Pulse pounding! This was a fascinating look at a serial killer through the eyes of the women in his life.

A book that will have glued to the pages once you start reading. A woman named Rachel who is not her real name is held captive in a shed. You feel her anxiety while you are being told the story. She is looking back on how she was taken years ago. Now her captive is explaining to her that he needs to move because his wife has died, she talks him into taking her with him and she agrees to all of his terms. You find out that Adian Thomas is a family man, a hard-working man, and well-liked in the community. He also has a daughter. He is also looking for another victim and you hear about the others before her and some after her, why has he kept her alive? Then the story really begins with two sides and you get a deeper look into her captive. This is a really good book with good characters.

The Quiet Tenant is unlike anything I have ever read before. It made me so uncomfortable but in a good way, thanks to the amazing writing. I wanted to scream at the characters at some points out of frustration but I love how it ended.

Aidan seems to be the charming small town Dad, and widower. He helps around the town and the town respects him. Aidan has a secret, he has killed and is planning to do so again. There is one female he has not killed, "Rachel" lives in the shed in the back of Aidan's house. When Aidan's wife dies he is forced to move and takes Rachel with him where the arrangement is she is a tenant renting a room in their house, she will join Aidan and Cecilia at meals and the rest of the time be handcuffed in her room. During this time Aidan is targeting Emily as his next victim.

I loved the perspectives, written through the eyes of Cecilia, Rachel, and Emily. Very interesting psychological thriller.

I found this book infuriating at times. I found myself shouting at Emily in my head several times. ‘You’re next! He’s going to murder you!”. How was she not getting the psychopath vibe? Aiden was creepy & Emily was throwing herself at him. So overthinking it & needy. ‘The woman” was my favourite character. She went along with some crazy things to survive. When Aiden asked her to provide child care during Christmas break I couldn’t even believe it.
I really enjoyed the different viewpoints from the various characters and how they went back and forth between the main storyline and the other victims. This was a pretty good book which kept me interested even though it was a bit far fetched.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin RandomHouse Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Very slow burn. One pOV is told in the second person which is distracting and odd until you get used to it. Liked that the main character was well fleshed out and you saw the inside of his mind throughout. Overall a solid book that lived up to the hype.

I liked this book. The plot and story was intriguing. The characters were well wrote. I liked the way it was wrote. Hard to put down. Slow burn and the anticipation killed me. It was disturbing in the way a book like this should be. Revolves around 4 main characters and loved the multi pov.

The "thriller" is an interesting genre.

At my most cynical, I see it as a weird human fascination with other people's tragedy. And, as we see in our modern marketing, I think some of that that rings true. The thriller is often treated simply as "entertainment" ... a quick shot of literary adrenaline.

In the world of a thriller aficionado, though, there is something left lacking in grasping at the genre for the sake of a quick thrill. For me, the superior thriller has a depth to it that goes beyond the pure heart-escalating drama. A superior thriller builds slowly, in the compacting of tension, the artistic illustration of human complexity. In the nuance of the dialogue, in the layered arc of conflict. At its most compassionate, the thriller is an interesting and moving analysis of our messy human condition.

Clémence Michallon is no stranger to this masterful combination of elements in her debut thriller. Not only are the captivating pages of "The Quiet Tenant" teeming with riveting plot, but they are also woven together with perfectly complex and interesting characters. Characters I'm still thinking about today.

"The Quiet Tenant" was absolutely mesmerizing with every turn of the page, and I whole-heartedly recommend this captivating quick read to anyone who enjoys the thriller genre.

Huge thank you to Knopf Publishing for my beautiful gifted finished copy!

▪️REVIEW▪️

The Quiet Tenant ~ Clemence Michallon

🙏🏼 Thank you @aaknopf and @clemencemichallon for an eARC and physical copy of this stellar thriller.

The women that orbit a serial killer tells their story…

Aidan Thomas is a well-respected man about town but the shed behind his house holds an unfathomable secret. Rachel is being held prisoner there awaiting her fate - the eight women before her, also kidnapped and eventually murdered.

A move brings Rachel into the house where she comes in contact with Aidan’s daughter, Cecilia and new love interest, Emily - and a potential way to fight back and escape.

This book! Let me tell you - my expectations were non-existent with this one as I received both an eARC and physical copy from Knopf. But as reviews started coming in, I caved and boy, do I love being proven wrong! This was undoubtedly one of the best books that I have read this year - and not for the reasons those who know me might think.

I am a horror movie, serial killer documentary, true crime watcher/researcher but what captivated me more here was the power given to the women instead of to the killer. The entire book is told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily - we never hear from or about Thomas unless it’s through their eyes. The focus is not on the depravity of his crimes but instead on the determination and survival of his latest victim.

Totally blown away from the storytelling - this was a tour de force that I couldn’t put down yet didn’t want to end. As this is her debut, Michallon is officially one to watch for me and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next. In the meantime, if you haven’t read this - you must!

The Quiet Tenant
By: Clémence Michallon
Publish Date: June 20, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and the author Clémence Michallon, for the advanced copy of The Quiet Tenant.
I enjoyed this psychological, suspenseful read! From the first chapter you are engrossed in the story! Each chapter is told from the viewpoints of women: Rachel(May)-the victim who is kept alive, Ceclia-the kidnappers daughter, Emily-the kidnappers love interest, and the victims who were murdered. The viewpoints are written so well. The suspense is kept high and we are left wondering from chapter to chapter what will happen next?!
I found it so interesting that while the kidnapper is a male, the story is told from the womens perspective the entire time. To see how each life is interwoven into the other, without them even knowing each other is very powerful.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will absolutely recommend it to others!

Oh my goodness, I loved this book so, so much! Written from the perspective of the person being held captive, his daughter, and someone he is starting to date, this story is about a serial killer...but it's not about him from a personal perspective. Instead, we learn how he kidnaps "Rachel," keeps her in a shed on his property where his wife and daughter also live, and after his wife dies, how he is forced to move and take "Rachel" with him. We also learn about Aidan Thomas, the man a small town just adores. He's always there to help, he's kind, he's sweet...and no one knows he kills women. We hear from his daughter, Cecelia, who is very close to her father, but also isn't quite sure if he can be trusted. And then we meet Emily, the bartender who Aidan has started showing interest in.

This story was beautifully written, and I loved that it came from the perspective of the females in Aidan's life and not from him. We get to see and feel the emotions that these women fell and the way each of them interprets his actions and attitude. Creepy, realistic, and propulsive, this book took off from the very first sentence and kept me in its grip until the very last page. As someone who loves True Crime, this was the perfect novel! I absolutely cannot wait to read more from Clemence Michallon!

Wow. This was fun. Multiple POVs tell the story of “Rachel” and Aidan. Rachel has been held captive for years. After Aidan’s wife dies and he has to move with his daughter, he decides to move Rachel with them. This was a fast paced, thrilling read. The only thing I felt was missed was a last chapter in Cecilia’s view. I needed to know how she felt!

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I think this would be a great read for a "gentle reader" of thriller books. I dabble in horror and I think I was looking for something a little edgier when it comes to a serial killer and his victim. However, the characters were well-rounded and I was cheering for everyone against this evil man.

The Quiet Tenant is definitely one of the darkest thrillers I've ever read. Throughout the entire book I had goosebumps and felt queasy. One of the main characters has been held captive in a shed for 5 years by a man. By a man that mentally, physically, and sexually abuses her. The kicker is that he has/had a wife, a child, and is a man that the whole town adores. So even if this woman ever does escape who is going to believe her?

Throughout this book we have three perspectives. The woman in the shed, the daughter of the man, and the bartender of a bar that the man frequently goes to. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat the entire book. Having all wildly different perspectives was crazy. We see this horrible man from the eyes of his daughter, an outsider, and the woman that he kidnapped.

While this was a 5 star book for 80%, it went down within the last 50 pages. I was waiting for some wild chaotic ending or at least an ending with a bang. Sadly, it was very anticlimactic and I definitely wanted more. I couldn't believed as softly as it did. If this would have had a bigger ending or at least some justice, this would have easily been a favorite of the year for me

Loved this book! In several ways I was reminded of Room, by Emma Donoghue, but Michelin creates a riveting story all her own, I was with the woman trapped by her kidnapper; she is clever, brave and worthy of all my sympathy. I could not stop reading, which is said about so many American thrillers, but this French author brought fresh talent to a new rather typical skill.

I’ve been excited to read this debut novel since I saw @crimebythebook rave about it! And it’s definitely a unique story. It’s a slow burning thriller with exquisite writing.

Aidan is wonderful family man who just lost his wife. He lives with his daughter and volunteers his time around town. But is he as seems? He has a dark past that no one knows about- except the woman locked in his shed. He has done this before… 8 times. But Rachel is the only survivor.

This book is told in three POVs: Rachel, the woman in the house, Cecilia, and Emily. Rachel’s POV is hard to read sometimes because it’s just so awful she’s unable to release herself. It’s very vivid and it’s incredible how adjusted she is despite being locked up for over 5 years. Cecelia is Aidan’s daughter, who doesn’t suspect anything and still grieving the loss of her mother. She’s a bit of a loner and enjoys spending time on her own. Emily is the owner of the local bar and restaurant and she looks forward to when Aidan stops in. They begin a flirtation that turns to more when they both volunteer at a town fun run 5K.

I loved how nosy Emily became after needing to know more about Aidan. He was slowly revealing a little bit about himself, but she dug to find more info. I enjoyed this book, but it moved so slowly. I wished the pace was a little faster and I think this would be a 5 star read. The writing is fantastic as is the building of the story. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you so much to @aaknopf for my gifted copy. The Quiet Tenant is out now.

This was a 5 star book for me. The description I saw that it was “if Luke from Gilmore girls was a serial killer”, and that hooked me immediately. It was extremely well written and intriguing, highly recommend.

I didn't like how we never really got any depth. He's a bad man, they are victims, bad things happen blah blah. It seemed very flat and like the only goal was to shock and appall. It was gross.

I didn't notice this was Clémence Michallon's debut and found out when I started looking for other books by them immediately after finishing this title. This is a suspenseful story with multiple viewpoints, which made it very difficult to put down.

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Y’all going to need to STOP - DROP - and ROLL
Because this book is on fire 🔥
This debut novel is a pulse pounding certifiable BARNBURNER
It’s a psychological thriller about a serial killer….

Do you know what … never mind, doesn’t matter what it’s about I’m telling you it’s a barnburner. I didn’t know what it was about. I just found the cover interesting.
So don’t read anything about it just dive in you’ll figure it out real quick. There’s no question about what’s going on in this book. you’ll be on the edge of your seat the entire time. 

The Quiet Tenant ~ Clemence Michallon

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