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 neighbours. 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 neighbour, Jake Macintyre, is shot and killed in an apparent mugging gone ...
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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 neighbours. 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 neighbour, 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.
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Add this copy of A New Lease on Death: a Mystery to cart. $16.65, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Minotaur Books.
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Add this copy of A New Lease on Death: a Mystery to cart. $16.65, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Minotaur Books.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of A New Lease on Death: A Mystery to cart. $19.02, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Minotaur Books.
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New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Cordelia Graves died a few months ago in her Boston apartment but her spirit did not pack up and leave. Twenty-year-old Ruby Young had no idea her new furnished apartment comes with its own resident ghost. It also comes with a dead body on the sidewalk outside. Jake Macintyre, her across-the-hall neighbor is dead. Pretty sure the bullet in the center of his forehead is the cause of death for the Boston Bruin hoodie, flannel pajama pants, fuzzy sock, wearing man lying in the snow. The police declare it a "mugging gone wrong". Cordelia tries to help his ghost by that goes badly. Now she wants to find out who killed him. One problem, she's dead too. She going to need help. Someone who can talk to suspects and do some research. Who better to help her than her new roommate?
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Cordelia was a busy woman before her death and she is not slowing down as a ghost. Ruby is "petite, perky, and alive". When she saw the ad for the "fully furnished" apartment she jumped at it, and found fully furnished included furniture, books, clothes, tons of plants, and a ghost. She has killed most of the plants. If she was going to stay there she needs to find a job. Both women are cleverly crafted. They make a unique sleuthing team. A way to communicate is their only real problem. I appreciated this didn't have a quick fix and that one way would work in one place but not in another.
The author has written the story from alternating points of view. This does cause some repetition but makes the story easy to follow and sets a good pace through most of the story. Ms. Blacke adds an abundance of humor as Cordelia figures out just what she can do in her ghostly state and Ruby learns to live with a roommate she can't see or hear who keeps trying to make choices for her and moves objects or opens the drapes without warning. Ruby is also dealing with some real-life issues which made her feel more real.
The mystery is complicated. There was no shortage of suspects between all the women he had wronged and any friends or family who wanted to avenge them, his own family members who wanted something from him, bookies he may have owed money, and maybe something sketchy happening where he worked. Ruby and Cordelia had to find a way to interrogate the suspects and follow the clues. Cordelia had a few different theories but I as the armchair sleuth knew there had to be another twist, and there was. The showdown was surprising and effective and I was delighted.
While Jake's murder mystery is solved, the author ends the book with a cliffhanger I had hoped for and expected. I just hate that I have to wait for book two.
A New Lease on Death is a special mystery with curious characters that immediately piqued my interest. I found these roommates to be very entertaining and I am excited to see this series continue. I can only imagine the possibilities.
Note - This story contains some explicit language.
