Did you read that book?

The New Couple in 5B
By Lisa Unger

Plot: A couple inherits an expensive apartment with a spine-tingling past. Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City, but when Chad’s uncle dies, he leaves his apartment to them. After moving in, they start to learn about the gruesome history. But will Rosie and Chad be welcomed in by their neighbors or will they join the list of the dead.

Review: Lisa Unger has done it again! I could not put this one down! My favorite part was that the story was high energy the entire time. From start to finish, I was captivated and engaged. I felt myself feeling all of Rosie’s emotions and questioning everyone. My brain also wanted to give Chad the benefit of the doubt the entire time, kinda like Rosie. Lisa writes with a pen the way that Van Gogh used paints to create masterpieces. If you are searching for a strong read with constant entertainment, this is the one for you! 

Thank you Lisa Unger, NetGallery, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. 

“The New Couple in 5B” is out March 5th, 2024. Get your copy!!

It's been a while since I read Lisa Unger and this book was a perfect one to start with. I've forgotten how other-worldly her other books can be, but this wasn't too over the top in that instance. There was an obscure nod to The Hollows which was fun. Overall, plenty of action (lots of people dying) which kept you on your toes and the pages turning. A decent read.

Rosie is a writer of true crime with one book published and struggling with the second. After caring for her husband Chad's dying uncle in his Park Avenue apartment, The Windermere, it gave her an idea for her new book. The building, built on the grounds of an old church, has a dark history of murder and suicide. When Uncle Ivan dies and leaves the apartment to Chad, Rosie is excited that this will help her research her book. But from the first tour of the building strange things are happening. There's the ancient doorman who never seems to take a day off, has intimate access to their lives via intercom and cameras, and starts to lie about things making Rosie doubt her sanity. Then the ghostly apparitions that might be just her imagination. But when the murders start to occur around her, she knows she can trust no one close to her.
The setting in the Windermere, especially the intercom and cameras that see and hear everything, were so creepy. There was just something so off about the residents of the building that had me scrambling to find out what was going on. The flashbacks to the former residents of the apartment back in the 60s added another element to the story and I wondered how it related to the present. I was pleasantly surprised by how everything was wrapped up in the conclusion. This book was a bit slow and took me a while to get into, but then I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Not my favorite book by this author but it was still good.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Company and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into the book, as it started slow and introduced MANY characters. We follow Rosie and Chad Lowan who recently inherited a luxury apartment in the Windermere from Ivan, Chad's uncle, who passed away. They can feel their luck changing, as before they were barely making ends meet. But the Windermere has a dark and haunted past with many deaths in the past. As time passes, Rosie starts getting suspicious when weird things start happening and people around her start disappearing.

Later in the book, at about 75%, I felt like I was hooked on finishing quickly. I wanted to figure out what and who was responsible. Before that, I felt like I had to drag myself to read a chapter. Overall, it was ok. Nothing to rave about, but not terrible.

What an interesting premise! This one ended up being just okay for me, but I really enjoyed the premise and the potential that this story had.

I adore Lisa Unger's books so knew I would love this one! It's a convoluted and complicated story that has so many elements that I was breathless all the way through! Rosie and Chad move into an apartment left to them by Chad's uncle who recently passed, leaving Chad's sister, Dana with nothing. And from there on, nothing is as it appears to be! Blending past and present, Unger delves into the spirit world replete with creepy basements, nude photos, tarot cards, gothic pendants, suicides, and empty elevator shafts. What more could you want? Reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby, this novel may keep you up at night...but it's SO worth it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔.....𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝑨𝑵 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕.....

Special thanks to @htpbooks @launger and @netgalley for the gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

MY REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my second Lisa Unger book and another enjoyable read. Like usual, I went in blind but was pleasantly surprised at the twisty storyline. I did enjoy the supernatural hints throughout (I love a creepy old building filled with ghost stories). I will say, Unger does a good job of steering the reader toward one character as the main suspect, when it's actually someone completely off the radar!
In the end, you know they will never be able to stay there.... too much has already started to happen before they even move in to salvage a good and comfortable living situation.....and that's before all the other craziness starts happening!!!!

This is definitely a most read this spring if you love a good twisty whodunit!

PUB DATE:
MAR 5, 2024

QOTD❓️⁉️❓️ Would you knowing and willingly live somewhere that was haunted?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillerlover #booklover #thrilleraddict #bookaddict #thenewcouplein5b #lisaunger #netgalley #pubdaypost #happypubday #bookbuzz
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I don’t know why I haven’t picked up one of Lisa Unger’s novels sooner!! But I am happy I started with this one, because I am hooked! Her writing and character development and twists all combined make up one amazing thriller! I am not a huge fan of paranormal stories, unless they are done exceptionally, and this one is! It adds to the story, isn’t too much and works so well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the gaslighting that happened throughout, and I will say I guessed one major twist, but I still enjoyed the book and think a lot of people will like it! The ending worked for me as well!

Wow! This is the third book I’ve read from this author and has been my favorite by far! It kept me guessing until the end. Thanks for the ARC, and I’ll definitely recommend this book! The characters were interesting along with the gothic setting! I’ll definitely work on reading more from this author and think this book has made her an automatic read for me on new books!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 3/5/24!

This is my favorite Lisa Unger book that I have read to date! The characters were multi-faceted and well-developed, even with the story being told through a single POV. The building itself has a gothic and almost haunted house feel to it, which tied into both its history and the history of the MC. Everything is definitely not as it seems in this novel, and the author crafted a story that had me guessing until the last page. Definitely recommend giving this one a read!

This was pretty solid for me in the end but it did take me some time to warm up to it. The setting was great, an old apartment building with a sinister past made for some unsettling reading and I enjoyed the dual timelines as well. There was an underlying sense of danger running throughout, I just wish the pacing was a little faster to keep the plot moving forward a bit more. If you like a gothic setting with a fabulous atmosphere and don’t mind a slower paced book this may work for you.

This was my first book by Lisa Unger and it didn't disappoint! I'm not sure why I haven't read anything by this author before, and will definitely remedy that! I went into this with barely reading the synopsis so wasn't quite prepared for the paranormal portion.. but I still enjoy it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for the advanced readers copy.

It is hard for me not to believe that the author was not influenced by Rosemary's Baby when she wrote this book. While there were significant differences between the two (Rosemary's baby dealt with the occult while this referred to the occult), along the way there were definitely things that made me think of Rosemary's Baby. That is not a bad thing; I think most writers cannot help but be affected by things they read or see. That said, the author takes what I believe to be a seed from that story and makes it her own.
It did keep me guessing until pretty close to the end, which is what a mystery/thriller is supposed to do. While there were hints at someone else, like in any murder mystery, I saw that that it was unlikely to be that individual because there was still too much of the story left for that to be the case. But, I did not see where the finger ultimately pointed, which is a good thing in this genre.
The author did a fairly good job at character development as well.
The only thing that I think it was lacking for my 3.5 star review (rounding up) is that the first half was a bit plodding. I think I read one other of her books and found that to be true there as well. The pacing seems to be a little uneven because the second half kept me reading, to the extent that I stayed up later than I should have because I couldn't go to bed until I found out what happened. I would have liked to see a bit more movement in the first half of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for the opportunity to read this before publication.

This story was about Rosie and Chad, a couple who is struggling to succeed in New York. Rosie is a writer and Chad is an actor, and they’ve just come into some luck. Chad’s uncle passes away and leaves them a luxury apartment in a historic building, complete with an old elevator and doorman. But there is a dark history of death surrounding the building, and Rosie wants to write about it. Chilling and suspenseful with a slow-burn dread.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for this e-arc.*

The New Couple in 5B follows Rosie and her husband Chad as they move into a beautiful apartment in Murray Hill that they unexpectedly inherit when Chad’s uncle passes. The apartment building, the Windermere, has a reputation of being the site of multiple murders and suicides. Despite this dark past, Rosie and Chad feel like they’ve won the lottery with this apartment that they wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.

Between the new apartment and exciting career developments for both Rosie and Chad, it seems their luck is turning around - that is until Rosie begins to take notice of the strange behavior of the people around her and far too many unexplainable occurrences at the Windermere. Rosie starts to question what’s real and what’s not, and nothing is making sense anymore. It starts to feel like something sinister is going on, and everyone is in on it except for Rosie.

Just when I thought everything had come to light, a whole new layer of the story unfolded. This book had me taking notes on each character, trying to figure out who’s connected and what they’re up to. It was gripping and pretty spooky at times - I found that my heart was racing at multiple points throughout the book. If you like books that make you question everything and everyone, you will love The New Couple in 5B.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars!

A couple inherits an apartment in a dark, mysterious, historic and wealthy building in NYC in this atmospheric and suspenseful thriller.

In typical Lisa Unger fashion, this book was a fast paced, wildly entertaining thriller. The apartment building itself and unit 5B was not only the setting of the book, but felt like another character in the novel. It provided a lot of tension and seemed to be host to many ghosts. The group of residents were all quirky and just slightly off, making you question everything as you read. I also like that the story went back and forth a bit between the current couple and the occupants of the apartment before them. It seemed like everyone was hiding some pretty juicy secrets and there were some paranormal elements present.

Full of suspense and super interesting, I definitely recommend picking this one up, especially if you're already a fan of the author's writing style. Well done!

This book follows Rosie who’s a writer working on her next book, the first one being successful. Rosie and her husband (Chad) are under financial stress with their creative jobs and they feel the pressure that they need to find success soon to keep the money coming in - after all, New York is an expensive place to live.

All that changes when a man named Ivan passes. He gifts them his $5 million apartment in the will, as a token of thanks for being by his side since his health decline in the building called the Windermere. From there, the apartment has been causing them nothing but grief, at least for Rosie. She feels as if she is being watched. Things go missing. She begins to question if what she saw was real, or if it was just another bout of her panic attacks… Yes, that’s it. Time for her to see Dr. Black again.

The book also has a secondary POV in the name of Willa Winters, who resided at the Windermere in the 1960’s - in the very same apartment in which Rosie and Chad now reside. She is unhappy with her life and is having an affair with a mystery man. This man makes her feel alive, much unlike her husband Paul, a writer who would rather stay in than enjoy a night out with her.

The line gets blurry of what is real and what is true regarding the conversations, the events that unfold within the walls of the Windermere. Everyone is questionable. Who can Rosie trust?

This was my first Lisa Unger book that I’ve read and I will definitely read more of her novels! I liked her writing style. I enjoyed the slow pace of this thriller. It provided great build up to the story and it dedicated the time to make the reader feel exactly what Rosie was feeling throughout the book: the discomfort, the unease, the distrust. I really sat in it all with her. The intercom system especially and the visions Rosie had were written so well!

I liked how the beginning really reels the reader in and that it gets revisited again near the end. I didn’t anticipate some of the events that unfolded such as the mystery man and the some aspects of the ending. All in all I enjoyed the read and I thought that this character focused thriller was well done.

The Acknowledgement section is worth the read, don’t skip over!

I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (Book), Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Book), Last Night in Soho (Film) and the Haunting of Hill House (Book/TV Series). It felt like a mash up of elements from all of those!

Thank you Harper Collins Canada (Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row Books) for the ARC. This is my honest review!

Fantastic! Please send me anything by Lisa Unger. I will be recommending this book to all the thriller readers!

If you are a mood reader as I am & looking for a thriller, The New Couple in 5B is a solid choice. I love NYC and the setting of this book captivated me from the beginning. While there were parts reminiscent of Riley Sager's Lock Every Door, this book was just different enough to keep me reading. I enjoyed the characters in this book, as they seemed very diverse. And who doesn't love a dark, twisty thriller? This would be an excellent fall/Halloween read. And props to Unger for adding in the paranormal aspect in this book. Thank you to NetGalley & Park Row Books for this ARC!

Wow! This psychological thriller was a ride!

Rosie and Chad unexpectedly inherit an apartment worth a fortune in the Murray Hill area of NYC when Chad's Uncle Ivan passes. But the building has a history of untimely deaths, hauntings, creepy residents, and a doorman who is always on duty and never sleeps.

Positives:
Engrossing from beginning to end
Just the right amount of paranormal activity
Terrific gothic setting-I really got into the descriptions of the apartments and the building
A solid plot point as to why most of the bizarre events and behaviors were happening
Beautiful cover
Multiple timelines

Negatives:
a lot of interconnected characters to keep track of

Will always pick up Lisa Unger's latest novel. This one about a too good to be true inheritance for a young couple was another winner!