# Read the first page of The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger Read the opening of The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger free, no signup. A struggling pair inherits a grand Manhattan apartment with a violent past. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/the-new-couple-in-5b-lisa-unger - Genre: Thrillers - Year: 2024 - ISBN: 9780369722416 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780369722416&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9780369722416 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9780369722416 ## The opening Pounding. They’re at the door. You know what’s funny? Even on that day we first met, I knew it would end like this. Not really. Not exactly this, not a premonition, or a vision of the future. But even in the light you shined on me, even as you made me be the person I always wanted to be, there was this dark entity hovering, a specter. The destroyer. You were always too good for me, and I knew I could never hold on to the things we would build together. Sounds rise and converge—your voice, their pounding, that wailing, the endless honking and whir of movement from this place we have lived in and loved. The weight of my body, I close my eyes and feel it. The beating of my heart, the rise and fall of my breath. I tilt and wobble on the edge, as you move closer, hands outstretched. “We’ll be okay,” you whisper. At least I think that’s what you say. I can hardly hear you over all the noise. Your eyes, like the city below me, a swirling galaxy of lights. You’re close now, hand reaching. Just one step forward or backward. Which one? Which one, my love? one Sometimes the smallest things are the biggest. Like the slim rectangular box that sits at the bottom of my tote. Maybe just six inches long and two inches wide. Light, flimsy, its contents clatter when shaken. But it’s a whispering presence, a white noise buzzing in my consciousness. Max, dapper in a houndstooth blazer and thin camel cashmere sweater, peers at the oversize menu, considering. As if he isn’t going to order the penne ala vodka and salad he always does. I hold mine, as well, perusing my options. As if I’m not going to get the pizza margherita, no salad. The tony Italian restaurant on Broadway across from my publisher’s office is packed, silverware clinking, conversations a low hum. Lots of business being done over sparkling waters and tuna tartare. Outside the big picture window, beside which we sit, the river of traffic flows, horns and hissing buses, the screech of brakes, the occasional shout from annoyed drivers. Beneath all of that, I feel it, the presence of that slim box, so full of possibility. The waitress takes our expected orders, deposits Max’s usual bottle of Pellegrino. I’m a tap water girl, but he pours me a glass, always the gentleman. I note his manicured nails, buffed and square, the white face of his Patek Philippe. No smartwatch for him. Max appreciates timepieces for their elegant union of form and function. “So,” he says, placing the green bottle on the white tablecloth. I don’t love the sound of that word. Max and I have known each other a long time. There’s a heaviness to it, a caution. “So?” “Your proposal.” That’s why we’ve met for lunch, to discuss the proposal I’ve submitted for my new book. He slips my proposal out of the slim leather folder he’s laid on the table between us. “There’s a lot to like here.” That’s publishing code for I don’t like it. How many times did I say the same thing to authors I was editing? I have always been a writer, scribbling in the nooks and crannies of my days, my foray into publishing just a stop on the road to the writing life. But Max never wanted to be anything else more than an editor, the one who helped talented writers do their best work. “But?” I venture. He lifts his eyebrows, clears his throat. Max and I met when we were both editorial assistants, fresh out of the Columbia Publishing Course. We were so eager to enter the world of letters, literature geeks seduced by what we imagined was the glitz and glamour of the industry. ## Books with a similar feel - [The Novels of Gillian Flynn by Gillian Flynn](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-novels-of-gillian-flynn-gillian-flynn.md) - [Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica](https://uncovered.ink/read/dont-you-cry-mary-kubica.md) - [Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson](https://uncovered.ink/read/her-every-fear-peter-swanson.md) - [Heft by Liz Moore](https://uncovered.ink/read/heft-liz-moore.md) - [They're Watching by Gregg Hurwitz](https://uncovered.ink/read/theyre-watching-gregg-hurwitz.md) - [The King of Torts by John Grisham](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-king-of-torts-john-grisham.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.