I had to dnf at 5%. There was just too much focus on her partner it wasn't garnering my attention. I started feeling like I was picking up a romance novel more. the first few pages are just so essential for me to be able to form that connection.

I enjoy a dual timeline, and this was told by Rosie’s perspective in the present, with some chapters being in 1963. I found Rosie to be a little naive and trusting, but I also found her to be optimistic and kind. I could not stand Chad, and I found his perfect husband persona to be fake. I did not trust him, and I honestly did not trust anyone in the Windermere. Everyone in that building seemed creepy, or hiding something.

While this was a slow burn, I didn’t know where the story was taking me. I felt at any moment it could have gone the supernatural route. I was very intrigued by the history of the building, and I felt like Willa’s perspective gave me a glimpse into the neighbors and their past. This was very atmospheric, and you could feel the tension. This had strong Rosemary’s Baby and Only Murders In The Building vibes, and I was here for it.

Rosie and Chad, cash-strapped newlyweds, inherit a dream apartment in the opulent Windermere. But the glamour fades fast. Haunted by a spectral boy and plagued by the watchful eyes of the unnervingly knowledgeable doorman, Rosie delves into Windermere's past – a grisly tapestry of deaths, accidents, and a history built on the embers of a burned-down church. The residents, initially welcoming, become threatening ciphers with hidden, possibly occult agendas. Rosie, already a bit of a haunted character herself, begins to lean into the past she's been running from as she unravels the truth. I enjoyed the story right up until some key things were revealed; I don't want to say anything potentially spoilery, but for all the supernatural buildup, the motives of the people behind the nefarious shenanigans are terribly, disappointingly mundane.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, The Hive, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Synopsis: Rosie and her husband, Chad, have been the primary care-takers for Chad’s dying uncle. After he passes, they are shocked to discover, he had updated his will and left them an apartment worth millions of dollars. In a moment, their lives have changed and they are settling into their dream home. It isn’t long before weird things start happening and Rosie begins looking into the apartment and discovers its gruesome past. Is there more to the Windermere than meets the eye?

My thoughts: The haunted house trope is a favorite for many of us and the historic, gothic apartment in The New Couple in 5B set the perfect eerie backdrop to this story. I struggled with the first half because it was slow-moving with alternating timelines that felt a bit all over the place.. The second half picked up and filled in some of the gaps while delivering a good twist. I’m definitely more of a domestic/psychological thriller girl, and ultimately, supernatural elements and ghost stories just aren’t my thing. I think if you enjoy paranormal, you’ll have better luck with this than me!

Rosie and Chad Lowan have hit the proverbial jackpot. Chad's elderly uncle, Ivan, has died and left his multi-million dollar apartment in the Windermere on Park Avenue in NYC to Chad. The couple quickly make plans to move in and find the building and its inhabitants warm and welcoming...at first.

Rosie, a true-crime novelist, isn't quite as pumped as Chad is with their turn of fortune, but decides to make the best of it. After a bit of time at the Windermere, Rosie starts to notice a strange/dark energy about the building. The building has an intercom system that not only allows the inhabitants to talk to the doorman at any time of day by simply saying his name ("Hey Siri?" anyone?). There are video cameras everywhere, the same doorman is always on duty, and the residents aren't entirely what they appear to be. Rosie decides to make her next book based on the history of the Windermere and begins to uncover the dark secrets hidden inside its walls.

This had major shades of Rosemary's Baby - a classic. I always enjoy the concept of a locked-room mystery (or in this case, a locked building?) and had a good time trying to parse out how I thought everything would shake out. The supernatural elements threw me off and took me out of the story, though. I think more tension/suspense could have been built without the addition of ghosts, if I'm being quite honest.

All in all, a pretty good read.

The New Couple in 5B takes place in the Windemere at 55 Park Avenue, a place steeped in eerie history and the perfect setting. It's a horror lover's dream with a dash of historical intrigue.

Chad and Rosie Lowan, the newlyweds at the center of our story, inherit a fancy $5 million apartment from Chad's Uncle Ivan. Rosie, who's a writer, gets hooked on the idea of penning a book about the building's grim past, which includes everything from murders and suicides to natural deaths—and their very own apartment has its own dark story.

Initially, the Windemere seems charming, with its quirky residents and historic vibes, complete with original gargoyles at the door. But weird things start happening. The same doorman is always strangely on duty, there are cameras everywhere, and an intercom that seems to have a mind of its own.

The whole setup gives off a gothic, claustrophobic vibe that pulls you in, though you'll have to suspend your disbelief a bit.

This book was incredible! From the first chapter it pulled me in & had me guessing! I love how her husband was one step ahead of everything, and there was so much manipulation & mystery! It was chilling to the bone and reminded me a lot of the writing of B.A. Paris! A must read thriller! 👏🏻👏🏻🩵

When I did get around to starting the book, I was quickly drawn in. Rosie is a sympathetic and relatable narrator, and the story moves along at a brisk pace. Rosie is an author who is pitching her next book, which happens to be about the history of the Windemere, the evocative and storied apartment building that she became familiar with while nursing her husband’s uncle Ivan through his final illness. As the story opens she’s having lunch with her friend and agent Max to discuss the project. Their lunch is interrupted by a tragedy on the sidewalk outside – a bicyclist is hit and killed by a car, dying right in front of the window Rosie and Max are sitting by. The unsettling incident isn’t connected to subsequent events, but nevertheless casts a macabre pall over the story. (It’s not the last time Rosie will encounter a dead body; not by a long shot.)

Shaken, Rosie heads home to take a pregnancy test – she and Chad are trying to conceive, with no luck so far. She’s interrupted by an unexpected visitor – Ivan’s daughter Dana, whom Rosie has never met. Estranged from Ivan, Dana angrily confronts Rosie with the news that she and Chad have inherited Ivan’s apartment, which Dana had expected to go to her. Chad quickly arrives and attempts to placate Dana, who leaves spewing threats of legal action and ominous declarations that Rosie doesn’t know the man she married.

The news that Rosie and Chad have been gifted this beautiful apartment is met with euphoria on Chad’s part. Rosie’s feelings are a bit more complicated. First of all, she feels guilty about Dana. Also, while the absence of a rent payment helps – Chad is a struggling actor and Rosie needs to get a deal for this next book to bring money in – there are also taxes and maintenance and co-op fees to consider. Rosie, the pragmatist of the two, is already thinking they may not be able to hold onto the place for long before having to sell it.

This book had obvious parallels to Rosemary’s Baby, from the protagonist’s name to her husband’s profession to the seemingly benign elderly neighbors (but are they?) to the intriguing but increasingly unsettling apartment building. The author acknowledges the homage in the notes at the end of the book. I am ambivalent about supernatural elements in suspense, but I thought it was rather well done, for the most part, in The New Couple in 5B. (Possible spoiler: there are no Satanists and no demon babies in this book.)

The supernatural touch extends to something that Rosie experiences after moving in: she sees dead people. (Shades of another horror movie!) One is a silent little boy that she first encounters in the basement; later she sees a mysterious young lady in the landing outside her apartment.

Rosie’s sixth sense goes back to childhood, a childhood that she alludes to as difficult early in the book. She is estranged from her parents, and when her younger sister contacts her, she gives off a weird cult vibe. The truth is a bit less ominous, to the point that I wondered why it was such a big deal. (To be fair, I shouldn’t judge anyone for being traumatized by their crazy relatives.)

In my last review, of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, I said there was a lot going on in that book, and it’s true for The New Couple in 5B as well. Though the books are *very* different, they actually share a few similarities, such as the paranormal abilities of their heroines.

Things that are going on in this book: both Rosie and Chad at professional crossroads, trying to push themselves to greater success in challenging fields; their attempts to conceive; the big move into the new place; and the fact that bodies start piling up shortly after that move. (That last one is probably a bit out of place with its prosaic predecessors.)

Other concerns: Rosie wonders about the odd, apparently ageless and seemingly on call 24/7 doorman, Abi. She’s disturbed by a newly installed speaker system in the apartments, in which residents can contact Abi by simply saying his name, like a corporeal Alexa. (Who thought THAT was a good idea? Rosie seems to be the only one remotely concerned about privacy implications.)

Weird things start to happen, like a box of Ivan’s stuff that she was trying to transport disappears. She sees a woman staring daggers at her at the opening of Chad’s play, but when she’s later introduced to the woman in another setting, the woman claims that she wasn’t at the play. There are a number of these sorts of unsettling incidents in the book, and while some of them don’t go anywhere, they are effective at conveying a sense that things are not quite right.

Also, there is a secondary storyline set in 1963; in the same apartment Rosie and Chad inherit, a couple named Willa and Paul live. These chapters are narrated by Willa; she’s a discontented wife to a novelist husband, and she’s cheating on him with an unnamed man. These interludes are interesting even though the resolution of the story can be seen coming from a mile away, and the identity of Willa’s lover is obvious as well. I’m not sure the storyline adds much to the overall story, but it doesn’t detract from it.

One also wonders about the solicitous neighbors, Ella and Charles. Charles grew up in the apartment they occupy, and in fact both apartments used to be one unit; Rosie’s apartment having been sold off long before. They seemed nice, so I wondered if it was the Rosemary’s Baby connection that was making me uneasy?

Of course, as bodies start to pile up, Rosie has more to worry about than weird neighbors. She and Max find an apparent suicide, and Rosie’s inability to reach Chad in the aftermath pings her suspicion. An acquaintance (apparently) jumps off the roof of the Windemere. In both cases, the dead person had reached out to Rosie and planned to tell her something important, but died before they could. Another character goes missing and then is found dead, and the police detective investigating the two previous deaths starts to focus on a suspect close to Rosie.

Chad appears devoted to Rosie, but he has a feckless air and a disturbing incident in his past that Rosie knows about. She trusts him, but should she? She’s aware that he gets away with a lot using his good looks and charm, and that does make her uneasy, particularly at certain key points in the story.

The New Couple in 5B had a reasonably non-batshit ending (or should I say endings?). The characters’ behaviors more or less made sense, as much as murder ever does. But I noticed there was still a bit of book left, which made the second ending predictable but somehow a little irritating to me? I’m not sure why but I think I would’ve preferred a slightly different ending. But overall this was a really solid suspense read for me – I’ll give it a B+ and look for other work from the author.

Thank you for the advanced copy of The New Couple in 5B.

The setting of the story was absolutely perfect...and old apartment building in Murray Hill. While I was not expecting the supernatural element of the story, I was hooked from the very beginning and wanted to see how the story was going to end. This is a great book for those thriller lovers who love stories that are similar to Rosemary's Baby.

Another domestic suspense novel that proves that Lisa Unger is one of the best writers in the genre. Her call-backs to the works that inspire her, her flawless prose, her descriptions, her characters... reading this book is an absolute treat. My only quibble was the ending. Personally, I would have liked the supernatural element played up, and the connection the protagonist had with that element given more weight in the book's conclusion. Other readers may disagree, but I'm sure we'll all agree on what a master writer Unger is.

I enjoyed this one. I really loved the setting - a beautiful old apartment building in New York with a questionable past? Yes please! The characters who lived there were an eclectic bunch, and I liked how everything tied together

It was a little slow moving at the beginning but once I got into it it picked up. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Rosie and Chad Lowan are a struggling couple in New York City, until one day they find out they have inherited a fancy apartment from Chad's late Uncle Ivan. The prewar apartment is named the Windemere and is worth millions of dollars.

Upon arriving the couple received a warm welcome from the tenants, but it wasn't long before Rosie starts realizing there's a dark energy about the Windemere and the tenants are not quite what they portray themselves to be. The same doorman is always on duty, there are cameras everywhere, and newly installed intercoms within the apartments that they can talk to the doorman through. In addition, the Windemere has a history of terrible crimes and deaths that have happened in the past

Then when one of Rosie's neighbors ends up dead she realizes she needs to figure out what's going on or something could end up happening to her.

I thoroughly enjoyed The New Couple in 5B! Rosie was a very likable character and the mystery was a lot of fun, as was the history of the Windemere. To help with this the reader is given the perspective of Willa who lived in Rosie's apartment with her husband before Ivan purchased it. I loved getting her story too, because it added to the mystique of the building.

There were 3 twists in this book and I figured out 2 of the 3, for the most part. That didn't spoil it for me, but I will say I was a bit disappointed with the way it ended. I feel like it could have been more spectacular for all that was happening to Rosie and in the Windemere. However there was one reveal that did have my jaw on the floor.

All in all, despite figuring out much of the end, I will say that I really enjoyed The New Couple in 5 B and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery/thriller.

I tried to get into this book, but it just wasn’t for me. The flashbacks and the parallelism seemed a tad too unbelievable. The main character’s insecurities were frustrating, and I did not enjoy it. I appreciate the ARC, courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

Many thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I tried a few times to get into this but unfortunately, it was not for me. I really enjoy the author but this fell short of my expectations. I encourage others to try it for themselves!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third Lisa Unger book and by far my favorite of hers. This gave me major Rosemary's Baby vibes. I ate it up.

I LOVE a locked-room mystery, especially one based in New York, so I was super excited to read this. From the very beginning you can feel a sense of unease and tension between Rosie and her new neighbors, (and the creepy doorman -who’s always there and always watching!) even though her husband thinks of them as great friends. Rosie doesn’t quite trust them, but Chad convinces her she’s being ridiculous. There’s also a supernatural element to the story when ghosts try to warn Rosie she’s in danger, but exactly who is she in danger from? While reading this book I kept thinking about the catch phrase from a 1930’s radio show my mom used to talk about. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" *Insert evil laugh* It had everything you want in a good mystery and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Highly recommend!

Rosie and Chad inherit a beautiful apartment in a coveted NYC neighborhood upon the death of his uncle, one of his only living relatives who they have been caring for. But the building has a history of death - suicides and murders - and Rosie, a true crime author, is inspired to write about it. All that would be one thing if Rosie doesn't feel an unnatural presence in the building and strange things start to happen. “There’s a lot to like here” - as said by Rosie's editor and the reader will feel the same way.

Creepy, psychological, cliff hanger with so many twists and turns. Some likable characters (Rosie, Max), but many not so likable (Rosie’s husband Chad, the next-door neighbors and the door man, Abi). The setting is in New York City in an old historic apartment building.
Rosie and Chad inherit his uncle’s luxury apartment in the Windermere on Park Avenue. They consider themselves so lucky, since they are barely keeping their heads above water. Rosie is an author, researching and writing with the help of her editor Max. Chad is an actor, waiting for his big break. After moving into the Windermere, many creepy things begin to happen. Ghosts, deaths, secrets…
The author keeps lots of secrets that get revealed slowly throughout the novel. It is hard to know who to believe and who not to believe. Rosie learns from her neighbor that the “building is a dream maker, only a certain type of person should be allowed to live there, otherwise it loses its energy, becomes less.”
Can Rosie and Chad be happy here? Will their marriage survive all the ghostly adventures that this novel presents? Once again, Lisa Unger proves that she is a master at writing suspense-filled novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on March 5, 2024.

A married couple hoping to conceive yet struggling with affording housing in New York unexpectedly inherit an apartment in a sought-after luxurious building, after their uncle passes away. While the couple is excited to move in, there are strange things happening in the complex, particularly with their neighbors and doorman. Not to mention, her husband has been acting strange too. What secrets are hiding within the walls of this complex and why has her husband suddenly been acting strange? The truth is uncovered through a series of twists and turns.

Thank you to HTP and Park Row for my copy of THE NEW COUPLE IN 3B by Lisa Unger. This one is out now!

Lisa Unger knows what we want and she just continues to deliver it. The atmosphere in this one was my favorite part. If you like your thrillers with a slight touch of the supernatural, this one is worth checking out. The ending left me a little lost and I still need to discuss this one. If you're read it, or plan to, let me know so we can chat about it. I definitely recommend this one.