We all know the guy. He's a nice guy. He's a funny, friendly guy. The kind of guy you can call and he'll be there ASAP to help you jump your car or help you put your Ikea furniture together. Aiden is that guy.

Aiden has a secret and he doesn't want anyone know about her. He doesn't want anyone to know who he is behind closed doors. Unfortunately, someone DOES want to know, and she had no idea what she's getting into.

Alternating narratives is one of my favourite types of books. And we had (unfortunately for them) plenty of narrators.

A superb thriller. From the start the book captivates you and from there it never lets go. The quiet tenant is a must read for this summer!

This debut packs a serious psychological thriller punch! Told from several points of view and short chapters made this a propulsive story and kept me saying “ just one more chapter”
Aiden Thomas is an average Dad and husband in a town where everyone knows everyone. He is well liked and helps those in need. But there is just one dirty secret, he’s a serial killer. He’s killed before several times and doesn’t plan on stopping. One woman, Rachel, he has decided not to kill and has kept her locked up in his shed. As the story progresses you meet Aiden’s daughter, Cecelia, and Aiden’s newest “ friend”, Emily. These women have a unique way of helping each other in ways they don’t even realize and might possibly put an end to Aiden’s evil ways. I loved this book and it kept my heart pounding until the end. I can not wait to read this authors next book.

Fantastic debut novel that will grip you from the first page. A serial killer has kept a woman captive for five years and the story is told from her perspective and two other characters; not the killers. It made for such a unique, tense, and immersive read that I couldn't put it down.

DNF @ 14%

This was one of my most anticipated reads. The plot intrigued me since it is told from the POV of a girl who’s been kidnapped. I quickly realized that this wasn’t the book for me. My conclusion on this was because of the writing style. It writing was very choppy. Sometimes thrillers do this to make a scene feel more intense. It’s loses the intense factor when it’s done on every page. The writing was also what I call “flowery” or over descriptive for no reason.

Let me drop some quotes to explain my point.

"𝙃𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧. 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚." 😐 There should be nothing dramatic about this, it’s giving elementary writing style vibes.

"𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨: 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨. 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮. 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜. 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮." You can’t make this stuff up.

"𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜. 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙨, 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩-- 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙. 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝘿𝙉𝘼 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚. 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙤𝙤."

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙙. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩-- 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙙, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙙. 𝘼 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘼 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬. 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨. 𝙁𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝. 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚. 𝘼𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝘼 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙. 𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢." This is dreadful, use commas!

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙗𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙥𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨. 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙪𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙨." If you think this is good writing… I have no comment.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪." She is literally just looking up at the sky. This is an example of the “flowery” writing. We also loveeee the run-on sentence🙄

"𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙩. 𝘼 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝." You don’t have to describe a series of events this way🫠


I understand this was an uncorrected ARC, but there is just no way it was THIS uncorrected. I believe this was intentional. I am blown away that so many people enjoyed this one. I just couldn’t torture myself through the writing style.

I was excited to read this book the cover of this book looked creepy and the synopsis sounded great. I was expecting a horrifying, gritty, nail biting story sadly it wasn't. While it's an interesting story it was a bit slow. I found myself a little bored. Overall it was an okay read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Difficult to follow at times and a little slow. A man who is well known and respected in his community is hiding a horrible secret. He has a girl he has kidnapped years ago hidden in his house. Yet he is so brazen he is willing to introduce her to his daughter?? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Oh my goodness, what an incredible debut!! I started the audio and knew I was going to love this dark and disturbing read. This is about a serial killer, but is told from the perspective of the victims and the impact he had on them, including the one that is still alive and has been kidnapped for five years. We also get the perspective of his 13 yr old daughter and let me tell you, as this all builds, I was on the edge of my seat hoping it would end the way I thought but I truly didn’t know.

This is definitely in my top list for the year and if you love dark reads like this, you must read it if you haven’t yet. I cannot wait to see what Michallon writes next.

Thank you to Knopf, NetGalley and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

Loved this book! So much that I went to author event not that close to my home. Clemence is charming and interesting. Meet her if you can!

Oh the dark and twisty world of Aiden Thomas - and yet so much more - his daughter, the girlfriend, and Rachel - the one whose voice we cannot unhear. This is her story.

"A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about a serial killer narrated by those closest to him: His 13-year-old daughter, his girlfriend—and the one victim he has spared

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life."

This might be my favorite book of the year so far! I thought it was so good, and I had the hardest time putting it down!

Aiden Thomas seems like the nicest guy. He's always willing to lend a hand to his neighbors. He's recently widowed and raising his 13-year-old daughter. A local restaurant owner has a major crush on him. But Aiden has a dark side. He's a serial killer and a kidnapper. He's been holding Rachel hostage for five years, and she never knows what day might be her last.

This story is told from the POVs of Rachel, Emily, and Aiden's daughter, CeciIia. I liked that through Rachel's character, we got a perspective of what it would be like to be held captive by a psychopath.

Thank you @netgalley and @aaknopf for the gifted e-arc and finished copy of this book!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aidan Thomas isn’t just a newly widowed father who is a popular figure in his hometown, he’s also a kidnapper and serial killer. This story is told by Rachel, the woman he has had imprisoned in his shed for five years; Emily, his current love interest; and Cecilia, his teenage daughter.

This book is intense. It reminded me of Room (the movie, I haven’t read the book) in some ways. It’s somehow both a slow burn and a very powerful page turner. Toward the end, I couldn’t have stopped reading if my house had been on fire. Put this one on your list, and read it as soon as possible.

Reading the summary of this novel does it no justice. This is a very dark murder and even psychological thriller. The chapter titles are great and you really want to pay attention to them throughout. This book teaches you how strong a completely defeated person can still be. It also shows how you never truly know who a person is. Aidan is the guy everyone around town loves and he loves to help others when needed. Though he has several dark secrets that no one would have guessed not even his own family. Then there is the woman in a shed and then so many other places who just wants to survive. I highly recommend this book if you like a twisted mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ”The Quiet Tenant” in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book was a dark thriller that left me questioning whether I wanted to leave my house again. Unfortunately we learn that monsters like Aidan often hide in plain sight within our communities. The plot moved at a good pace and really picked up speed in the last 100 pages. I was left wondering how Aidan’s daughter Cecilia was not more suspicious of Rachel’s presence in the home and never questioned why she only came down with her father for meals and never left the house. Kids that age tend to question everything. I would also have liked chapters from Aidan’s point of view to just gain understanding of the why behind his behavior. I would recommend this for those who like this genre.

I’m sure you’ve seen this cover floating all over bookstagram, and I’m not entirely sure what else I can add to the on-going buzz. The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon definitely deserves all of the hype and attention that it’s been receiving, that’s for sure. But sadly, it wasn’t a five star read for me. I must say that my expectations were extremely high. I was expecting a masterpiece, but wasn’t overly wowed, unfortunately. So, how would I best describe this book? I’d call it a dark, twisty, slow-burning character study on one individual told through the eyes of three different people in his life. Oh, and did I mention that the individual is a serial killer? Eeek! The plot is very unique and told in the most intriguing way. Michallon definitely gets bonus points for creativity and execution. I’ll absolutely read this author again, no doubt about it. My biggest complaint is that it wasn’t as thrilling, suspenseful, or horrifying as I was expecting it to be. I found it pretty tame, actually. Did I want more blood, guts, and gore? Yeah, maybe a little. I wanted to be creeped out and scared shitless, but sadly wasn’t. If you enjoyed Room by Emma Donoghue or The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. With all that said, it’s definitely a book that I’d recommend reading—for the uniqueness alone. I honestly haven’t read anything like it before. The Quiet Tenant is available now, and it gets 4/5 stars from me!

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. With all the rave reviews for this I was expecting an excellent read. The book was fine. It held my interest but honestly this was another book that just was lack luster in the end. The whole story seemed to build to where we would get a banger of an ending or some big plot twist. That never happens. It’s all just very straight forward and never gets your pulse racing or you turning the pages furiously.

I enjoyed this debut thriller for its dark and suspenseful atmosphere and complex plot. Three different narrators explore every facet of this eerie story in gritty terrifying detail.

Michallon takes an everyday man, a good Samaritan by all accounts, and gives him a dark and sinister soul; one that preys on women in the worst way. The depth of depravity he hides is captured beautifully by the narrative of Rachel, his captive but the true deception is captured by others around him; the ones that see him as the ‘good guy’ he presents. Truly chilling.

I kept waiting for a chapter from Aidan but soon realized his actions spoke louder than any words or inner thoughts could.

Definitely a page-turner and one I’m recommending to my friends/followers. I’ll be looking for more from this author in the future.

My thanks to @PenguinRandomHouse & @AAKnopf for this gifted copy.

It took me a little bit to really get into this one, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. At about 100 pages in I found myself reading every chance I could get because I wanted to find out what happened. I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel!

This was just ok. It didn’t really feel like a thriller to me. More like general fiction with a bit of mystery. I think I just expected more.

Utterly fascinating. I was quickly drawn into the world of the woman in the shed, watching her survive everything that was being done to her was fascinating. I didn't really like Emily, I thought she was a weaker character and some of her early chapters read as very juvenile. But as the story moved along and she became more entangled in the plot her chapters improved.
The ending had me on the edge of my seat for multiple chapter waiting to see if all the women were going to survive. And the way everything was wrapped up at the end was good. It wasn't all neatly tied up with a bow, which would have been too perfect for the this story. But instead it was left a little open and messy, yet all the important questions were answered.
I really enjoyed this.