Apartment Five Is Alive

By: Russell Atwood

Narrated by: Jack de Golia

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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, especially when it comes to Halloween.

Apartment Five Is Alive puts a new spin on the haunted house story. It’s about a studio apartment in New York City that “loves” Halloween and punishes its inhabitants who don’t celebrate it the way Apartment Five “thinks” they should. Fast-paced, written to be experienced in one sitting, the novels follows the various fates of the apartment’s tenants over five decades, starting when it was a beloved room in a one-family townhouse then being broken apart and made an “apartment” lived in by people it resented for not being its family anymore, until the 1970s, when crazy young artists started throwing these wild Halloween parties, transforming the apartment once a year into haunted house. It is not until the artist dies in the 1980s and a new tenant moves into the apartment—who doesn’t honor the tradition—that the apartment takes charge and horror begins. Twisted and quirky characters dwell inside of apartment #5, and some of them never leave.

Russell Atwood is the author of the Payton Sherwood mystery novels East of A (Ballantine) and Losers Live Longer (Hard Case Crime).

©2022 Russell Atwood (P)2022 Russell Atwood

Critic reviews

"Full of compelling characters and genuinely creepy scenes, this is a perfect Halloween read. The climax is claustrophobic and ultimately stunning." (Tom Deady, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Haven)

Not your ordinary Haunted Apartment Story!

A unique take on haunted locations involving a portion of a house renovated into apartments! Not just your ordinary parlor room converted into a small one-bedroom apartment; not be any means! One tenant introduces Halloween to the new “apartment” and from there grows the horrifying horrors to take come!

The author, Russell Atwood spins a new angle on haunted dwellings. His careful character-building and storyline smooth the way for the plot twist. Atwood was deliberate in demonstrating the emotional connections to each character and the emotions of the apartment. The story was perfect for listening to at Halloween!

The narrator, Jack de Golia gave the story life. His perfectly paced performance kept the story moving forward at a steady pace. His tonal inflections helped give the apartment and each character the appropriate emotional mindset and reasons for their actions. Already vivid in description, de Golia takes the story well beyond that with his unique voice and ability to communicate moments of fear, doubt, confusion, and unstableness. I have heard several books performed by Jack de Golia and I have to say, he never disappoints!

Overall, this is an excellent book. With the unique storyline and a strong talented narrator, this book was fascinating. I am a fan of horror, and this book was awesome!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Perfect Story for the Halloween Season

This is the story about an apartment. An apartment that loves Halloween. An apartment that will do anything to make sure that it can celebrate the holiday. The perfect listen for the Halloween season. Jack did a wonderful job narrating story. Highly recommend.

Love IT!

I don”t know which I enjoyed more, the book or the audio! Atwood is a smart, clever, brilliant, and wonderful author who doesn’t write enough. And he makes me laugh.