Death at the Door by Olivia Blacke: Audiobook Review (Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries #2)

Read time: 5 minutes

🎧 Listened in audio | 📢 Narrated by Petrea Burchard and Stefanie Kay
⏱ Duration: 10 hours | Genre: Paranormal cozy mystery
🏷️ Publisher name: Minotaur Books and Dreamscape Media

Book Blurb:

Ruby Young is settling into her new life in Boston, sharing an apartment with Cordelia Graves, the ghost of its previous tenant. The two have become friends, even though communicating with each other is a struggle. Cordelia has even set Ruby up with her old job. Then Ruby finds the body of a delivery man at work, and everything she has built is suddenly at risk. Cordelia tries to keep Ruby out of the investigation, but Ruby has other plans. To find the killer, the two will have to work together across the line between the living and the dead.

Let’s talk … murder!!!

Ruby and Cordy are back, and this time we’re taking one step closer to solving Cordy’s death. (No, this isn’t the book where it gets solved.) Instead, we’re investigating the death of a “supplier” (in quotes, because there was more than food being supplied here). Having successfully solved one murder, Ruby and Cordy have caught the itch to solve another, all while trying to find a better way to communicate with each other.

This book brings Cordy’s brother Ian into the picture, along with a potential love interest for Ruby. I’m curious to see where this non-relationship with Tosh goes, but I’m even more curious how long Ian sticks around. Olivia Blacke does a fabulous job making Ian feel untrustworthy, so much so that every time he’s on the page, I get a weird prickle on my skin. I hope he doesn’t end up breaking Ruby’s heart, because Cordy would have a hard time getting revenge on her own brother.

I love Olivia Blacke’s writing. She has such a gift for setting atmosphere. But what stood out most in this book was how much closer Stefanie and Petrea sound together compared to the first one. It’s almost like, after book one, they started finishing each other’s sentences. I love how the narration shifts between their two voices and how well they complement each other. The story and its paranormal elements are spectacular, and I can’t wait to see where things go next. I already have the ARC queued up and ready to read.

Would I recommend it?

Would I recommend Death at the Door by Olivia Blacke? ABSOLUTELY… especially if a ghost roommate sounds like your kind of cozy. The atmosphere is fabulous and the paranormal side of the story is spectacular. Then there’s Ian. Every time he’s on the page I get a weird prickle on my skin, and I’m very curious how long he sticks around. The two narrators sound even closer together than they did in book one. I already have the next ARC queued up.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5 book recommendations

• The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly
  A bookshop owner ends up sharing her space with the ghost of a private eye, so start here if the roommate who won’t stay out of the case is what you loved.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart
  Here the ghost is the one doing the sleuthing, since Bailey Ruth comes back to help the living solve crimes, which flips the Cordy and Ruby setup in a fun way.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels
  A cemetery tour guide bumps her head and suddenly a murdered mob don is demanding she solve his case, which is perfect if you want another living person stuck with a pushy ghost.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell
  A San Francisco contractor finds that her renovation jobs come with ghosts and mysteries, and it has the same easy mix of paranormal and cozy.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• What’s a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie
  The first Ghost Hunter Mystery follows a professional ghost hunter, so it leans harder into the paranormal side if that was your favorite part.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy

Your Turn to Haunt the Comments

Okay, question time. Have you met Ian yet, and do you trust him? Because I do not. Also, if a ghost moved into your apartment and the two of you could barely communicate, would you last as long as Ruby has? Tell me in the comments.

Book Links

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

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