If You Like…by Olivia Blacke, author of A New Lease on Death

Not every book is inspired by great works of literature, life-defining moments, or current events. Sometimes, books can be inspired by—or at least influenced by—popular culture. A New Lease on Death is one of those. I don’t think I was consciously aware of it when I was writing it, but after early readers started comparing the mystery to some of my absolute favorite TV shows, I realized that there are parallels to be found.

I hope you’re gonna love A New Lease on Death. It’s a spooky, sweet, and snarky supernatural mystery that follows a grumpy, recently deceased ghost and her new, annoyingly perky living roommate. Although communication is a little difficult, they form an unlikely alliance and put aside their considerable differences to solve a series of seemingly unrelated murders around their Boston apartment building. If you’re a fan of any of the following popular shows like I am, I think you’ll enjoy A New Lease on Death.

If you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer…

…you’ll love the characters in A New Lease on Death. Like Buffy’s freshman year in college, Ruby Young has to deal with an annoying roommate – but unlike Buffy’s demon roomie, Ruby’s roommate is dead, and Ruby is the annoyingly perky one. Together, they don’t hunt vampires, but instead they hunt down a murderer. While she’s nothing like Sunnydale’s cheerleading queen (and one of my personal love-to-hate characters in Buffy), the ghost in A New Lease on Death is named Cordelia.

If you like Supernatural…

…you’ll love that A New Lease on Death is a darkly humorous supernatural mystery. My fascination with ghost stories is one of the reasons I’m a huge fan of the show Supernatural. While Cordelia the ghost is no lady in white and the Winchester brothers aren’t hunting her down (yet!), there’s plenty of spooky fun to be had!

If you like Only Murders in the Building…

…you’ll love that in A New Lease on Death, Ruby and Cordelia form an unlikely friendship despite a generational age difference and having literally nothing in common except that they live in the same apartment. Also, like Only Murders in the Building, the sleuths work together to solve the murder of a fellow resident of their building. I’ve lived in a lot of apartment buildings, but luckily I’ve never gotten involved in a murder investigation.

If you like Ghosts…

…you’ll love that one of the main characters in A New Lease on Death is a ghost. Unlike Sam, Ruby can’t see or hear her dead roommate, but they do figure out a way to communicate and share their living space. Personally, I’m not sure I’d want a dead roommate but Ruby doesn’t seem to mind. Like Sam, Ruby often finds herself helping Cordelia do things that she can’t do as a ghost.

About A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke:

A New Lease On Death, a supernatural mystery, follows a grumpy, recently deceased ghost and her new, annoyingly perky living roommate as they form an unlikely alliance and put aside their considerable differences to solve a series of seemingly unrelated murders in their Boston neighborhood. Death is only the beginning in this darkly funny supernatural mystery about an unlikely crime-solving duo. Available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook.