The New Couple in 5B – Lisa Unger

Summary

Rosie and Chad Lowan are struggling to make ends meet in bustling New York City when their lives are turned upside down by a life-changing announcement.

Chad’s recently deceased uncle has bequeathed them his luxurious apartment at the prestigious Windermere in the glamorous neighborhood of Murray Hill. The building exudes the grandeur of a bygone era, with its elegant prewar design and impeccably dressed doorman, epitomizing the charm of old New York. However, behind its flawless facade lies a dark history that is not immediately apparent.

Initially, the building and its diverse inhabitants seem warm and inviting, but as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie becomes increasingly suspicious that there may be more to the Windermere than meets the eye.

Review

I LOVED Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, my first ever Lisa Unger book. Although I found Christmas Presents to be quite predictable, I liked it enough to continue checking out the rest of Unger’s books. Imagine my delight when I found out she was joining the roster of ‘24 releases.

Cover art? Impeccable. Title? Mysterious, eye-catching. Love the new typography for her. Summary? Not just intriguing, but right up my alley.

I loved Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door, so it was no surprise that I was first in line to read The New Couple in 5B.

However, I did not anticipate that this was going to have full-on paranormal aspects.

When the first mention of ghosts came I was thinking ‘Huh? Oh, I guess this is going to be like a “she’s suffering from a break of reality” thing for the MC’ (which I don’t mind, not at all). But then the paranormal started to become too frequent, and I thought it was going to be an is-it-paranormal-really-though à la Sager. But no.

I don’t quite like paranormal in my thriller books. I started to read Ronald Malfi’s Come With Me but quickly DNF’d it at, like, the third chapter, because I just feel so turned off when these aspects are fully incorporated into the story. Perhaps if I had known that there were going to be supernatural elements, I wouldn’t have picked up the book.

Now, I loved the setting. Really like when a place is the main character of a book, like the Windemere here. Rosie and Chad are a couple that I, to be honest, found hard to feel the chemistry from (till the ending, I guess, and even then I felt it only from one side).

Another aspect that impacted my enjoyment of the book is that there were quite a number of side characters that were a bit difficult to keep track of, like the many residents of the Windermere, and some of those characters are kind of important, so I would recommend keeping track of everyone here.

All in all, loved the vibes, loved the setting, good writing, but this title still fell short, which means for me, a specific 3.25 rating.

Click for spoilers!

Abi the doorman was Willa’s lover in 1960, and he perhaps was the one who killed Ella and Charles’s son, Miles, because he discovered their affair. This part is very open to speculation. He was also being blackmailed by Ella and Charles Aldridge to help them carry out their crimes; they were the ones who killed Xavier and drugged + kidnapped Rosie, Chad, Max, Sarah, and Olivia. (Sarah was Rosie’s sister; Max was her best friend and former editor; and Olivia was their lawyer, who was also seeing Max romantically in secret).

Ella and Charles wanted the 5B apartment and to keep the Windemere pure.

Chad was a psychopath/serial killer, and serial liar. He lied to Rosie about knowing the Aldridge’s daughter, Lilian; he manipulated his uncle into giving them the apartment and killed his nurse; he killed Dana because she was going to tell Rosie he killed his ex-girlfriend; and he, additionally, kills the brother of the ex, although he was blamed for her death. He also killed his parents.