Member Reviews
After caring for their dying Uncle Ivan, Rosie and Chad Lowan are lucky enough to inherit an apartment in the historic Windermere building in New York City. What appears to be good fortune turns dark and sinister shortly after they move in. Rosie feels like she is always being listened to and watched, the building seems haunted, and people are dying.
This book kept me guessing until the very end. The characters are strangely bizarre, and the plot twists all over the place. There are a couple of things that didn't seem credible to me as I read the book, but it was so mysterious and intriguing that I overlooked them.
Overall, The New Couple in 5B is a fascinating thriller that I would recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.
The New Couple in 5B is exciting, albeit a little predictable. However, if you pick up a book like this, you generally know what you're going to get, right?
When a struggling couple is blessed with an NYC dream inheritance (a beautiful apartment), there appears to be some baggage. Creepy neighbors, a pissed disinherited daughter, and ghosts run abound in this book! The pacing is a little interesting, and there are times where the narrator / main character needs a stern talking to, but otherwise, I was pretty hooked.
3.5 stars rounded up!
I loved this one! It reminded me of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. A dark, twisty, quick read!
Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad’s late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Unger's "The New Couple in 5B." While it started off as a bit of a slow burn, there were so many mysteries and questions to uncover throughout the novel, that I couldn't stop reading! As soon as I thought I knew who was safe and who wasn't, it all turned and kept me on my toes. I love a twisty mystery, as long as it all feels logical to me, and this was did not disappoint. Lots of fun and intrigue!
The New Couple in 5B is a modern retelling of Rosemary's Baby (get it? The protagonist’s name is Rosie), with hints of The Shining. It's more horror than Unger's usual thriller mystery. The story is pretty intriguing and scary, although Rosie is hard to like because she is just so stupidly naive!
Thank you Park Row for the digital review copy.
Regrettably, this novel did not resonate with me as much as others by the same author. The incorporation of the paranormal aspect within the apartment did not appeal to me. Despite the initial anticipation, I felt that the story took too long to truly develop, and by the halfway point, not much of significance had occurred. It seemed to revolve around a substantial amount of female gaslighting, which did not sit well with me.
Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Park Row for this arc!
5/5 stars!
The couple in 5B was a fast paced and engrossing story that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! I really loved Rosie as a character, and the other people who loved in their building, the Windermere (what a name too!) were so mysterious!! Fantastic book!
This is not only one of Lisa Unger's best books, but its completely different to her previous books. Very dark and a little gothic.. The writer keeps you on your toes deciding who is telling the truth and who is not the person they would like you to believe they are. A young couple receive an inherritance of a New York apartment when an uncle dies. However, although their apartment is beautiful, the building has an interesting past. There was a couple of things that did not make sense. For example, how did Sarah know where to find her sister., but I still found the book hard to put down.
This book was just ok for me. I love the setting and the premise of the story. I felt like there were some storylines that were left unfinished or that I needed more information. It was an easy read that had plenty of twists and turns.
I just reviewed The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger. #TheNewCouplein5B #NetGalley
This is a story about a young couple. The writer is researching a building in New York called the Windermere for her next book and then gets to live there. Her husband is an actor whose recently deceased Uncle has bequeathed them his apartment.
The story was engaging from start to finish with many twists and turns. There are a few chapters telling what happened at the Windermere in 1963 which the writer later learns something about. There is a bit of a supernatural vibe and suspicious characters. I would highly recommend “The New Couple in 5B”.
I really enjoyed this dark and twisty read. The setting and characters were great! The plot kept me guessing and the setting really helped advance the plot.
What I find so compelling about this book is the way it captures the foreboding buildings of NYC that are rich with history—dark and otherwise—and combines them with ghost stories, mysticism and skepticism all rolled into one. There was a lot of really exciting elements and it certainly kept me on my toes with so many ominous twists. Ultimately, I was a bit underwhelmed by final act and felt like there were some bits left unanswered that may have tied it together in a more thrilling way. Still, though, there was one last twist that I think made for quite a pay off.
This was a little bit different than the Lisa Unger stories I have read and loved in the past. There is some supernatural and haunted happenings going on here. What else would you expect in a story about inheriting an historic building with several mysterious deaths having happened there in the past? There are some elements of a typical thriller, horror and murder mystery but the supernatural elements did not interest me. It is a good story and I think it will appeal to many. I like this author but did not expect the supernatural theme to be that disinteresting to me. Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
So happy to have a new Lisa Unger book all to myself for a few days!! This one had many details I loved.
1. Haunted house
2. Main character from a weirdo family
3. Mystery of all these people getting offed but no one knowing who/how/why.
4. Name-dropping of Jones Cooper and The Hollows.
Just when you think it's all over, there's one last twist that you kind of knew was coming but it's still a whammy when it does. I was pretty surprised that Lisa Unger chose to end with that event. There were some very sad moments in this book, which made Rosie seem real and relatable (even if she frustrated me at times.) I would love to read a story about her sister Sarah and the Ozark clan!
There was so much that is good in this book. I frequently became uneasy as I generally sit and read at night, and the ghostly aspects were so well-written. The intertwining of characters was well done, and there was definitely intrigue. Murder, suicide- it has it all.
That being said, there were some details that ran through the book that I found unnecessary and undeveloped (the evil eye necklaces for instance), The revelation regarding Chad was also a bit anti-climactic.
Overall, the book was a solid read.
I did not love this book. It had some supernatural parts that were not my favorite. I was, however, surprised by the ending. I
Rosie and Chad Lowan are hustling to stay above water in New York. Rosie has written a true-crime book that did well, but not great and Chad tries out for plays, advertisements, or TV shows, anything to earn a buck. They inherit an apartment in the Windermere, a venerable NYC building, after Chad's uncle dies. Rosie and Chad took care of Uncle Ivan during his illness, while his daughter, Dana, ignored him. Dana, however, is not at all happy about their inheritance. She thinks she should have gotten the apartment, worth over $5 million. The next thing you know, Dana is dead. Then, another resident of the Windermere falls off the roof after telling Rosie he had something to tell her. Meanwhile, the older couple next door seems to spend a lot of time currying favor with the Lowans, as does the omnipresent doorman, Abi. More deaths ensue. Who is killing the residents of the Windermere? Chad has a shady past that Rosie does not know about. Are previous residents of the Windermere still haunting the building? I usually like Lisa Unger's books, but this one seemed to me to be a complete rip-off of Rosemary's Baby -- creepy old apartment building, solicitous older couple, a young couple trying to get pregnant. The ending is not quite what i expected, so there is that.
Stayed up late into the night to finish reading this one. Reminded me a bit of Rosemary's Baby and I later learned that the author was inspired by that book. This story is un-put-downable!
Lisa Unger's "The New Couple in 5B" is the perfect book to read around Halloween. It's a thriller and a ghost story with surprising twists and turns. Than you to #NetGalley for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book. There were so many twists and turns. It was a little slow moving for me, but other than that I would recommend it to friends.