The Woman has lived in a serial killer's shed for five years. The killer, Aiden, keeps her like a pet until he can't anymore because his wife dies and he needs to move to a house with fewer unused sheds. Spotting an opportunity, and worried Aiden will just kill her if he can't find a use for her, The Woman offers to move with him. He sets her up in his spare room, somehow hiding from his twelve year old daughter that the tenant who eats dinner with them spends the rest of her time handcuffed to a radiator...or worse. A third woman, Emily, enters into what she thinks is a romance with Aiden. She's probably his next mark, but unluckily for Aiden she's got weird stalker vibes and messes up all of his plans.

PRO: the story is told in a unique way, from the POV of the three women in Aiden's life. Attacks on The Woman are described as something like 'he did to me what he had decided he needed to do to somebody' give insight into the attacker without the reader being forced to witness any details. CON: this POV choice means that every bit of their thoughts revolve around Aiden, making him the star of a novel that is supposed to be about women surviving. There's something so yuck about the way everyone makes allowances for him, even The Woman. And Emily is absolutely insufferable. There are plenty of patrons who will be happy to read The Quiet Tenant and I will recommend it to them, but personally I just feel a bit dirty having read it.

💭Thoughts:
This book is pure psychological thriller. The way the story is told from the view point of the victim is fascinating. What really got me freaked out was the POV of the multiple murdered victims. A very interesting and moving way to tell a story. The story was fragmented, but it worked well with the way it all unfolded.

The book did slow a bit in the middle, but I kept pushing through. If you are looking for a fast paced thriller with lots of twists, just know that is not this book. This is a very slow burn. I wanted a bit more from the ending. I won’t go into detail about that. I think the less the reader knows going into the book the better.

Overall, a dark and moving look at a serial killer through the eyes of his victims, his daughter, and his love interest. Don’t read this one alone at night and expect to fall asleep!

🏠 BOOK / REVIEW 🏠

WOW. The #thequiettenant was so creepy 😳 And I absolutely loved it 😏.

I was shocked to see so many wish washy reviews, but this was a fantastic book. I found out that this was actually written in the author, @clemencemichallon, 2nd language, which blew me away.

The fact that this was written in 3 separate POV's that all played a different role in this book was SO unique and helped captivate me the entire time. I couldn't flip through the pages quickly enough, and the ending had me hyperventilating!!

I would read another book by her in a heartbeat. It was compelling, chilling, and totally wicked. Highly recommend!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

I read this book in one afternoon. It was incredibly gripping and definitely a page turner. My only critique is that while it was a page turner, I realized everything at the end turned out the way I thought it would end which is not the case in a five star thriller.

I can absolutely see why The Quiet Tenant has been called one of the most anticipated novels of 2023. While those predictions sometimes don't live up to the hype, The Quiet Tenant does. I love that Clemence Mechallon lets us learn about Aidan Thomas through multiple narrators, one of them being his own daughter, giving us the true all-around picture of the live of a serial killer. He's violent, living a secret life, but he's also a dad, a neighbor, a friend, which makes me wonder, how well do we ever know someone?

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review this riveting page turner that is sure to be a hit!

Aiden Thomas is a crazy man. The poor women who were brutally murdered, to the mans own wife dying, and now Rachel, the girl he keeps in the shed, they are all manipulated by this man. Aiden's house is being taken from him by his wife's parents, so now he has to murder Rachel. Rachel is living in the shed scared to death of this man. Somehow she influences him enough to allow her to move into the new home with him and his daughter. Rachel must play the sweet and definitely quiet roommate that everyone will think is his cousin.

As Aiden makes more relationships in the community and possibly begins dating a restaurant owner, things start to change around his home. Rachel has to find a way out and his mistakes may just be the way to do it. But, can she actually save herself? And should she bring his daughter with her?

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aiden Thomas is skilled at keeping secrets. In this town, and to the local bartender Emily, Aiden is a hero, a guy you can count on for anything you need, a sweet man who has recently lost his wife and is raising his daughter Cecelia alone. Behind closed doors, Aiden is a serial killer with 8 victims and a woman named “Rachel” who has been trapped in his shed for five years.

The Quiet Tenant is definitely one to add to your TBR. Some may not enjoy the pacing and think the story moves too slowly, but I enjoyed the slow build up and I couldn’t stop reading when I would pick it up. I could see this being a book you’d read in a day. The terror of Rachel’s situation and the fear you’ll have for Emily and Cecelia will keep you reading, and the focus on trauma and survival in a hopeless situation will stay with you when you’re done. I loved this one and it’s a fantastic thriller.

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for the arc!

PS
as soon as I finished reading this, I immediately thought of: “He was the best guy arooooounddd!!” 😍
“What about the people he murdered?!” 🤨
“What murdaaaaa?!” 😱

There is nothing I love more than a dark thriller told through multiple perspectives. This debut thriller delivered. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It makes you question everyone you think you know...who is capable of evil things and being a good family man?? This is the perfect book for your summer beach bag.

This book! A suspenseful, original psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, The Quiet Tenant is everything a reader wants in a book. The characters were well developed and complex, the plot fast-moving and intriguing and the ending satisfying. This is the best thriller I've read in 2023 and I will highly recommend it!

Wow, talk about a slow burn. A good slow burn though, one that you will not be able to put down! The author's writing style was so unique, and I honestly loved it. This book is very, very dark and sinister and while some might not love the bone chilling thriller, others will absolutely devour this. This book is full of disturbing layers and it's honestly haunting. Stick this one out because I think you will love the ending!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The premise of this book was chilling, and so was the entire book. I thought this was a fresh take on the thriller genre, and so compelling to learn about this serial killer from the perspective of his past, present, and future victims. I was gripped, the writing was excellent!

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, and Clémence Michallon for the advanced copy of The Quiet Tenant in exchange for my honest review.

The best adjective I could use to describe this book is unsettling. And I do mean that in the very best way. I loved all the differing point of view chapters, especially when they overlapped the same event and we got to see it through multiple perspectives.

My true crime girlies don't need to be told, but Michallon does a great job of reminding us that depravity really does walk among us. And I think that's what was ultimately so unsettling about this book for me.

I saw the rights for this book were recently acquired and I sincerely hope it gets picked up as a limited series. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Aidan Thomas is the perfect neighbor, a beloved hard-working man living in a small town. But he has a twisted secret: he's a serial killer and has kidnapped a woman, whom he has forced to live in a shed in his garden. And when Aidan and his daughter are forced to move, she has to go with them. Could someone find her and figure out she's not just a quiet tenant?
At first, it might seem like a things-get-gory thriller, but I'd say it's actually a story about the true meaning of survival.
It's a page-turner, for sure—I couldn't stop reading it—, and it resonated with a lot of my emotions. I found the ways in which the woman in the shed dealt with her pain to be quite compelling, and her feelings and fears felt very realistic.
I must say, though, I found the chapters with Emily's POV a bit out of place, but I think that was precisely the point of her whole character: to make it noticeable how normal serial killers may appear to others.
If you're looking for a thriller with a memorable story and characters, you should check this one out!
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Pulse racing. It began a bit slow and just the painful nature of the book, I was tempted to not finish it. However I decided to continue on and give it a chance. It is a what we have always heard, about how unlikely a suspect of a horrendous crime or crimes was the nicest person. I liked that the book was divided into the takes by the victim (Rachel) who is held captive in a shed for 5 years and the daughter. I'm glad I continued to read it until the end because it did not disappoint. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

*****5 Star (short) Review*****
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This 👏 one 👏 is 👏 worth 👏 the 👏 $$$$ & 🕰️
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Aiden may seem like the perfect man, but he has so many secrets that are revealed throughout this debut English language novel by @clemencemichallon
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Will Rachel regain her freedom & will the women find justice???
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This review is vague for a reason, you need to read this book!!!
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Thanks to @netgalley @clemencemichallon @aaknopf for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded down

The first half of this book gripped my attention. I was intrigued by the different perspectives of the captive, the daughter, and the love interest of this serial killer, Aidan Thomas. There was something unique about each person's interactions with the same person. I started to get a little bored about halfway through. It was a little repetitive with "Rachel" trying to find ways to survive and escape and Emily obsessing over all things Aidan. I would have liked a little more backstory into what made Aidan a serial killer. This is the reason I knocked it down a couple of stars. The ending was good but could have been done up more with action/more results of how the police found the evidence.

Overall, I am impressed by the author's debut and am excited for what she comes out with next!

The first 25% really drew me in… the middle section dragged… and I did like the ending! The second person POV was an interesting touch that I ended up liking more than I thought. All in all a 3 ⭐️ read.

Can we ever truly know someone? Everyone loves Aidan Thomas, and when his wife dies of cancer the town rallies around him and his 13-year-old daughter, Cecelia, to support them in their grief -- including Emily, a young restaurant owner who will do just about anything to get closer to the man she's had a crush on since she was a teenager. But Aidan has been hiding a side of himself from everyone... Everyone, that is, except his victims. Aidan is a serial killer, choosing young and vulnerable women to kidnap and kill. But when he meets the girl he calls "Rachel", he decides to keep her for himself, instead. "Rachel" has spent the past five years as Aidan's captive, trying everything she can think of to survive and biding her time until she can escape. As Aidan gets careless by distractions such as his growing attraction to Emily and his struggle to control his coming-of-age daughter, "Rachel" may have a chance after all...

Thoughts: Told in alternating POVs from "the woman" (aka "Rachel"), Emily, Cecelia, and Aidan's victims, readers are kept on edge with each chapter. I watch too much true crime and Criminal Minds to buy into the reason why Aidan breaks from his methodology and keeps "Rachel" alive when he kills all of his other victims, but it's an interesting twist that adds complexity to Aidan's persona. "Rachel" -- and readers -- are never quite sure what Aidan is capable of next. And I wanted to yell at Cecelia and Emily to get as far from Aidan as they could, but they are too blinded by their love for him. Author Clemence Michallon poignantly captures the victims' voices, including why sometimes captives don't flee when they have the chance. There is a surprising amount of depth to this story, and gave off "Misery"-esque type vibes at times. My only wish is that we had Aidan's POV, too. Definitely a page-turner, perfect for a Fall suspense binge-read.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Four and a half pulse pounding stars for The Quiet Tenant! If you are looking for a great fiction novel about a serial killer from a victims point of view this is for you.

This isn’t a book to be squeamish about, because it doesn’t dive deep into the actual bloody murders. It’s more about the mindset of the man doing the killing.

I easily finished this in one sitting. Thrilling and captivating!

Freaky read. Told through 3 perspectives: the hostage, the daughter, and the foolish woman in love with the brute killer.
My sympathies were with the hostage who is called Rachel. She held in for 5 years, knowing her captor was a murderer.
I did find it hard to believe that Cecilia, the daughter, wouldn’t question more about this strange woman who is now living with the.
Emily is just pathetic and very lucky to be alive.
I thought the ending was incomplete, it’s not shared how the hostage reunites with her family and also the punishment meted out to the killer.