by Olivia Blacke
DETAILS:
Series: Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries, #2
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 21, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: September 15, 2025
What’s Death at the Door About?
I almost hit “Publish” with this part blank. Which would’ve been pretty enigmatic. Possibly too enigmatic, even for a mystery novel.
In the months since we left them, Ruby and Cordelia have continued to build their friendship as Ruby becomes acclimated to Boston. Cordelia is even teaching Ruby to cook! In that strange way of communicating that they have. Yes, it does involve some hijinks at a grocery store and freaking out a fellow shopper who is silly enough to think that glass jars shouldn’t move from the shelf to a cart without anyone holding them.
I probably should’ve mentioned that Cordelia is the ghost of the woman who lived in Ruby’s apartment—I forgot for a moment that not everyone reading this post has read the first book—or remembers what I said about it last year. So, yeah. The ghost of a 40-something woman is “rooming” (for lack of a better word, she’s certainly not haunting) with a woman who can’t legally drink yet. They’re chummy and have solved a murder together. Now you’re caught up.
Until one fateful day, when Ruby discovers a body in the restroom at work. Naturally, given that this is a mystery novel, it was not a natural death. Nor a supernatural one, I feel that I should add, given the nature of this series. It’s a plain ol’ murder. Yes, the restroom in an office building on a floor occupied by a tech company is not where you’d expect such a thing. Especially if you’re a young woman who’s still a little naive about life in a major city.
Both Cordelia and Ruby liked the delivery driver and were uncomfortable with the way the police didn’t seem to care about his death (criminal record, and apparently a criminal present). So, Cordelia decides she’s going to look into things to make sure that Ruby’s safe. Ruby decides that the two of them are going to look into things because they were successful last time, and Ruby feels bad for his family. Eventually, they compare notes and Cordelia begrudgingly involves her roommate.
And well, after that…things happen, as they often do when amateur detectives decide to solve a crime. But with a ghostly twist
Growth
A New Lease on Death was our introduction to this world, these characters—and their introduction to each other. Death at the Door shows how much the characters and their relationship has grown since then (the world is pretty much stagnant, that kind of change is outside the possibility of cozy mysteries).
It’s strange to think of a ghost growing/developing. That’s the point of death, right? But many ghost stories do show us that kind of growth, that’s how in some works that the ghost gets to move on. Or in others, they just grow and develop just like the living. I’m thinking particularly of the Charlie and Rose Investigations—but with a little thought, I could likely add some other titles here. But that series seems pretty apt here, so I won’t belabor the point.
That’s too many words to say that Cordelia isn’t quite the same person we met in the last book. She’s adjusted to some of Ruby’s quirks and developed a strong mothering/big sister approach to her. Teaching her how to cook, looking out for her when it comes to friends, and so on. She’s also much better at being a ghost. She’s learned a couple of new tricks—and learns one in these pages, too.
Ruby’s a lot more independent now—not just the “I’m going to prove to everyone I can live on my own” kind of attitude that we met before, now it’s more of a—she’s working it out (with some help from her roomie). She’s comfortable in the neighborhood, in her job, and with herself. She still can’t handle alcohol, but it’s not a problem (long-term), and is kind of cute. She’s able to be assertive when she needs to, too. She’s better at thinking on her feet, too. And on at least two occasions, she demonstrates that in a way that she couldn’t have in the first book.
The affection between the two is real, and you can’t help but feel (and share) it. They’re better at understanding each other’s intentions and communicating with each other—although you’d have thought they’d have used a little of Ruby’s Dunkin’ money for some more fridge magnets or something. Both their communication—and miscommunication—are just fun to watch. There’s an interrogation scene near Ruby’s office (to keep it free of spoilers) where Cordelia and her ghost friend “warm up” the interrogate-ee before handing it off to Ruby, and the way these two trust each other and interact (mostly by not interacting) here is something to warm the reader’s heart.
None of this is to say that these two don’t make mistakes—because, boy howdy, do they.
A comparison I thought of just before I published—Ruby/Cordelia give a very Janine/Barbara from Abbott Elementary-vibe, with a similar arc. If you’re looking for oversimplification.
Ghosts
Like Cordelia herself, I expect more ghosts—especially in a city as historic as Boston.* We’ve seen three, that I recall. And only two have stuck around—and other than giving Cordelia a conversation partner, I’m not all that happy to see him.
Where is everyone else? I’m not looking for millions of them—or even hundreds (although I’d like to think that hundreds exist). But there have to be a few others in the parts of town that our duo spends their time in. Or, when Cordelia travels to a part of the city she’s never been in—why can’t she run into someone new? Even under the rules that Blacke has established for her ghosts, a city like Boston has to have a few more. Heck, just the ones that Hawk, Spenser, and Patrick Kenzie have left in their wake (unintentionally or not) would give Cordelia someone to wave at. And those are the good(ish) guys!
This isn’t really a short-coming of the book/world. It just sticks out as an oddity. Also, it makes me worried about Cordelia’s long-term prospects. How long does she have left? Ruby needs to do better on the flesh-and-blood friends and independent living fronts.
* At least by U.S.-standards. As the book notes a couple of times.
So, what did I think about Death at the Door?
I had no complaints about A New Lease on Death (or, if I did, they were minor and fleeting enough that I don’t remember them, and I’m not going to go check to see if I did), but Death at the Door is a much more satisfying read. Everything that Blacke did well, she repeated here—and improved on most/all of that. And the rest? Didn’t show up here.
We get two new characters for the pair to interact with—well, we get a handful, but there are two that mean more to the series overall. And I thought they were great. Blacke does a good job of giving us reasons not to totally trust either of them, but spends the majority of the book making us really like them and wanting to trust them. Which is a nice trick—and only occasionally frustrating. It’ll be so satisfying, and maybe a relief, when we learn which way to eventually fall on that point. They are really well-drawn characters, regardless, and are just what this series needed (even if I didn’t realize that until I was done with the book).
Given the location of the murder—and most of the pair’s investigation—we spend a lot more time in Ruby’s current/Cordelia’s former office and interacting with their co-workers. This does two things—it teaches us a lot more about what Cordelia was like when she was living, and really helps us understand the people and culture of the office. As Cordelia’s murder was almost-certainly due to something work-related, this is important for us. Also, it’s pretty fun to see what Black is doing. Anyone who’s suffered from team-building activities will appreciate that portion of the book, if nothing else.
The mystery itself (I probably should focus on that, right?) was cleverly told. The herrings were just the right shade of red, and were very convincing. The antics our duo get up to along the way are the right combination of illuminating and goofy. I’m not an expert on Blacke’s work, but this is the fifth (!) novel of hers that I’ve read, and her character-driven mystery game has never been better.
I’m tempted to speculate about the arc of the series at this point, but most of what I expect is around the corner was what I suspected for this book. So I won’t go further than to say, Blacke’s got something great in store for us. And as she prepares her readers for it, she delivers a satisfying and enjoyable mystery.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press & Minotaur Books via NetGalley—thanks to all for this (particularly the associate publicist—who might not want me broadcasting their name to the world—that got me into Olivia Blacke’s work a couple of years ago).
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
She’s the weird lady in Small Town USA who wears pajamas to the grocery store to buy cake. She’s always been drawn to the stories in her head, and spends most of her time with one foot in the real world and one foot in her own worlds. She finally built her dream house and lives there with her husband, where swords feature prominently in the interior decor and she has her own witchy medieval themed kitchen.
