This book was incredible!!! Five heart-pounding stars as I devoured every single chapter of this book, staying up late into the night to get to the end. A psychological thriller that delves into the very real fears that every woman faces, especially when traveling alone. Personally, I have always been hyperaware of the very real dangers women face, just walking alone in an isolated area, even in broad daylight.

This was the author's debut novel in English, and wow, she did such a fantastic job. While I wouldn't classify this as a typical thriller, it was such a fresh approach to a suspenseful novel.

The one thing I felt the book was missing would be taking a deeper look into Aidan, to help us understand the "why" behind his actions. I felt that was an unfinished aspect of the storyline.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book is out 6/20/23.

You will either hate or love this book. I loved it. There are many reasons to hate it from other readers' points of view - they say the prose is too much, too flowery and descriptive. They say the characters are too much, and they don't have sympathy for them. To this, I say, pppppfffffftttt!!

This is a novel, told from the perspective of women who love a serial killer. The first voice and main one is a woman known as Rachel. She has been held captive by the killer for five years. She has learned to play by his rules and survive. She is the only one of his victims he chose to keep. All the rest are dead and gone.

Second is his daughter, Cecilia. Does she know what is going on? Why does she readily accept that they are going to have a stranger living in their house with very little information about her? Is her father abusing her?

Third is his new "girlfriend," Emily. She is a little obsessed and unhinged, which explains much of her insane behaviors. This one I felt very little sympathy for. She was quite the idiot, IMO.

We also hear from the other victims of the serial killer, Aidan. Their voices are heard from the grave as clues to Aidan's behaviors.

Ahh, Aidan, what makes you tick? He is beloved in his community. Everyone knows and loves him, feels sorry for him because his wife has just died after a long battle with cancer. They even have a freakin' marathon to benefit Aidan and his daughter to help pay the medical bills left behind! The town judge gives him a place to live after his in-laws kick them out of the home they lived in, which they apparently owned. I would have liked to know more about the in-laws and their opinion of Aidan since it seems they did not care for him very much and were quite distant from their very ill daughter and their granddaughter. There is more to that story, I am sure.

The ending was satisfying. There was much tension and many jolts throughout the novel. I highly recommend this first novel and look forward to many more by Ms. Michallon.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the epitome of thriller! Such a fast paced read and I was totally riveted the entire time. The varying perspectives and look into the life of a captured woman reminded me a lot of Room. Towards the end, I can’t help but feel there is a missing layer with Emily’s character but that’s very minor to me. Overall an awesome read!! Thanks Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

The Quiet Tenant is told through the voices of three women who are involved with Aidan Thomas: his daughter, his love interest, and the woman he intended to kill, but has imprisoned for five years.

This novel was hard to put down once I started reading it, especially once I got about halfway through. The characters are strongly written, and the tension builds throughout the story. It touches on a lot of topical issues- power of men over women, the prevalence of violence against women, but without taking away from the flow of the storyline. I hope to see more from this new-to-me author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Seems like I read this type of story so many times before . Author does keep interesting until the last 50 pages .
Can pretty much figure out what's going to happen.
Thanks net galley for advance copy

It is the stuff of nightmares. Clemence Michallon begins her debut thriller by describing the life of a woman who has been held captive by a man-- a man who is liked by everyone in his "other" life.

He tells the woman her name will be "Rachel." He mistreats her in about every way imaginable.

The Quiet Tenant tells the story of the horrors this young woman endures and what she comes to know about other women in this man's other life.

I read The Quiet Tenant in one day. I will look forward to future books from this author. This one was amazing.

The Quiet Tenant
By Clemence Michallon
Pub Date June 20, 2023
Knopf
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I devoured this dark, sinister book.
You will either hate or love this book. It will possibly give you nightmares, I will think about this book long after I write this review.
Love the cover and Multiple POV .
4 stars

I wasn't quite sure how to rate this one...

On one side, it is quite gripping. It kept me wanting to see what happened. On the other side, I was more interested in seeing the end than actually immersing myself in the narrative (don't really read thriller often, perhaps I am just not used to it). The second person narrative by one of the narrators sometimes got into my nerves and annoyed, and I did not care enough by one of the characters so I basically skimmed through her chapters.

The thing is, I am not quite sure I enjoyed reading the book - but it was not due to the writing or anything of such, it was just a bit too heavy for me. I think thriller readers might enjoy this one though, I wanted something different from my usual non-fiction/light romance books but may have been to big of a jump for me.

When Aidan Thomas’s wife passes away, the residents of the small town where he resides are there to support the widower and his teenage daughter, Cecilia. If you ask the townsfolk, Aidan is a very respectable and generous man who is always available to help his neighbors should they need it. Emily, the owner of a local restaurant, is quite taken with the man who regularly sits at her bar. His piercing blue eyes and kind smile had her enthralled from the moment they first met, and she finds herself looking forward to his arrival every week. Emily is very keen on getting to know Aidan and soon finds herself entwined in his and his daughter’s life.

If you asked Rachel, she would tell you that Aidan Thomas is the most despicable and evil man she has ever met. Rachel knows things about Aidan that would shock the town. Aidan Thomas is a serial killer. He has killed eight women and locked up a ninth in his shed, Rachel. Rachel has been Aidan’s captive for years and hasn’t seen daylight or felt the wind on her face for what feels like forever. She only knows the shed, where Aidan brings her meals, a bucket to do her business, and visits late at night to take advantage of her. Rachel is desperate to convince Aidan that he has her in his thrall so that she can make her escape as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Little does she know that opportunity may come sooner rather than later. But has Rachel convinced Aidan that she’s loyal to him?

I’m stunned that this is a debut novel. It was so well written and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The book jumps between multiple points of view, Rachel’s, Emily’s, and Cecilia’s. I really like that we go to see Aidan through each woman’s points of view. It really drew me into the story. It really makes you think twice about trusting your neighbor, the man you sit next to on the bus, the kind patron you serve everyday…You never know what secret a person may be hiding. Reading Emily’s point of view made my skin crawl. She’s so captivated and infatuated with Aidan, I found myself yelling at her to run. I found it insanely creepy how a serial killer can be so charming and have an entire town wrapped around his finger.

This book is a nail-biting thriller that will have you talking about it for a long time after you’ve turned the last page!!

Rachel, the name she was given by her captor Aiden, has been held against her will for the past 5 years in a shed in his backyard, lacking any human interaction other than with the man she knows has killed many times before. When Aiden decides to move to a new house after his wife's death, he allows Rachel to come under one condition: she must play the part of a "family friend" to Aiden's young daughter, Cecilia. With the three living under one roof, Rachel must figure out a way to safely escape, without endangering her life and the life of her new friend Cecilia. Told in alternating perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Aiden's new love interest Emily, The Quiet Tenant is a fast-paced psychological thriller that will keep readers enticed until the very end.

Wonderfully suspenseful and quickly-paced chapters, The Quiet Tenant was such a fun read. The constant back and forth between narrators, voices of Aiden's victims, and time period changes was a bit disorienting (we had 3 narrators which was fine but then also flashbacks of those narrators). I could have done without Emily, I don't think she added a ton of value to the overall story--it would have been more fun to have had Aiden as a narrator instead. The ending felt a bit abrupt and I would have liked an epilogue for all the narrators, but overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend to friends for a quick, suspenseful thriller. Really impressed this was a debut novel, too!

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for the ARC!

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Rachel. That's been her name for five years. That's how long her captor has kept her in a shed just barely alive. She knows she is lucky as she knows he has killed others. Aiden Thomas has many faces. He is the cruel captor, a loving father and devoted husband. When Aiden's wife dies of cancer, he is forced to move with his daughter to a new house. What to do with Rachel? He takes her along with strict instructions as she is kept in a locked bedroom. However, worlds collide as Rachel meets the daughter, Cecily, and Aiden meets a new woman, Emily. Where does this leave Rachel and how will Aiden react to this collision? At times, the story slowed, but overall a read worth devouring.

4.5 stars

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.

This was such an interesting read and I was sucked right onto this story immediately. It was a real character study of how a serial killer can live among us, never once being suspected of such heinous crimes. Aidan was in fact, loved and admired in his community. This has always been such a scary thought for me.

Rachel's point of view was also very interesting. Watching her struggle with what has happened to her and what she might have to do to get back to her real life. Then, watching Emily get sucked into his orbit really cranked up the tension and suspense for me.

Overall, I really loved this book and look forward to more from this author in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

Wow!

This is an incredible book. I have never read a book like it.
I didn’t want it to end. The three perspectives you were reading between were incredibly well written. I cheered for them the whole way.
It is a darker thriller but it’s incredible.
I don’t think I’ll read another like it this year!

Read this book. A major 'Will she? Won't she?!'

A novel from the view of three women, all impacted by the one man - Aiden Thomas. Let me just say: perfect pace, genuine characters, creepy premise, but a book you can breeze through.

A generous thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor for giving me early access to The Quiet Tenant. Look out for this debut on the 30th June 2023

The Quiet Tenant is about the women surrounding a serial killer: his daughter Cecelia, a local restauranteur Emily, and his victim, a woman known only as Rachel. When the man is forced to move, Rachel is relocated from the shed she's been trapped in for the past five years and is now pretending to be a tenant trying to get her life on track. With freedom so close, will Rachel be able to run for it or has she been taken for too long?

This book has a unique take on a thriller. "Rachel" is the main pov written in 2nd. The rest of the victims show up in short chapters. Emily is frustrating but a good window into how the outside world sees Aidan. There isn't much mystery choosing to rely on tension of Rachel getting free, if she'll get free, as the main story.

The book does little to justify Aidan which isn't entirely satisfying but you know what? He doesn't deserve it. I would have liked a little more time showing us "Rachel's" life after instead of Emily. Maybe even Cecilia.

Anyways a twisty page turning thriller worth a read.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy.

What an interesting writing style for a book! While the premise is not totally unique, the way it is written (points of view of daughter, kidnap victim, the woman who has a crush on him, and murder victims) certainly is! I was in a bit of a reading slump, not sure what I felt like, but The Quiet Tenant hooked me immediately!

When I came across this novel, I immediately added it to my TBR, so I was thrilled when I found out it was available as a 'read now' on NetGalley. I downloaded it and was immediately hooked. Some decision making by the characters was a little questionable, but this was such a solid read. It's the first thriller I've read since Local Woman Missing that had me on the edge of my seat in the final pages. I'm so happy to have had a chance to read this one early and I hope Clemence Michallon continues to write!

After a painfully long March, we knew we had to resume reading with something… explosive! We’d seen The Quiet Tenant across bookstagram (and, thanks to Netgalley, already had it on our TBR), and it was just what we needed.

TQT, Clemence Michallon’s debut novel, revolves around Aidan Thomas, an enigmatic, seemingly innocuous recent widower and single father, who harbours a dark secret: he is a serial killer and kidnapper. Written across various timelines and in the POVs of the women in Aidan’s life: women he murdered, “Rachel”- the woman he has kidnapped and held captive for 5 years, Cecilia- his 13-year-old daughter, and Emily- the young restaurateur who develops feelings for him, TQT takes us through the trauma he inflicted upon them.

While the plot was intriguing and exuded some “You” meets “Room” vibes, we found that TQT lacked the pace and nail-biting twists that we’ve, rather ironically, come to expect from psychological thrillers. Instead, it stayed true to its synopsis and focused largely on the psychological impact of Aidan’s actions.

Opting to narrate TQT in the women’s POVs not only furthered the tale but facilitated the slow unravelling of Aidan’s true character without overtly humanising him. It was an especially bold choice to narrate Rachel’s parts in the second person. While this can be polarising (as evident from reviews on Goodreads), we didn’t mind it. We felt like it offered us the occasional adrenaline rush that was needed in a book that packed such a slow burn and helped us connect with her character. In contrast, despite a decent start, Emily’s character became unbearable over time, and her choices were questionable and frustrating (and very often downplayed).

Furthermore, the writing felt a tad inconsistent and in need of sharper editing. Some parts, especially Rachel’s POV, were eloquent and poetic, while others felt awkward. Additionally, some insignificant parts dragged on endlessly, and more critical areas were glossed over. The biggest letdown, however, was the rather anticlimactic conclusion. We wish the ending was not so dramatically rushed and that we’d gotten better insight into Aidan’s motivations. Perhaps a final chapter from his POV?

TQT is a book that one can either love or possibly DNF, but we didn’t mind it. While it wasn’t our favourite, it was worth a one-time-read.

L&L Rating: 3 stars

TL;DR: Slow burn, more psychological than thriller, one time read.

I received a free copy of, The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Everyone thinks Aidan is the perfect neighbor, everyone is wrong. Aidan is a serial killer, having killed eight women already. This book is something else, its definitely a thriller, I really enjoyed this book.