Title: The New Couple in 5B
Author: Lisa Unger
Publication: January 21, 2025
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 384
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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
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.
At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn’t feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there’s more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I have read many Lisa Unger books before so my bar is pretty high for what I am expecting. She is definitely one of the top thriller writers I can think of. The New Couple in 5B definitely did not disappoint me.
The story follows Rosie and Chad as they move into the new apartment they inherited from a late uncle of the Chad. There is a ridiculous amount of drama surrounding that, which is great for a page-turner. Right away I had a bit of deja vu. This reminded me of another book I read that I cannot put my finger on. It was a story of a girl house-sitting in an apartment building in New York (I think) and they were bringing in young people to take their body parts to save the older, rich people in the building. The general story line reminded me of this book a lot. That was not what was happening in this book but overall it had the same vibe.
Unger wrote so many suspense-building, crazy twists in this that I was suspicious of everyone. To be honest, I probably never would have moved into that apartment based on the immense number of red-flags, but it wasn’t me. Rosie was my favorite character and I loved how alert she was. She was trying to figure out what was happening and I appreciated that. Chad was suspicious from the start and I just didn’t like him at all. I felt he was gaslighting her at all times. The side characters, such as the door man, neighbors, etc were all weird, but fun additions to the story.
Ungers writing style keeps you on the edge of your seat and constantly guessing. Just as I would have a suspicion on what the final outcome would be, something would happen to keep me guessing. Then at the end there were so many twists that I just did not suspect any of it. Unger really threw me and made the book interesting. The only reason I didn’t give 5-stars is because at times I felt it was just too much and all the terrible things that could happen did.
Lisa Unger is a thriller queen, and I will definitely be picking up more of her books. If you love really crazy neighbors, suspicious characters, and a book to keep you jumping from one idea to the next, pick up The New Couple in 5B.
