Apartment Five Is Alive

by Russell Atwood

A Different Kind of Haunted House novel, by the author of EAST OF A and LOSERS LIVE LONGER. Spanning six decades, this book tells the story of a small apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with BIG ideas a, especially when it comes to HALLOWEEN.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Audiobook, Halloween

187 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2020

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I picked this book for the cover. It kind of reminds me of the opening Of Get Smart from yesteryear. Also, I have been interested in reading a book by this author. I wasn't certain what I was getting into at first. I wasn't sure that Apartment Five had the edge that I craved. Reading further, I became fully invested and appreciated the morbid stories of the residents of the apartment. The edge crept up on me quietly, and I look forward to reading more by Russell Atwood.

[William Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, it's a great Halloween story. It's very well written and you will be turning the pages wanting to get to the end, but you won't want it to end.
I have books I read every October (My Halloween favorites) This book is going to the top of the list. It's a must read. You can get it on Amazon or if you live in the area of Westfield Mass. stop into the Blue Umbrella Book Store. The owner is the author of this fabulous book and you can get your copy signed. It will be well worth your trip.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect read for the season. Creative twist on the haunted house story, but this one is about an Apartment that has a fondness for Halloween. Filled with many creepy moments. Highly recommended!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Didn’t want it to end. Since the apartment loved Halloween it was a great read for this time of year. I highly recommend this book.

[Christine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun and exciting to read. I’ve never read a book with an apartment as a villain! Very imaginative and creepy!

[Mark Schiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grimy, greasy 80s-style New York housing horror. Atwood kills this one, definitely worth a look!

[Susan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

The best Halloween story I’ve read in a long time. Very descriptive and even though you could guess the ending, it was still dramatic. Loved it.

[Spooky Little Book Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect spooky season read! I love that the apartment is the villain. It’s moody, cranky, and doesn’t like most people. Halloween is definitely its favorite time of year. Such an interesting book character!

It was fun learning about all the different tenants and how they lived their lives throughout the years. They all had wildly different careers and personalities. You get the apartment’s feelings about them too which was fun.

The Halloween decorations described are amazingly creative. There is so much detail that really makes it feel like you’re there. I could see everything in my mind so clearly.

If you’re looking for a spooky read set around Halloween, this is it!

[Mike Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this. It is some great horror. A concept I don't remember hearing of.

[Alison C · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Apartment Five Is Alive” is a group of six related chapters (plus an interlude) involving tenants of a specific apartment in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Chapter One traces its beginnings as a (big) room in a 1920s house, and the other five occur after the house has been converted to apartments, with people inhabiting the place in the 1950s, 1970s to 1990s, and early 2000s, some for very short periods and some much longer. One tenant, a window dresser by profession, starts the tradition of hosting a Halloween party each year, which involves brilliant hand-made decorations and throngs of costumed party-goers. What he doesn’t know is that the apartment is, in some sense, sentient - and when his parties stop, It (the apartment) is desperate to recreate those days…. The premise of this novel is quite clever; unfortunately, the execution is not. I didn’t much care for any of the characters, and the apartment itself seemed to be sometimes able to cause all sorts of mayhem and at other times not so much. In addition, there’s a massive amount of grammatical problems here; I know that can be intended in some books, but here it is much too inconsistent to be deliberate. Half-rendered sentences here, complete run-on sentences there, the occasional bit where it seems the author was sketching out an image and then repeats it more ornately a paragraph later - it’s just a mess. I read it all because of the intriguing premise (and because it’s short), but it really wasn’t worth my time.

[Rachella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic opening but lost my interest

The premise of an apartment that loves Halloween was great. I really enjoyed the first few tenants, especially reading about Jerome's parties. I liked how the apartment took on its own entity and I preferred the apartment to the tenants throughout. However, after Jerome died, I began to lose interest and towards the end, I just stopped caring. This would have made a better short story instead of novella.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was just ok for me. I think the structure caused it to feel like the pacing was off and never really got a chance to care for the characters earlier in the story. I enjoyed the last chapter way more than the rest of the book. If the first 115 pages were taken out completely, then I think the content in those last 70 pages would've made for a better story if it were expanded upon.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting twist that goes on just a tad too long.

[Mel Reads and Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS !

[Jonathan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good

[Tasnim Sajuti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 Spoookyyyyy.👻 If you like spooky books, you'll definitely enjoy this one.