year for paranormals.
It may have been, Jeff. I was surprised when I read it. I had hopes because this list of winners was new, not the same old, same old.