I have read several other boks by this author, and I have enjoyed them, This one was decent, and I enjoyed the fast pace and engaging storyline. I would recommend this one!

Lisa Unger definitely has a wild imagination! So first vibes of this book made me think of Rosemary's Baby. Then about half way thru it took a more of a psychological thriller. I definitely didn't guess the ending!

This was a rather disappointing read that dragged on for way too long. It felt like a lot was happening when in reality really nothing was.

I enjoyed this book for a few reasons. The first was that it was creepy! There were elements of paranormal that I (shockingly) actually enjoyed. I definitely wouldn't classify this as a ghost story though so don't let that put you off if paranormal stories aren't your thing. They aren't mine either and I still enjoyed it. Secondly, I loved the setting of an old luxury apartment building where death after death occur. I was intrigued by the plot and some parts manage to surprise me, while others felt so glaringly obvious I assumed I must be wrong. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this one and seeing how the pieces fell into the place at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm, this concept had so much potential. I found myself easily reading through but the plot and characters left me wanting. A 3 star from me.

This book was full of twists and turns from the very beginning. There wasn't as much paranormal as I thought there would be. The building was full of people that were not trustworthy which made it hard to figure out what was happening. I would recommend to anyone that like psychological thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

I wasn’t really a fan of this. I’m not sure why I even requested it to be honest. Just wasn’t for me.

The New Couple in 5B felt so different from Unger's previous stories but still had that same intriguing writing style that drew me in from the beginning. I really enjoyed the various horror-like elements throughout this story and it really reminded me of Riley Sager's Lock Every Door, which I also loved. If you've read and enjoyed Unger's previous work I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my review copy!

4 stars. I really liked this book it kept me on edge the whole time. I ended up doing audio and think they helped me understand the story. I liked the spooky house elements

Disappointing mystery thriller.

Chad and Rosie Lowan are over the moon when they inherit a luxury apartment in the historic NYC building known as the Windermere. Soon, however, the atmosphere takes an ominous tone and Rosie begins to fear that there are unhappy ghosts that linger in the apartments, the halls, and the basement. Horrible things have taken place in this building. Suddenly, people they know are dying and Rosie is afraid she might be next.

This was overly long and repetitive with a dual timeline and the one thing I cannot tolerate in my crime fiction -- the supernatural. I did not care for any of the characters and even though the author dangled a lot of red herrings, it was quite predicable and the outcome no surprise. Rosie was annoying and the others quite stereotypical in their roles as friends, husband, and relatives. I listened to the audiobook as I read along, and I found the narrator very irritating with her attempts at doing all the voices though she seemed to channel Rosie's angst and histrionics appropriately. In short, this requires dealing with the slow pace and all the melodrama while suspending disbelief at every turn of the page.

Although I am grateful for the advance copy of the e-book ARC, I can't recommend this unless you enjoy those aspects of this story that I do not.

2.5 stars

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (But full disclosure, I read a library copy because the text was funky looking!)

This is one of several vacation reads that I really wanted to like but fell flat. I don’t know if it’s me or the books - maybe I’m in a rut, maybe they’re really all just meh. Our protagonists here are Rosie and Chad. He’s an actor who’s just one great role shy of his big break (or so he keeps insisting), and she’s a true crime writer. When Chad’s uncle dies, the couple ends up inheriting his fabulous apartment (instead of his own daughter, and yes she DOES take that quite personally). Rosie is thrilled because the building itself is sort of infamous and would make a great subject for her next book. I think what drew me to this initially was the Only Murders in the Building vibes, but it’s just not as fun.

Although there have apparently been multiple mysterious deaths at the Windermere over the years, the story we focus on in the flashbacks is that of the couple who lived in the apartment before Ivan (Chad’s uncle).Willa and Paul were also a married couple (I think in this case HE was the writer. She was a dancer). Although they’re trying to get pregnant just like Rosie and Chad, Willa was having an affair. There are quite a few flashbacks and honestly they left me quite bored. We know what happens going in - the husband kills her and then himself. And also in that same time frame, a child fell down the elevator shaft and died. But we know all of this very early on thanks to Rosie’s research, so going back and seeing all of this through Willa’s eyes just didn’t seem necessary (I guess it’s so the reveal of her lover’s identity has more impact? Meh).

Rosie also thinks she’s seeing ghosts - particularly the little boy who died. This isn’t really dealt with - like…were the ghosts real? Was she just imagining them? I don’t mind a supernatural bent, but it felt out of place here. I think there’s just too much going on - we’ve got the literary world and couples’ drama and ghosts and cold cases and current murders…it’s all just too much. And as other reviewers have mentioned, it felt like a slog.

I loved the twists in this book. They were not unpredictable, but still well done. I liked the use of the supernatural elements, and how the stories for previous tenants were told in back stories that wove through the stories of the main protagonist, Rosie Lowan, and her husband Chad. How all of the parts of the backstories of the other tenants in the apartments were exposed and how they ultimately all came together at the end was well done. Plus that ending twist, which was the one that was easier to see coming I think, still was a good final act for the book.

Lisa Unger is a master thriller author and The New Couple in 5B had me up well into the early hours finishing this masterpiece! Highly recommend and will purchase several physical and digital copies for library collections.

Excellent thriller, with thrilling supernatural elements that leave you questioning what's real and what isn't. At times, it feels like our main character is an unreliable narrator, and at other times, it seems like she's the only one who could possibly be right. Through murders, suicides, and scandals, the reader is in for a wild ride along with the main character, trying to determine who she can trust, if anyone. This book was well written, and kept my interest! It reads very quickly, and I couldn't wait to see what happened.

I deducted one star from my rating because the pacing was a little slow at times. I also was hoping for a little more content from the past POVs, which we didn't get a lot of. There was also a few times I thought it was a little repetitive in mentioning certain events or thoughts.

A great read overall and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers!

This book had me guessing to the end. Loved the unreliable narrative, although felt very sad for her upbringing and life experiences. But made her that much more of a loveable character juxtaposed against so much dark around her.

I did find the beginning dragged on a bit much resulting in the 3 ⭐️overall

Haunted buildings, like, I mean, buildings that seem to have their own 'spirit' creep me out but in a good way. Rosie and her husband Chad inherit a posh apartment. The building has been the scene of many deaths over the years...suicide, accident, homicide. Their doorman hears everything, the basement is creepy, the neighbors are off, and Rosie's husband has too many secrets. This reminded me of a good ol' black and white Alfred Hitchcock film. 3 stars only because some things just didn't add up or make sense to me at the end, but I still enjoyed the read.

I was so not expecting the twist!!!!! would rate it 4/5
This book sort of reminded me of the show "only m*rders un the building" with selena gomez but in a much creepier and dark way with less quirky characters.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, I liked reading about these NY ghost stories and picturing the apartment building, the people living in the apartments and all the sinister things that happened or could've happened there.
I didn't give it 5 stars or a higher rating because there were some character flaws with Rosie that drove me crazy.... she was way too trusting, way too naive, and way too annoying sometimes with her reactions to things, so I didn't enjoy that part too much. I was also always rooting for her editor, he gave me such nice vibes throughout the book.
The Windermere building counted as a secondary character, and I love the colorful depiction of it throughout the author's storytelling.
would've liked some characters or their stories to have been a bit more fleshed out and descriptive, but overall an enjoyable read, not too dark or scary or even too thriller focused, more mystical mystery.

note: thanks Netgalley and publishers for the free ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Started slow for me and then the mystery and thrills hooked me in. The creepy characters and the building setting I kept picturing in my mind as Unger describes them so well. I figured out the ending early on but the ending doesn’t disappoint. Another win by this author.

This book had so much hype to live up too. I went in expecting more of a thriller and it ended more of a ghost story. I was excepting much more but it just didn’t hit the nail on the head for me. I still love the author and look forward to her next book.



Thanks Netgalley on this ARC.

Supernatural, dual prospectives/timelines build to create a suspenseful story that keeps you intrigued till the end.