Thank you @netgalley and Knopf for the arc of THE QUIET TENANT. While I had high hopes, this one was not for me and I think a big part of that is just preference. I will say this is NOT a thriller and not really even a mystery. It’s more of a psychological crime read (which I typically love) with some suspense thrown in towards the end.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
-started off not sure what was going on, but intrigued
-not a fan of the second person POV
-it didn’t make sense to me why some chapters (a POV I don’t want to give away) were included

I was waiting for a shocking end or a big twist or honestly just any kind of twist, but the ending seemed abrupt to me and I was left wanting more.

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon: A psychological thriller about a serial killer as told by one of his victims, his daughter and woman who wants to have a relationship with him. Unique, compelling and a bit of a slow burn, this debut novel will grab your attention and have you flipping the pages.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, Knopf and author Clémence Michallon for the advance read copy of this book.

Happy Pub Day to The Quiet Tenant!

This was such a unique book. I loved the premise and how the story was told from the alternating perspectives of the three women. As I often do with books told from multiple perspectives, there was one (i.e., Emily’s) that I enjoyed less than the others. I found her tiring and didn’t think her backstory sufficiently explained her strange behavior. Conversely, I really enjoyed the chapters told from Rachel and Cecilia’s points of view. Additionally, I appreciated how likable Ms. Michallon made Aiden. It made him scarier, and I found myself questioning how well we can really know someone. Overall, I found the book enjoyable and think it will especially appeal to seasoned thriller readers as it offers a fresh and unique approach.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the best thriller I have read in years. Truly. I could not turn the pages fast enough! A serial killer, his 13-year-old daughter, his girlfriend, and "Rachel", the one he decided not to kill but keep in his backyard shed for 5 years. He is an upstanding, respected man in their small town. No one would ever guess his deep, dark secrets.
I feel like I've been in a race for my life over the last couple of days. I felt like I was right there beside Rachel through the whole experience. I rated it 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5. I would have picked a slightly different ending and am wondering if others feel the same. It would be a great read for book clubs!
The author, Clemence Michallon, is French, and the book was translated into English. She is truly amazing, and I can't wait for her next book!
Sincere thanks go to Knof Publishing and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy and to Cindy @Thoughtsfromapage Podcast who made it possible for me to read this early!

This book was such a wild ride and I was hooked from the start. I loved the shifts in perspective and especially enjoyed the second person narrative from the perspective of the woman being held captive and the captor’s other victims.

It was creepy, unsettling, and had me on the edge of my seat. The chapters are short and it’s a pretty quick read. I’d definitely recommend it, but also recommend checking out the trigger warnings before diving in. This would make an excellent movie.

You know what they say: Go big or go home. Clemence Michallon, who hasn’t written a thriller before or a novel in English before, certainly seems to have taken that saying to heart by writing this absolutely riveting, heartbreaking, intense, page-turning thriller that will now make me look as closely at white trucks as I did white vans when I was a child and remind readers that sometimes we don’t even truly know the people closest to us. The people we love and who love us.

This book is so carefully crafted by Michallon. You can tell this was a passion project for her. It’s mainly the story of the everyday life of a serial killer named Aidan who’s also a recent widower (cancer) and a single dad who’s having a hard time keeping his carefully constructed life under control since his former in-laws decided to sell the house he, his wife, and their daughter used to live in and he was forced to move everything closer to town–including the woman he had been keeping captive in a secure shed on the old property for five years he insisted on calling “Rachel”. Meticulous in nature, Aidan needs to be in control of everything and everyone, and living too close to the city allows for too many variables. The story of Aidan’s carefully constructed facade and how he loses control of all of it is told mainly from the POV of three women in his life: “Rachel” (who is moved into the new house, given a room and can move around, but has a GPS tracker she can’t removed and is chained to her radiator or bed every night even as Aidan continues to assault her in various ways), his daughter Cecilia (who loves her dad but doesn’t like him and is angry at him for not seeming to grieve her mother more), and a local restaurant owner named Emily who’s had a crush on Aidan since she was a teenager and since it looks like he’s finally giving her the time of day she’s going to go for it and shoot her shot. Little does she know Aidan’s been watching her for a while now. Slotted in here and there are little vignettes told from the POV of Aidan’s victims, their names disappearing just like their bodies do.

There is so much hopelessness and helplessness in this book when it comes to the triangle between Aidan, “Rachel”, and Cecilia. They say you have to find something redeeming about the antagonist in the story for it to truly work, and I actually did find myself sympathizing with Aidan a little bit. It was the control freak in me recognizing the control freak in him. I have to be in control of everything, mainly because that’s been my essential function for most of my life. If I’m not in control, or if I’m in control and something happens to upset the apple cart, I lose it. I certainly don’t need to do what he does to regain control, but there’s no doubt I’ve had panic attacks when everything starts to even feel like it’s not going to plan. The anger at putting so much planning and time and consideration into something only to have it only go to pot? Yeah, the anger, frustration, and feeling of genuine helplessness is real. Of course “Rachel” feels helpless and often hopeless, being held captive for all this time. She doesn’t even recognize herself when she looks in the mirror. She doesn’t know what combination of words will set Aidan off on one day and make him not horrible the next. Then there’s Cecilia, who feels helpless because she can’t make friends at her new school and hopeless because she can see her dad is going to move on and she can’t believe he’d do that. He doesn’t like to talk about her mom or let her look at her mom’s things. She’s still grieving and can’t understand why he isn’t.

The pacing is so nice and organically tense. There’s no artificial propulsion to this story. There is a little give here and there, but it’s just enough to let you take a breath because most of the time while you’re reading this book you’ll find you’re holding it. You’re not going to want to put it down, because you might even not think to. I know I didn’t. I picked it up and only put it down long enough to put together cheese and crackers for lunch to eat…while I kept reading.

The climax of this story will make your heart race and will have your eyes glued to the page. My heart was even racing a little. It’s a serious case of life or death and will she? Will she? Can she? Can she?

I feel utterly spoiled by this book. I’m officially a Clemence Michallon fan girl and I need more from her.

I was provided a copy of the eARC of this title by NetGalley and the author and provided a finished copy by the folks over at Knopf Publishing. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Kidnapping/Murder Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Serial Killers/Suspense Thriller/Thriller

As soon as I read the synopsis for The Quiet Tenant I had a feeling that this was going to be a book that I had to read. I devoured this book in just a couple of days, and honestly it's one of my top 5 for the year that I've read so far.

Looking at Aidan from the outside he's a pillar of the community, he's always happy to help those in need in his neighborhood, and they love him. They don't know the monster that he is, and about the woman Rachel he keeps locked up. It's always the ones we least expect, and that, is the true horror of it all.

I loved the different perspectives from each of the women, and how they interacted, either negatively or positively with Aidan throughout the book. It gave insight to the mind of a killer/kidnapper, and was truly captivating.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone that's looking for an edge of your seat thriller that will have you rooting for the woman in the shed with every fiber of your being.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Publishing Group for sending me a digital copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy Pub Day to The Quiet Tenant by @clemencemichallon!

If you are looking for a new thriller to read, look no further! This book is out today and it is absolutely incredible! I cannot remember the last thriller that had me turning pages like my life depended on it, but I could not put this book down.

Michallon’s writing is so beautiful. The entire tone of this book is eerie and quiet but in a way that doesn’t leave you bored or wishing for action. I was so engrossed in every single page.

Without spoiling too much, this is the story of a serial killer told through three POVs: his captive, his daughter, and the girl he is currently seeing. Everyone is just a little bit shady and your anxiety for all three narrators builds so steadily throughout. I cannot believe this is a debut novel because it’s just so expertly crafted in my opinion.

Huge thanks to @netgalley & @aaknopf for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion! One of my easiest ratings in a while!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#thequiettenant #newrelease #clemencemichallon #fivestarread

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

The Quiet Tenant is a unique psychological thriller. Told from 3 different perspectives from women in Aiden's life. The woman being held hostage for 5 years, surviving. Emily the bartender at the local restaurant that is obsessed with him. And Cecelia, his 13 year old daughter in the aftermath of losing her mom to cancer.

The woman in the shed/house perspective is told in second person which took a minute to get used to. I've never read a book with this perspective before so it was a bold, interesting take. It felt like it helped put the reader into her (lack thereof) shoes.

Cecelia's entries were few and read like a diary entry. Honestly the book could do without them and there would be no difference in the story.

Emily. Oh, Emily. This girl has some issues. She is obsessed and infatuated with Aiden...and doesn't know anything about him. She is a straight up stalker and breaks into his house, twice. Like girl, get a grip. You don't know this man, he just lost his wife to cancer, and he's significantly older than you. I could not empathize with her character at all. Even at the end when they try to make her into an almost victim, she forced her way right into that rabid lions den.

Over all, I enjoyed this book. It paced well. You got snippets into the murders and how May was taken. The ending was too quick. I wanted more. I wanted to know what was in the dark corner of the basement he tried to take Emily to before the truck started. I wanted a chapter from Cecelia after the fallout. I wanted more into the investigation and if they identified his victims. I just wanted more of an ending, and less details throughout from Emily.

I'll give it a 3.5 and round up to 4.

4.5
Holy Cow! This is a tense, riveting, bite your nails kind of book. It is the story of a serial killer told by 3 main voices - his current victim Rachel, his 13 year old daughter, and his wanna-be girlfriend. If you have read Notes on an Execution, the style of the voices felt similar and I was there for it 100%. Our serial killer, Aidan, is the nice new guy in the 'hood - newly widowed single dad that is a good looking guy and everyone likes him and wants to help him and his daughter as they grieve the loss of his wife. I don't really want to say more. It is definitely a bit of a stressful read and while you know what's happening, its mostly not too specifically-graphic.

This one is an excellent summer read! I did receive an early e-copy from NetGalley and Penguin Random House - Knopf in exchange for my honest opinion and honestly I loved every stress filled minute of it. The Quiet Tenant is now available.

Impossible to stop reading, this book grabbed me, shook me, and took me for a wild ride. I just finished it, and am still a little breathless. Once I read the first page, that was it. I only stopped to sleep, then was back at it.
I tend to be critical of mysteries and thrillers. If there are too many events that I find impossible to believe, I begin to lose interest. This long and intricate story had only one thing I couldn’t find any plausible explanation for….the unloaded gun. The rest seemed to make sense to me and kept me immersed in that world.
Chapters are from the point of view of various characters, and often in different timelines, but the story is seamless and easy to follow. I especially appreciated the deft handling of grisly events, not going into detail while making the end result clear.
The skill required to successfully write such a book is astounding, and even more surprising as English is not her native language. I highly recommend this clever, macabre tale, and look forward to reading more from this author.

The Quiet Tenant" is a gripping thriller that reveals the dark secret of Aidan Thomas, a seemingly kind family man. Through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, the psychological impact of Aidan's crimes is explored. With suspenseful storytelling, this thought-provoking debut keeps readers captivated until the shocking conclusion.

The Quiet Tenant was such a great thriller and a really impressive debut novel! Aidan Thomas is the town's beloved widower. He will do anything for anybody who needs help and asks for little in return.

Aidan Thomas is also a serial killer. We don't know exactly how many women he has killed, but as the story progresses we get glimpses of the women whose lives he's taken. The bulk of the story is told from the POV of Rachel, the only woman he's spared. Rachel spends her days and nights confined to the shed behind Aidan's home, but when he's forced to move he decides to bring her with him.

The author does a great job of setting a scene and I felt truly uneasy throughout this novel. I loved how we got to see POVs from multiple characters, including Aidan's daughter Cecilia, his "girlfriend" Emily & even his victims. It was rather slow burn and there wasn't a ton of action, but I enjoyed this nonetheless. I'd rate this 4.5 stars and the only reason this doesn't get a full five is because I kept feeling like something was missing or should happen throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley & Knopf for a review copy. I can't wait to read more from this author!

This thriller explores the power that men have over women and the strength inside a woman that can get them through the worst of times. Aidan Thomas seems like the perfect man, hardworking, there for his neighbors, mourning the death of his wife and raising his teenaged daughter on his own. When Emily, a local bartender, falls for him she starts trying to insert herself into his life. Meanwhile there is a woman who has been held and abused for 5 years and other women who never made it home alive. What does Aidan know about these women and how will his choices affect his daughter?

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon is an electrifying, intense, edge of your seat debut psychology thriller. I immensely enjoyed reading and appreciated the reimagining of the serial killer trope. A big thank you to Knopf, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

The premise of this dark, intriguing story is about a monstrous serial killer. Aidan Thomas is hardworking family-man who is recently widowed and is taking care of his young daughter. He is a beloved and respected member of his small community, always willing to help others. But Aidan’s whole demeanor is a facade and all isn’t what it appears to be. He has a deadly secret that he is keeping from everyone, he is a killer.

What makes the storyline unique is that it is told not through the lens of the killer, but from the perspective of the three women that are alive in his life Rachel, Cecilia and Emily. Rachel is the one he let live, imprisoned, held captive and tortured for the past five years. Cecilia is his thirteen year old daughter, who is clueless to what her father is actually doing, but is introduced to Rachel by her father as a family friend in need of a place to stay for a while. Emily a bartender who is quite infatuated with and pursues Aidan. She finds herself drawn into the sphere of what is happening. And then there are voices of the eight women that Aidan has already killed. Will Rachel end up being his ninth victim, or will she be able to escape her captor’s clutches with the aid of the other two women?

The Quiet Tenant is a riveting, suspenseful thriller that examines the psychological impacts of trauma, survival, the dynamics of power and the strength of women who make the decision to fight back. If you are a fan of thrillers then this is definitely a book to buy!

In this debut psychological thriller; Rachel is chained to the floorboards of a dark, creepy shed behind her kidnapper’s house. Her captor, Aiden Thomas, is a hard working family man that’s well respected in his small town but he’s living a double life. Nobody knows the darkness that lies behind his locked shed. He’s kept Rachel alive for five long years and, for reasons unknown, he hasn’t killed her like all the others…

When Aiden’s wife passes away, him and his daughter must move out of the family home and into a new house. He contemplates taking Rachel with him but decides to introduce her to his daughter, Cecilia, as an old friend that’s in need of help. He chains Rachel to the bed at night and only brings her down for meals with him and Cecilia.

Rachel appears weak but she’s strong! She’s strong for herself, she’s strong for her friends and family that are looking for her, and she needs to keep her body strong if she’s given the opportunity to run. But first, she must gain Aiden’s trust, befriend Cecilia, and plan an escape.

This novel was bone-chillingly creepy with the multiple POV’s from Rachel, Cecilia, and each of the women that Aiden had killed. The author did an amazing job writing this book; near the end the danger was imminent, my pulse quickened, my chest tightened, and I wanted to scream at Aiden enough for him to slow down.

This is a book that will give you nightmares for the first couple of nights but you’ll often think about women like Rachel who would do anything to survive.

The Quiet Tenant is a young woman who is abducted and held captive in a shed, where she remains for years until she's told her captor has sold his house and has to move. In a last bid for survival, she plants the seed to convince him she can come along and not give away his secrets - and that's just the beginning of the story.. Michallon has this so well thought out it is completely believable how this plot unfolds, carrying you along to understand the psychological impact on the captive, the captor, his young daughter, and the woman who enters their lives and throws everything off balance. This book stayed with me for a long time after finishing!

"Rachel" has a small existence. She has been held captive in a shack behind her kidnappers' house. When his wife dies and he has to move, she convinces him that she can pretend to be his lodger so that he doesn't kill her. But she has to pretend in front of her pre-teen daughter and the entire town who thinks he is a local hero and not a serial killer.

This book is very suspenseful. It alternates perspectives between Rachel, the daughter, and Aidan's next possible victim. The language is sparce and some of the situations with this angry man are very violent, but I think this book will have mass appeal. This one is perfect for lovers of true crime. Its basically Room crossed with These Silent Woods. So scary and unputdownable. It is very memorable.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

The Quiet Tenant is the most unique thriller I've ever read. I loved the writing style and the eerie feeling throughout the whole book. The book is told from three points of view: Emily, the woman in the shed, and Cecilia. The Woman in the Shed, known as "Rachel", was told from a second-person point of view, which I've never read before. It gave me an unsettling feeling, but I think it worked here and made it more real.
This is not your typical fast-paced, action-packed thriller, but it was a dark and captivating story that makes you want to stay glued to your page until you finish it.

Read if you like:
-true crime
-psychological thriller
-multiple pov's
-second person pov

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Quiet Tenant is a dark, gritty, tough read.
Aiden is a well loved community member. Recently widowed with a daughter. To the outside world he lives a normal life caring for his daughter & working.
She goes by Rachel but it's not her name. She lives with Aiden & his daughter, however it's not your typical living situation.

I found The Quiet Tenant intriguing but somewhat repetitive & very much a straightforward story. I kept waiting for something to happen. A twist or surprise. However none came. I did become invested in the story enough to keep reading to find what out what happens to the characters. The ending was satisfying enough to make it a solid 3 star read.