Absolutely stunning debut novel for Clemence Michallon. Wow. Such an intriguing story told from 1st person narrative. This one is a page turner that will keep you up late and wanting for more.

Clemence does an excellent job developing the characters throughout the book, and keeps you guessing on every corner.

Well well done.

When his wife dies, serial killer Aiden and their teen daughter have to move to a new home. Along with the usual concerns of moving house, Aiden also has to move Rachel, a captive he has held in a shed behind his home for the last five years. Now the different spheres of his life are intersecting in new ways: his captive, his daughter, and his new love interest. Multiple perspectives and a fast pace, I’ll recommend to fans of domestic thrillers.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for digital review copy.

I couldn’t put this book down! Great job and hooking the audience at the beginning and keeping you hooked the entire way through! I give this book a 5/5 stars!

The Quiet Tenant was a good read but I think there should have been more about the daughter or something from her point of view.

When I read the description for The Quiet Tenant, it brought back vibes from Notes on an Execution: serial killer where we hear the perspectives from the women around him. However, this book is very different from that one in terms of pacing, characters, and plot. So if you were concerned that you were going to get a knockoff version of Notes on an Execution, don’t let that dissuade you.

By far the strength of this novel is the Rachel perspective. Rachel has been held captive in Aidan’s (the serial killer’s) shed for five years. After his wife Caroline passes away from cancer, Aidan and his daughter Cecilia have to relocate. And Aidan takes Rachel with them! So Aidan has chosen to incorporate Rachel into his household with his daughter. We do see a few chapters from Cecilia’s perspective, but they are very few in number. I really appreciate Rachel’s keen observations. Having been imprisoned for so long, she knows Aidan really well and can sense when he has killed a woman or what mood he’s in. When she gets more access to his house, she takes in all the information she can.

Another perspective we see is Emily’s. This perspective, in my opinion, needs to be fleshed out more. Emily is the restaurant owner/bartender where Aidan visits semi-regularly. Emily seems lost. She’s inherited the restaurant but doesn’t seem that into it. Emily develops an unhealthy fixation on Aidan, who she has known since she was a teenager. We don’t really learn much more about Emily. I realize that Emily is needed for the plot, but I think the reader needs more about Emily’s character/backstory.

This novel shows the last part of Rachel’s shed imprisonment and then her transition to living in Aidan’s home, and I thought the novel was so well executed, giving the reader a real sense of what it would be like to be in Rachel’s position. The real-time moments were so tense, and you felt all the angst and terror of the situation. You can see Aidan’s power over these three women: with Cecilia he has the power of a father, with Rachel he has coerced/forced power, and he definitely has power over Emily as wel (though the reason is indeterminate).

There were some questions and/or comments I had as a reader that we don’t get answered, and other readers may also have:
* If Rachel was in Aidan’s backyard shed for 5 years and he visited her twice a day, wouldn’t his wife and daughter been suspicious of him leaving the house and going to the shed? I know his wife was sick with cancer, but still…it feels like this behavior would have been noticed, and the wife or daughter would have tried to figure out what was going on in the shed. Or, if the shed was farther away from the house, tried to follow him at least once.
* Why did he not kill Rachel? Rachel does puzzle out that she was his intended victim when his wife got sick. But why keep her around for so long when no one else makes it more than a few hours?
* What was Aidan’s appeal for Emily? Was he the only game in town? It comes off as a strange father fixation more than a crush. I understand Emily is a plot device, but she was difficult to understand as a character.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I don’t feel that it will fall from my memory anytime soon. It was extremely visceral. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an insane, slow-building, petrifying, multi-layered, intense of a thriller. So hard to put down, yet petrifying to continue on reading.

Aidan is a family man; recently single father, well respected man in the community whom everyone loves and adores. Aidan has an easy playing field for his secretive extra-curricular…activities.

The woman who is everywhere and nowhere, needs to play the quiet tenant to stay alive. Be involved with Aidan’s life, but never to be known of.

Emily works and owns the local restaurant in town. She wants so desperately to be a part of someone’s life, to be the center of someone’s world. She found someone to love; but, is it safe for her?

Run, don’t walk when this book comes out. You’ll be torn every which way and will not regret it.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read and review this!

I received an ARC copy of The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon.

I absolutely loved this book! A seem-to-be-loving family man holds a dark secret. Throughout the book, we find out more information about Aiden and the horrific things he has done. However, no one in the community would ever suspect this kind man to be so dangerous. Rachel has rules that she lives by and her will to survive is admirable. The storytelling in this book had me completely immersed in the character of Rachel and really felt what it must have been like to be her. what lengths will she go to in order to survive and what lengths will he go to in order to keep his dark secret hidden from everyone around him, even his daughter who lives with them!
100% would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy to review.

I was really in the mood to read a thriller and boy did The Quiet Tenant not disappoint. I was hooked at the beginning. It moved slowly along for much of the story but I kept wanting to read to find out what happened and how Rachel gets out of her situation. Though I’m a big reader, I generally get sleep on a fairly regular schedule. This is the first time I remember in years staying awake to finish a book. The last 15% was a constant ride that I didn’t want to get off until it was over. I enjoyed Michallon’s writing and hope she will publish more. The 4 main characters were fully developed (Rachel, Emily, Cecelia, and Aidan, though we never read from his perspective). I appreciated the length of chapters—that definitely helped me keep reading but also find places to stop when necessary in life *shrug*.

This is a thriller about a serial killer that keeps a girl captives for 5 years in his shed, then moves her into his home as a roommate all while presenting the perfect widow and dad persona to the community.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Oh Aidan. I’ve been anxiously awaiting a good serial killer perspective novel. If you love the likes of Dexter, you’ll enjoy this serial killer view of the world as well. Highly recommend!

OMG. The Quiet Tenant is one of the best books I’ve read in years. Compelling, gritty, emotional, gripping and simply unputdownable. I stayed glued to the pages until the story was done but know the tale will stay with me for a long, long time. Michallon pens protagonist Rachel perfectly by placing her POV in second person. Rachel is so traumatized, controlled, and lost to herself she has forgotten the word "I". That POV detail alone tells us everything we need to know about her captivity by a dangerous man. Brilliant. There's more, though. So much more.

If the movie deal comes to fruition, the film The Quiet Tenant is bound to be a blockbuster. I loved this book. Highly recommended. Not to be missed!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for offering an ARC to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer.*

Books told from multiple character point of views have become quite popular in the last few years, allowing readers to explore the minds and storylines of multiple characters huddled around one central plot.

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon is one such book and explores the story lines of multiple women in the life of widow Aiden Thomas. There's Cecelia, his teenage daughter. There's Emily, his new love interest. And there's Rachel, a woman who he has held captive in a shed behind his house for several years. There are also brief chapters from other nameless victims that Aiden has killed over time.

The premise is a great set up for a superb thriller once we learn that Aiden's in-laws have forced him and Cecelia out of their house and now they must move. Aiden contemplates getting rid of Rachel, but she persuades him to take her with them to their new place. The control that such psychopaths have over their victims really makes this an eerie read as we see Rachel appeasing Aiden and reminding herself of the rules for staying alive, all while also plotting her escape.

Aiden soon becomes close to a local restaurant owner name Emily. Emily has no idea who Aiden really is because he's built this pristine reputation for himself in the town. The reader will find themselves questioning whether or not Aiden is trying to change his habits, or is he just plotting his next victim? Michallon keeps you guessing as to the events that might play out.

However, halfway through the book, it becomes quite repetitive. Patterns and rules have long been established between Rachel and Aiden. She tests the waters and contemplates if Aiden might be harming his own daughter. The feelings between Emily and Aiden are mutual and playing out. The chapters from the other female victims are extremely short and sometimes confusing, and don't really add to the tension. Overall, the action doesn't really pick up until about the last twenty percent of the novel.

Rachel's chapters are told in a third person omniscient POV which becomes very repetitive after a while with "You did this and you did that." However, it plays well into how Rachel's psyche has definitely been affected over the years out of fear and control. Cecelia's chapters are told in first person. We get a glimpse at a typical teenager who also has no idea who her father really is. The reader will want Cecelia to know more, or at least attempt to find out, but instead her character is a bit of a pawn who stays in the dark. Emily's chapters are also told in first person and become very monotonous as she obsesses constantly over why Aiden won't reply to a text.

The book could have benefited from one outside character, possibly a mom or detective searching for Rachel. That might have helped drive some of the intensity here. Overall, The Quiet Tenant is a quick read and a somewhat absorbing novel when it comes to the thriller aspect, but it falls short about halfway through and never really delivers those "A-ha!" moments we crave from such a book and that keep the reader guessing. It's still a decent first book for the author that readers will enjoy.

The Quiet Tenant will be available June 20th from Knopf.

I couldn't get into this book. It was poor writing and made me uncomfortable. Thrillers are one of my favorite genres but this one didn't do it for me.

I will start off by saying that I finished The Quiet Tenant in one sitting. It was well written and had great pacing and suspense. That said, it fell flat for me because the characters didn't feel quite real, they felt like what they were. With a little more depth to the characters it would have been great.

I loved this book. The characters have so many different personalities that make this feel real. I love a book that makes me a little nervous from time to time, nervous enough to skip a couple paragraphs down really quickly to calm my nerves, and this book did just that. Michaellon is a fantastic writer. I normally am not super interested in the acknowledgement section of a book, but she just feels so relatable. Congratulations on crushing goals!

A heart-pounding, thought-provoking, and emotionally charged novel that forces you to confront the fact that you may never truly know another person, no matter how well you think you do. This expertly crafted novel introduces the reader to Aidan Thomas, beloved community member, father, and recent widower, through the eyes of his daughter, his almost-girlfriend, and the woman he kidnapped five years ago, who he spared from becoming another one of his victims, and who fights to stay on his good side day in and day out to stay alive.

Through the eyes of his daughter, Cecilia, and the local woman he’s started dating, Emily, we see the mask of normalcy, dependability, and trustworthiness that Aidan shows to the world, in direct contrast with the truth of his assaultive and murderous capabilities that his captive, “Rachel”, and his previous victims know is hidden beneath the façade.

This psychological thriller hooked me from the first page to the last. The alternating POVs allow the reader to dive deeply into the characters of the women as individuals, as well as into Aidan, through their vastly different relationships with him. Each woman has a distinct voice in their respective chapters, making their characterization that much stronger.

I found the use of second person POV to be a genius stylistic choice that serves as an ever-present invitation for the reader to put themselves in Rachel’s shoes and to understand the mindset and survival skills she has adopted to keep herself alive.

The novel forces the reader to take stock of themselves and those they surround themselves with, promoting a new awareness of the trust we naturally put into people we know, especially those we don’t, as a part of human nature. It isn’t always at the forefront of our mind to assume everyone we meet is capable of malicious, psychopathic acts, but should it be?

Because of the subject matter, this book won’t be for everyone, but under no circumstance does this story glorify or romanticize Aidan’s character in any way. Rather, it serves as a commentary on the masks that serial killers portray to their family, friends, and community while behind closed doors they commit acts of calculated and controlled violence, psychological torture, and serial murder. Readers are perfectly aware throughout the novel of who Aidan truly is: a danger to everyone around him, hidden in plain sight.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Knopf for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

Best psychological thriller I’ve picked up in a long time. Keeps you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath from chapter to chapter.

3.75/5

Aidan is a beloved family man who is known around town for helping his neighbors. After his wife dies from cancer, the town rallies around him but they don't know the real Aidan or the secrets his keeps.

This book is told from the POV of his daughter Cecilia, his new girlfriend Emily, and Rachel, a victim he has spared but keeps prisoner. We also get snippet POVs from the victims he has not spared.

This one was pretty dang dark. It wasn't gruesome or descriptive but it is unsettling and at times hard to digest.

What I liked; Multiple POVs, well paced, gripping
What I didn't like; I'm not a huge fan of "locked room" thrillers, they just arent my fav. There was also a high degree of implausibility. Without spoiling it, there were certain things I just felt would not have happened the way that it did. I wanted more from the daughters POV, I didnt feel she was fleshed out enough. We also never got WHY Aidan did the things he did. I would have preferred his POV over his girlfriends.

All in all, quick, fast paced thriller. I will definitely read more by this author.

Hmmm…

I went back and forth about this review . I want to always be able to be honest with you.

There were many things I really liked about this one and just a few things I believe could be tweaked .

I really enjoyed the 3 points of view. However, we never really got to bond and root for any of them . You obviously want to see Rachel/May be freed but you also want to shake her because she had opportunities . As far as the rape scene it was repeated every night and it didn’t need to be said every time . It was established . I liked Cecelia, from what I knew about her but her character lacked depth. Did she know what her father was? She explored the basement, did she know what she was looking at? And last, Emily . I felt for her but I also thought she went crazy psycho stalker on us when she literally entered a man’s house that she slept with once without permission. She was begging for her throat to get slashed.

I don’t know how I feel about this one . The premise sounded promising but I felt like it moved along slowly and not much really happened . Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for it. I am sure this will have a wide audience of people who will love it.

Teaser :

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.

When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his thirteen-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. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, 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 had to DNF at 23% in. The storyline could be amazing- but the writing style was not for me.
What I did enjoy about the book is that the author had a great direction that he was going with the storyline. It just fell flat for me because it was way too wordy… and I know that this is a laughable statement, but that’s what it was. Over explanations of things that never needed to be said. Things that were not of importance to the situation at hand.

I would however try another book by this author in the future.