I cannot believe this was a debut?!?! This was such an interesting premise - a story about a serial killer who kidnaps and murders women in his private life, but is a "hero to the community" in his public life. It's told through the story of 3 women in his life rather than from his POV which added a uniqueness to the story.

I thought this was an incredible thriller that had me at the edge of my seat and I couldn't get enough of the story. Early in, the unnamed woman who the man kidnapped five years ago is moved from the outdoor shed to his family home, under the guise of being "a friend." It was so interesting to see how this shift played out - I was constantly wondering "is this going to be the time she escapes?" while simultaneously thinking about all that could go wrong, just like her.

These are some of my favorite thrillers - one that isn't meant to spook you necessarily, but tugs at your deepest fears and haunts you for a long time. I would love to see this one adapted into a movie or tv show!

4.25 stars/5

3.5 stars
though I was enjoying the slow pace of this in the beginning, I did want the pace to pick up at some point and that never happened. I can appreciate a slow book if it brings up some interesting conversations but that didn't happen here. I also wish there was so much more character development, I don't feel like I really know anything about any of the characters. didn't love the open ending.

In general, I found the plot very compelling. It’s exactly the time of story I reach for time and time again. Despite this, I found it very difficult to get into the book. The beginning dragged for me and only when I was about halfway through did I start to feel invested, but only slightly. I wanted more about Aidan’s background and relationship with his wife. I found myself so frustrated with Emily (although that’s probably only because of what I knew about Aidan). What should have been an incredibly relevant story about living in the world as a woman, seemed to fall flat for me. I can resonate with the primary narrator, but something prevented me from connecting.

There are so many pathological situations throughout this book that keeps the reader turning pages.
Stockholm Syndrome, serial killer, Jeckel and Hyde, teenage angst…………it’s all here.
   Rachel, the name he gives her, has been held captive for 5 years handcuffed to the floor in a shed. He keeps her alive, but why? We learn that there have been other victims through their voices in the chapters, but SHE is the one he kept. He goes about his daily life, is enamored in the community as a wonderful guy but there is a hidden side the real world doesn’t see. He’s very good a compartmentalizing his life.
   He has to relocate after the death of his wife and the shed is no longer available to him. For reasons that are hard to comprehend, he moves his “tenant” into his new home as a friend who needed a place to stay. Mr. Niceguy keeps to himself in the community, has a daughter who is very compliant to her father’s rules and regulations and the woman stays alone in her room so there are few questions asked.
   Rachel finally realizes what she has to do to keep herself safe at the same time planning her escape from this maniac. The move from the shed to the real world seems to revive her spirit. There are times the reader is yelling at Rachel to take advantage of situations that would rescue her from this hell but her moral compass and concern for others keeps her tied to the bedpost.
   Exciting right up to the last page………..

This was one heck of a ride. The different perspectives were perfect. The creepiness was high. This is so realistic, its scary! A great fall/spooky season read for sure.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this author's debut, as the description sounded great, and it certainly did not disappoint! The Quiet Tenant was a dark, twisty, and suspenseful thriller about a small town's friendly neighbor who is actually living a double life as a serial killer.

This book was a wild ride! Multiple POVs aren't usually my favorite, but I liked getting to know all the characters through their own voices. I didn't connect with one of them (she was truly so annoying until finally redeeming herself at the end!), but I thought it was really impactful to hear from the rest of Aidan's past and present victims. I especially loved his daughter's chapters! It did take me a while to get used to the second person narrative, and it was definitely a bit of a slow burn in the beginning. The second half of the book moved a lot faster and I couldn't put it down towards the end! There were fair amount of triggers, so definitely read the warnings, but this was a fresh take on a thriller that I'd definitely recommend. I can't wait to see what the author does next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

He’s a family man, recently widowed raising his young daughter on his own but he’s hiding a few secrets and when he’s forced to move one of his secrets gets moved into the open. The woman he’s had imprisoned for years in a shed must now reside in the new house he shares with his daughter. When happens next is a test of survival and a carefully thought out plan for a future that might not be possible.

So I really liked parts of this thriller, the premise and the anxiety around the story as it progressed but it was just missing something for me. I liked that the story was mostly told from the imprisoned woman’s perspective with the occasional chapters from his daughter, the new girl and his previous victims but I don’t like that it was in second person. Also, I think the chapters from the previous victims kinda threw off the momentum of the story but they gave indications to the point in time. Nothing really happened in the story that you wouldn’t have predicted based off the first few chapters. It’s a quick ish read that I know will hit the mark with a lot of readers.


Thank you @aaknopf for my finished gifted copy and @netgalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Will be a best book of the year.

This is one of those books you read the blurb for and you really hope meet your expectations because everything is there to make it a 5 star book. I am so pleased to be able to share that this for me, was not only a 5 star read, but a best book of the year for me. It was FANTASTIC. Not since reading [book:Descent|20312459], have I remembered my heart beating in my chest like it did and feeling the anxiety of being this invested in a story with stakes like this.

Similar to [book:Notes on an Execution|57773248] and [book:I Have Some Questions for You|61053829], authors are shifting the narrative away from the serial killer and placing it on the victims and other people impacted by the actions of the serial killer. This book took that another step further and was done brilliantly. What makes it even more impactful is that the author's first language is French. Her debut novel is written with such expertise and foresight. Anything I could think of while reading that I could see others being critical of, she handled somewhere in the narrative. She took victim blaming head on and that is where I think this book really excelled. In her reminders to the reader about how we as bystanders to these horrific crimes, have no right to judge those who were involved. The victims of these crimes are just that. Victims. It is not our place to question their decision making and choices.

To me, this book sets a new standard for all books in this topic that are to follow. It was incredible and I cannot recommend enough.

Thank you to Knopf Books and Netgalley for the gifted finished and e-copies. Thank you also to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

**I forgot to mention that I listened to 80% of this book and the narration was fantastic. It was done by an ensemble and this was absolutely the right move and each narrator was perfectly chosen. Highly recommend the audiobook as a way to read this.

Review Date: 07/20/2023
Publication Date: 06/20/2023

This was quite an unexpected read. I loved the premise right off the bat - a book about a serial killer, and his captive. Loved that the POV was from her point of view for the most part, but also from other people in his life. It wasn't a mystery per-se, more of what it takes to survive something so tragic.

I liked the suspense, I liked the slow burn of where will this story end. How. Who will help. It showed not only the strength of the victim/survivor but also the "normal" side of the serial killer. It was a psychological suspense if nothing else. You get to see the normal life a disturbed person leads, how other people perceive him, how they admire him, but still can't feel bad for him, because you get the look into the captive's life and how much fear there is living with him.

I really enjoyed this one, though I can see that this won't be for everyone. It is quite slow, with disturbing scenes pushing the plot forward.

Thank you to PRH audio and the the publisher for my review copies.

While this book started out intriguing, I did not end up liking it at all.

I felt like it focused way too much on the murderer and not enough on developing the Rachel/May. I think the author wanted to focus on the victim and other women in the murderer's life, but it just didn't read that way at all.

I also found the end to be really abrupt and not developed enough. That would have been the perfect place in the book to develop Rachel/May more. The Emily character was also very strange and her actions were inexplicable to me. Her character felt like a distraction at times.

This story gave empathy. While Aidan's intentions were not always clear, the terror he caused was ripe. Each character's point of view carried intense directness in the voice. The story also has stellar social commentary about women who live in fear and their will to survive.

Bravo to Clemence Michallon for this sensational debut! A perfect choice for true crime lovers. The middle part drug just slightly for me, but I was quite pleased as Michallon tied everything up in a nice bow at the conclusion. Keep the lights on when you curl up with this thrilling mystery.

I could not put this down! I agree with the reviewer below who compared the book to "Notes on an Execution." It had a similarly troubling, compelling, bleak (but in a good way) tone.

Don’t hate me for hating this.

The Quiet Tenant, with the victim’s perspective told in second person, reminded me a bit of Don’t Forget the Girl, a book I enjoyed significantly more. Like that one, it seems to be written in the vein of Notes on an Execution, with a focus on the women affected by the serial killer.

Don’t Forget the Girl and Notes on an Execution were powerful reads. They didn’t make women look small or weak. They humanized them. They reminded us that the stories that matter are the stories of those whose lives were shattered, not the story of the one who broke them like glass. I suspect the author was aiming for this in The Quiet Tenant, but I did not find any of it effective.

Firstly, can we talk about Emily? It’s not that her fixation with Aidan is impossible to swallow, but she is ultimately presented as shallow and, at times, downright creepy. Are we supposed to believe she is the perfect match for our killer? Was that the point of it all? Either way, it robs from what should dignify the female gender.

Secondly, I’m sure we all know that no killer would do what Aidan did. He would not have taken the risks he took with “Rachel,” and it’s impossible to believe no one - especially Cecelia - would have questioned anything. Plus, Cecelia was a teen so I did not buy the undying loyalty to her father

I found that most of the characters’ choices were beyond implausible. Although I did understand the fear driving some of “Rachel’s” own choices, there were other times the author overcomplicated the possibility of escape just to add tension to the narrative. Like everything else I’ve already ranted about, this annoyed me.

To top it all off, this was fairly boring. It never turned into the exhilarating, twisty ride I’d anticipated. In fact, there were almost no twists at all, and the only startling reveal was just as illogical as many of the other aspects of this story.

I know I recently wrote in another review that most books ask us to suspend disbelief. Knowing this did make me try to accept all of the absurdities I was forced to choke on, but The Quiet Tenant stretched my limits too far.

I see a plethora of glowing reviews for The Quiet Tenant and, while I’ll admit they baffle me, it’s clear that many other readers saw something in this that I did not. I’m glad it managed to make a better impression on them.

I am immensely grateful to Knopf Publishing and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aiden is a father. He’s easy on the eyes. His community looks up to him. The only problem? Aiden is also a serial killer. And he’s had a girl imprisoned in his shed for the last five years. Now forced to move, Aiden makes the decision to move his prisoner into the new home he shares with his teenage daughter.

This book is told from the POV of “Rachel” (the prisoner), Cecelia (the daughter), and Emily (the girl with a crush on Aiden). Their worlds collide to create a suspenseful, eerie story that hooks you from the start.

Overall I enjoyed this debut and I would definitely read another book by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow! Clémence Michallon really knows how to build suspense. Many times, while reading this book I found myself on the edge of my seat, yelling at “Rachel”. There was some really lovely imagery throughout the novel that had me rereading certain scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and have already started recommending it to library patrons. Not your typical suspense/thriller/horror novel.

The Quiet Tenant is a propulsive story told from the voices of three women, “the girl in the shed,” Emily, and Cecilia. This novel is slow in revealing its clues and details, and I think that’s why some don’t like it. It’s a novel that asks what you would do if you were her?

What a great, suspenseful book! I loved this one through and through. Captivating plot, characters you root for, and a cunning villain. Loved it!

Her name is Rachel. Except it isn’t. She has been forced to assume the name and identity of a person she isn’t for the last 5 years as she has been held prisoner in a shed. She doesn’t understand why he hasn’t killed her. She knows he has killed before. She also knows he will do it again. She will do whatever it takes to stay alive. There are rules. She just must follow them.

This was super different than most other serial killer books. Told from the perspectives of the girl kept in the shed, the killer, the other victims, the potential victim/girlfriend and the killers daughter…it is a wild ride. I appreciated each of the perspectives and they were all woven together very well. I am left with some unanswered questions, but overall this was a solid read!

A slow-paced thriller. I have to say, I usually like my thrillers to be a bit tenser and faster but this was a nice change of pace for me.