Thank you netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this slow paced mentally insight read about a serial killer from the viewpoint of his victims and daughter.

The pacing was done well, except for the ending. I do wish they had finished with this point of view or a female officer interviewing him to pull out his viewpoint.

That being said, I really enjoyed this read

Thrillers aren’t usually my go to book; the premise has to be extremely promising. So right off the bat, this summary hooked me, and the book did not disappoint! I was unable to put it down. It was intense and had my heart beating faster. With each chapter, it duh in deeper and deeper. This is a book I’d recommend to thriller loves any time!

Thank you to NetGalley, Clemence Michallon & Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an arc of The Quiet Tenant in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I’m a thriller/suspense junkie and when I see something is “One of the Most Anticipated Novels of 2023,” I immediately want to read it, plus a good book friend of my highly recommended it, so I definitely was glad to snag an arc from NetGalley.

I am usually pretty good an putting a book synopsis into my own words, but sometimes, I can’t do the synopsis justice in my own words and that is the case with this novel. So, I’m going to quote the official synopsis (not written by me) and then will give my review below.

“Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate 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.

When Aidan's wife dies, he and his 13-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a "family friend" who needs a place to stay. After five years of captivity, Aidan is betting on Rachel being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia's orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan's secret.

Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan's crimes on the women in his life-and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back. Both a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant is an electrifying debut thriller by a major talent.”

I was intrigued, not by the multiple POV, but that we get Aidan’s story told through the women in his life, Rachel, Cecilia and Emily. To me, that was a unique way to tell the story and I was on board!

I do feel like there is not going to be any middle ground with this novel. You’re either going to love it or you’re going absolutely hate it. This book was incredibly intense, captivating, extremely complex and psychological. I just don’t feel like with all of those things, that anyone can say “It was just ok” or “I liked it but didn’t love it.” In my mind and from my take on it, you love it or you hate it. Period.

What did I think? I am happy to say that I am Team Loved It! It gets really tiresome reading the same thing over and over again with a lot of thriller/suspense novels, so I love it when I can read something that is not only different in the storyline, but different in the writing style as well. This book hooked me. Yes, it was intense and disturbing and I will be thinking about it for a long time to come, but isn’t that what you want out of a novel? I have read almost 90 books so far this year and there are probably only a handful that I actually remember and, of course, those were the ones that I absolutely loved and stuck with me. You don’t want something that you’re going to forget as soon as you read the last word.

If you want something unique and different, definitely give The Quiet Tenant a shot. I can’t guarantee what side of the line you will fall on, but it is worth a read.

5/5 Stars from me.

Wow. Just...wow. What a great read! At first glance, I feared it was going to be a "Room" (also a good read by Emma Donoghue) redux. Those thoughts were completely swept out of my brain by the end of the first chapter. I truly couldn't put it down. Michallon's debut novel knocks it out of the park. Intelligent writing, totally unique style/plot, hold your breath pacing, can't turn the pages fast enough, A+ thriller...all from an author whose first language is *not* English.

I have a new author to add to my list of favorites. :)

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.

What a stellar debut! There was a different twist in the serial killer/victim dynamic and set of circumstances which was somewhat refreshing. I was grateful that Ms. Michallon steered away from the explicit details of what was done to the victim. But instead, she went for a more intriguing “lack” of description which left it up to the reader to visually fill in the details if they so wanted. I would have wanted a bit more of what was going on in the serial killer’s head for a bit more of a connection-if there is such a thing with a serial killer. I look forward to further work by this author. Well done!

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC. I love psychological thrillers with a big twist at the end and this was the total opposite. We know the killer immediately, yet I could not put it down and was holding my breath waiting to see what happened next. One of the best thrillers I’ve read in the last few years.

The Quiet Tenant Review!

A huge thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Netgalley for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! The Quiet Tenant comes out June 20, 2023!

Wow, I have a feeling this book is going to blow up and honestly, it will be really sad if it doesn’t because it deserves it. This one was so good! A solid 5 ⭐️ read. It had my heart racing at times, it was so suspenseful. I also loved the switch between povs of characters. It has been a while since I read a book this fast, I couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait to see what Michallon comes up with next, what an incredible debut!!

This is a page turner another clear your day because you won’t put it down till it’s finished type book. You’ll be on a thrill ride with 4 characters. Rachel is infuriating, Aiden is dark and calculating. Emily is weird and obsessed with Aiden. Cecilia is apparently lacking intelligence. Enjoy the ride!

A shocking account of a kidnapped woman thought to be dead, and the tale of her trialsl, and the life of her kidnapper. Terrifying suspense, sleep-depriving horror, too real to be ignored. I can't stop thinking about the woman, the serial killer's wife, his daughter, and his girlfriend. Edge-of-the-seat anticipation of the next brutality. A mind-blowing what-would-I-do story not to be missed. It puts cracks in the structure of our social reality.

The Quiet Tenant is for anyone who loves combining the best of true crime, mysteries, and thrillers all into one. With the element of true crime being present, the serial killer theme is ever present. Instead of it being from the perspective of the serial killer, I thoroughly enjoyed the book being from the perspective of the three women in his life. The book hooked from the very beginning and kept me interested throughout and eager to pick it up and continue reading. The reading is dark, disturbing, sinister, and complex. Some parts had me biting my nails so badly and kept my heart pumping. 4 stars.

This was a very unique domestic thriller all surrounding a small group of people. We have Aiden, this seemingly wonderful man, always eager to lend a helping hand, devout in taking care of his daughter in the wake of his wife’s death. Cecilia is his teenage daughter. Emily is the woman pulled completely into this man’s orbit, having coveted him since her own teenage years. And then we have a young woman he calls Rachel, his captive, his quiet tenant…

The quiet determination in this woman was insane. The way that she tries to meld into her surroundings, while still trying to keep an eye open for any possible escape. She forms bonds with Cecilia and even strangely, with Emily. All the while, Aiden is trying to hide his true, evil, murderous nature from the world.

This is both a slow paced and pulse pounding at the same time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the narrative style though. It kept pulling me from the story.

I really enjoyed this book, it was really creepy! The perspective of prior victims was very different and really set this book apart from others. I felt that at some points the chapters were overly descriptive and wordy so I would lose interest until the next chapter. This story is told from multiple perspectives which I enjoyed.
I would definitely recommend this book to others.
Thank you too netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Interesting premise but I found it to be slow at times. It took me a while to get into it but the story had promise.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the quiet tenant. Really interesting book. At times a bit too long but overall a good idea. I would give it 3.5

2.5 stars
I was expecting more from this book. Wouldn’t really call this a thriller as I found it pretty slow. I DNF this book at 30% because it was just too slow for me and the characters didn’t really speak to me. I also felt there were unnecessary details added which just made this slower. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and there just wasn’t much.

I wasn’t hooked and kept jumping in and out of the book which is always a sign that it’s not for me. The blurb sounded amazing and I really wanted to like this but it wasn’t for me.

But I appreciate that my request to read this book was accepted! Thanks!

I could not put this book down! My heart was pounding out of my chest through most of the book. One night I got up to make sure all my windows were locked. I found it very suspenseful and a more that a little terrifying in a serial kidnapper/killer way. No monsters here except for the human kind. I was disappointed not to find out more about the serial killer - his life before, his life after, his motives, his family, his daughter. But all-in-all a great psychological thriller.

This book had some interesting ideas, and it did a good job of keeping the tension up, but I feel like there just wasn't much happening most of the time. I did enjoy that we got to experience the story through the women affected by Aiden - his captive, his daughter, and the woman crushing on him, as well as short snippets of his murder victims in their last moments.

Throughout "Rachel's" captivity, we really get the sense of fear, despair, and doubt that any escape attempts would be successful. But it was really frustrating sometimes when she passed by opportunities that seemed ripe for fighting back or running.

The story did keep my interest and I was curious to see how it ended, but it wasn't as gripping and intense as I had hoped for. Definitely more for fans of slow burns rather than non-stop thrillers.

I feel like I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while. Quite an interesting read but there was just something missing from the ending. I wanted more out of it.

Although I was very much looking forward to this it was more lackluster than suspenseful. I had high hopes but felt like it was stringing along the plot and wasn't as twisting and scary as I had looked forward to.

I was so excited to read this book after reading the synopsis on Goodreads and expecting an amazing fast paced thriller.

However, I was disappointed in the book overall. I felt like the story lagged, and I was expecting more things to happen quicker with the “girl in the shed.” I eas disappointed in the fact that she didn’t try to escape earlier when she had the chance ( even if the attempt was a failed one) and I felt like the only “fast paced” part of the book was at the end when May escaped with Cecelia.
Then, I felt like the story abruptly ended, I wish there was more about the “aftermath” when Aiden was captured, and wanting to know how Cecelia was.
I really expected there to be some sort of a reunion with May and Cecelia and some sort of closure there between them. I also wish there was more closure/an explanation with what became of aiden during a trial and sentencing etc.
overall I do not think I would recommend this book for someone looking for a thriller.