Ooooohhhh I really enjoyed The New Couple in 5B! Lisa Unger really knocked it out of the park with this novel!

Rosie is a sometimes successful author and newlywed. In a turn of luck, Rosie and her husband Chad inherit an expensive apartment from his uncle. Chaos seems to follow. Is it them? The other tenants? Their friends? The building? The creepy doorman who never seems to leave?The building’s history is already dark, but when someone gets murdered, Rosie begins to investigate everything and what she discovers will have you swiping pages faster than you physically can.

Unger’s writing is executed beautifully. The story is told from Rosie’s POV, but there are chapters from Willa Winters, a previous tenant from the 60’s. All of the characters were very well thought out. I caught myself empathizing with each at different times. I also found myself craving more chapters from Willa.

The ending was done so well and was like a gift wrapped inside a gift. I couldn’t have asked for better resolution!

Being that this is my first finished novel of the new year, everything else that follows will have some big shoes to fill!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC before it’s intended release on March 5, 2024.

3 1/2 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Park Row and Lisa Unger for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rosie and Chad are a couple with financial troubles. She is a writer and he is an actor. When Chad’s uncle Ivan dies, he leaves them his NYC apartment in the well known Windermere. The building has a lot of history and has seen its fair share of death. The buildings doorman, Albi is a strange character who seems to be always watching and listening. As they settle in to their new apartment, they meet a strange cast of neighbors. All seem friendly, but what are they hiding?

There is also some paranormal events thrown into the story. We have flashbacks of Willa who once lived in the apartment with her husband Paul. There is a young boy who is a ghost in the basement.

I loved the old mysterious building with its history. I did not love the ending which I found fairly predictable.

Rosie is an author, her husband an aspiring actor. They are struggling with their living expenses, when they find out that Chad's late uncle has left them his expensive apartment in the Windermere, which is worth millions of dollars. Rosie is extremely optimistic about starting their new life in the Windermere, especially since she is writing a book about the building's dark and mysterious past and will have the opportunity to interview the staff and residents. However, upon moving in, strange things start happening, and she learns that they may not be as trustworthy as she thought.

The story follows Rosie and Willa, who was a resident in the 1960s. We get to learn what happened to Willa, whose story is a little similar to Rosie's. As Rosie continues to live in the building, you begin to wonder if she's seeing things, if they are paranormal things occurring, or if the people in her life are manipulating her.

The story kept me hooked as Rosie tries to unravel the secrets of the building and the dark events that happen to her after moving in; however, I felt like the ending wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. My issue with the ending was that it felt a little rushed and almost thrown together. Regardless, I still felt like it was an interesting read that is good for people who liked The Shining or may be interested in buildings with dark pasts like the Cecil Hotel.

I loved this one! A couple inherits an old apartment on park avenue. The building is rich with history. It’s been the sight of multiple suicides and murders. Is it haunted? Is it cursed? Whenever I’m in an old mysterious building I always wonder about the lives that took place there. I loved the atmosphere of the book. I could picture this gorgeous old building and I was so curious about what was going on here. I loved the character building and the background story. This book was one of Lisa Unger’s best!

Thank you to Lisa Unger and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Park Row Books, and Lisa Unger for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was excellently twisty from beginning to end. I especially enjoyed the flashback chapters from the previous apartment owner’s POV.

If you’ve read Lock Every Door by Riley Sager and enjoyed it, I definitely got the same creepy vibes from this one. (Fear not, the twists aren’t the same so nothing is spoiled)

This was another winner from Unger and I’ll be anxiously awaiting whatever she writes next!

The New Couple in 5B will be on US bookshelves March 5.

This latest book by Lisa Unger was on my shelf for longer than usual. Had I known it was going to be so good I would have read it way sooner. I was immediately hooked and found this book hard to put down once I settled in. I didn’t know who to trust and who was reliable. I’m happy to say that I had no idea how this book would end.
The ending was perfect. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow! Lisa Unger sucked me into this story and held my attention till the end. As the first book I finished in 2024, it will be a hard act to follow.

I didn’t read the acknowledgements until I finished the book, and I wasn’t surprised that the author’s vision aligned with my reading experience. The Windermere is a quintessential old, ritzy New York hotel for the rich and artsy and harbors those attune to its mystic quality. A living, breathing character itself, The Windermere has been host to several tragedies over the years and seems to absorb the grief of the people who live within.

When Rosie and Chad inherit an apartment from a late uncle, their dreams for the future take a sudden upturn. Rosie’s book about The Windermere takes shape, Chad’s acting career looks promising, and hopes for a baby point to a happy future. But when Rosie is confronted with warnings from the past, she wonders if she’s in a safe place.

Rosie’s spiritual upbringing and her ‘visions’, coupled with astrology nights with the neighbors, including a medium, add an element of the paranormal to the story. The hotel residents and the doorman who has served The Windermere for decades add to the ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ vibe. Downright creepy! And the author brings it all to life, putting the reader in the midst of it.

I loved the intermingling of current events and the history of previous residents in 5B through flashbacks, and the dual point of view of the two women who resided in the apartment decades apart. The way their lives paralleled and intersected intrigued me, and kept me wondering how the past would impact the present.

With constant twists, I couldn’t put the book down. At some point everyone was suspect and I didn’t know what or who to believe. Darkness and light battle inside the walls of the hotel as well as within the residents, leading to shocking revelations.

This is the third book I’ve read by Lisa Unger. It won’t be the last. Adding her to my list of favorite authors! Highly recommended!

The New Couple in 5B
By Lisa Unger

The language is beautiful, the plot propulsive, and the characters fascinating in this 5 star mystery/thriller set at a creepy old apartment building in New York City. Definite Rosemary’s Baby vibes. Put it on your TBR list.

Thank you, netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for this ARC.

I am currently in my thriller era...
Okay, so this book kept me interested since the beginning. It's written in acts. That was one of my favorite things about the book. It gave me spooky vibes like it made me feel a little scared. I loved the history of the apartment, known as the "Windermere." Witch has a history of weird/random deaths. The ending had a lot going on, but I didn't see it coming. Boy, was I wrong about who did it. The perfect mystery/thriller with a whole lot of murder.

The New Couple in 5B is in intriguing book with many twists and turns that will leave the reader with a troubling question: how well do we really know our spouse?

Omg ok where do I start without giving it away. Such a good book and the writing was really good I love how descriptive the sister was with talking about her dreams. See trying to keep it vaguely pointed. Let’s see the twists were done very well and a lot of fun figuring out the pieces little by little.

What a way to start 2024! This book had a little bit of a slow start but once you get about 70 pages in, it hits the ground running and does not stop. Haunting specters, secrets deep in the walls, and eyes everywhere will have you looking over your shoulder and questioning every tenets motive at The Windermere.

The apartment complex, with its disturbing history of many murders and suicides, has always attracted an eclectic group of creative individuals looking to make their mark on NYC. When newlyweds Chad and Rosie move in, everything seems perfect until it’s not. Ghosts in the halls, an over inquisitive doorman, and nosy neighbors puts Rosie on edge and has her questioning what is really going on at The Windermere.

In true clue fashion, every character has a motive, everyone has a secret, and no one is telling the truth. Why are all of these dark events following Rosie around since moving in? Is it all in her head? Or is there something more sinister afoot?

A rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, this truly addictive suspense will have its readers shaking with anticipation as they try to figure out what is truly going on. If you need a good mystery to really hold you in one place as you binge it in 24 hours or less, this one is for you.

Rosie is a struggling author who lives in New York City with her husband Chad, an aspiring actor. The couple are struggling to meet ends meet when luckily, their lives take an unexpected turn when Chad’s uncle passes away and unexpectedly leaves his upscale apartment to Chad and Rosie. The apartment is located in the historic Windermere and comes with an elevator and a doorman. The couple decides to take advantage of this life changing opportunity and move. Shortly after moving into the apartment, Rosie begins to feel as if she is being watched and begins to feel unsafe and questions why she and Chad were given the apartment instead of his daughter. The longer they stay in the building, Rosie begins to see ghosts and begins to question whether there is more to the history of this upscale building in which they have moved into.

If you are looking for a book complete with mystery, ghosts, and murder than this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley for the early access to read this wonderful story by Lisa Unger.

Over the past year I have become a huge fan of Lisa Unger! I found this author through a reading challenge at my local public library and I have not been disappointed by her books!

After inheriting an apartment in New York City, The New Couple in 5B tells the story of Rosie and Chad Lowan and the mysterious happenings in their new building. With nosy neighbors, a creepy doorman, and paranormal beings lurking in the hallways, this mystery/thriller will keep you intrigued till the very last page of the book. I highly recommend this title!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title!

I had a feeling about half way through the book who the "bad person" was, just not sure the how. There were definitely plot-twists that I did not see coming and that kept my interest further piqued.

I am not a fan of super-natural beings but overall I enjoyed the story line of this book and will definitely seek out more Lisa Unger books.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

Wow! This story was a wild ride from start to finish and another great book from Lisa Unger!

Rosie (an author) and her husband, Chad (an actor), were taking care of Chad's uncle until his death. In his will he leaves Chad and Rosie his apartment in Murray Hill, with some people not happy about this. The apartment building is known for dark things happening including several accidental deaths, most Rosie is researching for her new book. In the story's flashbacks of these events, we see that several of the accidents were actually murders. The people that were murdered tend to show up in Rosie's life as visions, since she has the ability to see people and see things that have yet to happen. Soon, she realizes that her neighbors and others in the apartment are not who they seem, including her husband. All she wants was a quiet life and she's not sure if she'll ever have it.

This story was an easy read that hooked you from the beginning and was full of suspense! The story and the background were written well, the past events folded in the current story seamlessly to give understanding to Rosie's research and what the characters experienced in the past. Towards the end there was a little bit of a twist that was unexpected and it tied together the story well. I would definitely recommend if you like a good mystery/thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley, Lisa Unger, and Harlequin Trade Publishing Park Row for allowing me to review this ARC!

I’m late in leaving feedback and for that I apologize because I have forgotten many of the details of the book. That said, I do think it speaks highly of a story when you’re left several weeks later with just an overall good memory of the reading experience. I really did enjoy this story and it’s my favorite from the author so far. I liked the uncertainty I felt throughout—there were strong supernatural vibes yet a sense that perhaps we didn’t have the complete picture of what was happening. Highly recommend for those who enjoy this genre.

Lisa Unger does it again…I LOVE books about NYC and life there and especially about the older apartment buildings and their histories and she nailed it with this one. There were so many twists and turns and surprises that I couldn’t put it down! If you like mysteries based in/around NYC then you will LOVE this book!!

A good thriller that I would recommend to other thriller lovers. It's a little slow at first but gets going as the chapter goes on. A bit predicatable but there's only so many thriller formulas that haven't been done already. Format on Kindle was very scrambled.

What an entertaining, eerie, and suspenseful read! This had a dash of everything, horror, mystery, and even some romance. I found it hard to put this book down, and I loved how it kept me guessing till the end. I also loved how there were a lot of twists and turns, which made the book fun to read. Overall it was fantastic and I would highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!