A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke

 

Cordelia Graves is convinced the death of her neighbor, Jake, is not the mugging gone wrong that the cops think it is. The main obstacle to her ability to investigate it is the fact that Cordelia herself has been dead for several months. To help her out, she enlists the help of Ruby Young, the perky 20-year-old who is renting Cordelia's former apartment. 

The two unlikely roommates are an odd pair. Cordelia is quiet, likes to read, and is a bit of a drinker. Ruby is bubbly, not much of a reader, and an underage near teetotaler. Ruby very much believes in ghosts and is delighted to think she may be sharing an apartment with one. Once they work out a rudimentary form of communication, the two begin an investigation into Jake's life and try to figure out why he was murdered. 

This story is a lot of fun, mostly because the two main characters are so enjoyable, and because the ghostly mechanics are terribly interesting! Ghost stories where the ghosts can communicate very easily with the living are common. This story offers no such easy out. Learning to communicate and overcoming misunderstandings adds to both the fun and the peril. Cordelia is relatively new to being a ghost and it didn't come with a handbook so she is still finding out things she can and cannot do, particularly when it comes to what she can affect and manipulate in the physical world. Ruby is a very bubbly and energetic person but is a bit adrift in the big city having moved far from home and being all on her own for the first time. They seem a bit mismatched, but Ruby's friendliness and Cordelia's loneliness bring them together.

Clumsiness in their investigative ideas for Jake's death leads to slow progress at first, but soon they are starting to make real headway. Eventually, they start to amass enough information to put themselves in danger, or at least Ruby. The mystery of Jake's death, in the end, isn't terribly complicated, but it is exciting enough. The real enjoyment comes from spending time looking at things from both Ruby's and Cordelia's sides. Sprinkled throughout the story are clues that point to some real mystery and surprises involving Cordelia. Both from when she was alive and in the manner of her death. These aren't resolved, providing a springboard to the next adventure featuring these two.

Olivia Blacke has created some entertaining and endearing characters as well as a fascinating take on ghost stories. More adventures in this world are something to look forward to!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.