In this psychological thriller, readers follow three women who are close to a serial killer. The first- the woman called Rachel, who has been held captive for the last five years. Next- Emily, restaurant owner infatuated with recent widower Aiden. And finally- Cecelia, Aiden's thirteen year old daughter.

What I loved about this was how different each point of view was. For Emily, an outsider to the world of Aiden, we see her infatuation that started as a child. As readers, we know who Aiden is, and it's heartbreaking to see how his community is oblivious. When it switches to his daughter's perspective, readers get a closer look at two grieving people. Cecelia can tell there is something wrong, but figures it has to do with her mother's death.

And Rachel. Her chapters are the ones that connect readers to the story. It's told in second person, making it feel as if it is happening to the reader as well as to Rachel. Her trauma comes across so well, bringing her world and self to life.

Ultimately, this was a captivating thriller where I didn't know how it would end. It kept me on the edge of my seat and had me shedding a few tears at the end.

The Quiet Tenant kind of left me speechless. It’s about a serial killer, his family, and the woman he’s holding hostage. Told between the viewpoints of the hostage, his daughter, and a local woman in town, it’s a very unique concept of a book and I couldn’t put it down. It definitely comes with a whole bunch of trigger warnings and could be difficult to read at times, but it kept me intrigued and I couldn’t wait to see how it ended!

Thanks to NetGalley & Knopf, Pantheon, Vinatge, and Anchor for the ARC!

Aiden Thomas is a father, a husband, and a beloved member of his community. His wife unfortunately passes away due to cancer which leaves Aiden to care for his daughter Cecelia alone. The community organizes fundraisers to help support them through this difficult time and the judge even rents his house to them when they’re forced to leave their home. He’s been hiding a woman he had intended to kill in his shed for five years and nobody suspects a thing. When they move, he brings her along, explains to his daughter that she’s a friend of a friend that needs a place to stay. Every night he handcuffs her to the bed and all day to the radiator in her bedroom. She knows he’s killed other women after her and she knows he’s going to kill again, but after years of physical and psychological abuse when she sees her first opportunity to escape she doesn’t take it. She starts spending more time with his daughter but she knows just her words aren’t enough to convince her that her father is a monster. She needs to get out alive but she also wants to make sure Cecelia makes it out too.

This book had me HOOKED. The suspense was absolutely top notch and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. it’s really hard to say much more without giving anything away but i think the one thing i would’ve loved at the end of the book is to get at least one chapter from Aiden explaining why he did what he did. I also thought it was really creative to have “Rachel’s” voice being in second person, i don’t really see that too often. The story was super descriptive and even though i wanted to scream at her to just freaking run out of there I can understand after so many years of knowing there was no way out your initial fight or flight instinct takes some time to come back. If you’re looking for a twisty thriller, this isn’t that but it is definitely packed full of suspense!

Thank you netgalley and knopf publishing for the ARC!

Enjoyable writing with an intriguing plot. A few plausibility and character issues but overall a good read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61897971

Let’s start off with the positive aspects about this book first. The cover is captivating (I loved it), I liked the title of this book, and the book description/synopsis was brilliant. I could not wait to read this book! A book about a serial killer, a trapped woman, and a daughter who has no idea what’s going on. Count me in!

However… this was not the expected thriller/suspense novel that I thought I would be reading. ‘The Quiet Tenant’ read more like a women’s filled drama, with one good looking man at the center of all the drama. There was no mystery or suspense in this book whatsoever.

We have alternating chapters throughout this story, all told in the voices of “The girl in the shed”, Emily, and Cecilia. The girl in the shed has been held captive for five years, and is transported to live in the house with our serial killer and his daughter. Now, I know I would not know what I would do if I was in her shoes, but I kept thinking she should move quicker than what she does. Cecilia is the 13 year old daughter of the serial killer, and honestly there’s not much that goes on with her. Emily- now this is where the eye-rolls came in. Emily thought she was the serial killer’s girlfriend, so she basically decided to stalk him. She was a bit creepy in my opinion. I feel she made some strange decisions as a woman (things I would never think to do). And then we have our handsome blue-eyed serial killer, Aiden.

Even after having just finished this book, I’m still left with more questions than answers. Since we had this big “character study” on Aiden and his women, I still don’t have any answers on why he killed the women that he did. I guess we are given little clues on his controlling behavior, but it was a very underwhelming conclusion.

If you are a fan of women’s fiction/drama, and not expecting a mystery/thriller (as this book is labeled), then you might enjoy this book more than I did. (2.5 stars rounded up)

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, NetGalley, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 20, 2023.

I just finished The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon. Excellent, excellent novel. Had everything I look for in a book. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint, the voice, of one of three women/girl. The killer's 13 year old daughter, the woman he has held captive for 5 years, and the local restauranteur/bartender who he is trying to romance. The character of Aidan Thomas is a man loved by everyone in his town. A recent widower who has the reputation of. being there whenever someone needs help. Charismatic and handsome. Loving father. Certainly not someone who could kidnap, murder and rape. But he is. I never believe in giving too much away about a book that I love so I will stop now. Though there is so much more to write about. Great book. Read it.

Thank you to the author, Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and offer an honest review.

This one was super dark. In a world filled with daily reports of crime and violence in my corner of Connecticut, I am ready for a cozy mystery spree.

The "invisible monster among us" trope is handled well, and I felt sorry for his victims. The different points of view were effective at building tension. But I was never drawn into the drama to cheer on his current "tenant" and her efforts to end her lease.

3 stars for potential to go straight to Netflix screenplay.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

DNF – made it through 53% and couldn’t take anymore. The serial killer genre is one of my favorites and I was excited to check it out after reading the books plot summary. I found it to be slow, unrealistic and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

Rounded up to 2 stars.

All books are either loved, liked, or hated by different readers. But sometimes I’ll read a book that I just know is going to be sitting on a seesaw with readers, maybe going from love to hate and hate to love with the loved it/hated it groups being pretty equal. For the most part, I was captivated by Rachel’s story and fell on the really liked it side.
Cecelia and Emily are secondary main characters, but it was Rachel’s plight that kept me flipping pages. I can’t say as much as I want to without giving away major spoilers. I’ve thought about this book for days now, and while there are certain decisions Rachel made that I’m still having a hard time understanding, I kind of stopped trying. Rachel was a victim, and I’ve decided since I’ve never walked in a pair of her shoes, I really can’t judge her decision making process.
A sad, sad story and one that left me with many many unanswered questions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I’ll be thinking about this story for quite a while.

This book had me hooked from the beginning – a definite page-turner! Rachel has been imprisoned by Aidan in a shed for years. Aiden- upstanding member of the community, father, husband… and murderer of 8 women. When Aidan’s wife dies, he is forced to move with his daughter from the family property. He brings everything along, including Rachel, who he introduces as a “family friend.” Rachel knows this is her chance for freedom, but she must wait for the perfect opportunity. Will she find it before Aidan decides it’s too risky to keep her alive and he takes another victim?

Thrilling it is.
Time for chilling yourself with a psychological thrilling story and keep your night awake.
Heart-beating and tears drop when the truth is come out.
Come with the quiet tenant and the transforming of thinking when that scary happened.

This thriller was unbelievably bingeable… I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing it because I just HAD to know how it would end!

I was hooked from the beginning when we are introduced to the main character and find out that she is being held captive in a shed and has been for the last five years! I enjoyed the different POV’s and think that they worked really well together to depict the twisted life of a serial killer… I was puzzled, intrigued and disgusted all at the same time.

Ultimately, the ending of this one just didn’t do it for me, which is so unfortunate because this book was headed for a five star until probably the last 10%! The set-up was just way too good to be left so unresolved - I‘m left with too many questions!

A super fun thriller with lots of twists and turns. I'd recommend this to lovers of all thrillers and mysteries.

Wow, what a debut novel! I’ve read so many thrillers — especially about serial killers — that they usually bore me. But this one was special.

It really explored why the killer’s captive didn’t take even the littlest chance to escape, and it seems much more realistic than what armchair readers believe would have happened. If you were really someone’s captive — and they’d really done all the disturbing things to you that happened in the book — I doubt you’d have been able to just run, either.

I liked it that the book explained everything the killer did in detail except for when he sexually attacked her. As a reader, I knew it kept happening to her, but I didn’t have to read any disgusting descriptions of it. Big thanks to the author for doing that.

I had so many theories swirling in my head, but it turns out that a good thriller doesn’t always need to use a twist ending (despite almost all of them having one). What it needs are good characters and a compelling storyline, which is exactly what this one offered.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

THE QUIET TENANT
By Clémence Michallon

Publication Date: June 20, 2023
Genre: Mystery & Thriller

Aidan Thomas is a family man.
A beloved, contributing town member.
A recent widower raising a teenage daughter.
Oh, he's also a kidnapper and serial killer...

If you're a fan of YOU or ROOM and looking for a safe, mainstream thriller, this one will arrive just in time for a fun summer adventure.

Told solely through the perspectives of the women in Aidan's life-- a kidnapped woman, his new love interest, and his teenage daughter (there are also brief blurbs from previously murdered women sprinkled throughout) we get a sense of different sides of an unfolding situation, without hearing from the man.

A familiar premise, with a unique approach, the novel is a quick read that scratches at the surface of what could be.
Short chapters and brief sentences allow the work to be quickly devoured, but easily forgotten.

The kidnapped-character's-second-person- POV did not work for me; I found it rather irritating and repetitive, reminding me of the YOU novels.

The violence that exists here is more mental than physical. I did not feel much of a connection to the characters, or find the work to be particularly suspenseful.
I was hoping the story would go harder and deeper than it does, but it plays it pretty safe, making it feel familiar in a "been there, done that" sort of way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

This was a great thriller that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. The three POV’s are the victim, the daughter and the girlfriend of a serial killer. It was a great book and the authors debut novel. I highly recommend it. Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

I haven't been in the mood for a thriller lately but I'm so glad I chose this one, it's amazing!! I could not stop reading. Any chance I had, I was picking up this book.
This book is about a widowed, amazing dad who is loved in the community but who is also a serial killer that has been keeping a girl captive for the last 5 years.
I loved all the different pov's. Like a random unnamed character's pov will be thrown in, keeping you guessing. It keeps it very fast paced.
It was interesting too because you get the story from the pov's of his daughter and his "girlfriend" which really humanizes him, makes him seem normal. But then at the same time you get the story from the pov of the girl he's held captive which reminds you he's a serial killer jerk. I loved it!!
This author does such a good job of setting the scene too, it felt like I was watching a movie the whole time. I will definitely be looking forward to more books from this author!

This may be the first book I have read where I could not put it down for even one second, the writing and storytelling are just that compelling. High psychological suspense and tension, strong, multi-faceted female characters who are more than just potential victims, with a harrowing and satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended. I can't wait to read what this author does next! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. #TheQuietTenant #NetGalley

The Quiet Tenant is a psychological thrill that follows the lives of three woman and serial killer family man, Aidan Thomas. On the outside to everyone he’s a great family man but to Rachel he is the opposite.

I went into this book blind not reading any reviews. Oh my heavens I loved how this book was from 3 women’s POV - the daughter, the kidnapped and the love interest. I enjoyed how you got to see the serial killer through each one of their eyes and just how depending on who you were he seemed so perfect or an absolute monster. It was a page turner for sure, I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened next. I would say just one more chapter, just one more chapter.


Thank you so much to NetGalley, Clémence Michallon, and Knopf Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. The novel tells the story of Aidan Thomas, a hard-working family man who is also a kidnapper and serial killer. He has already murdered eight women, and has a ninth woman, Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life.

Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Aidan's 13-year-old daughter Cecilia, and Emily, a local restaurant owner who develops a crush on Aidan, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan's crimes on the women in his life. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia, and together they try to find a way to escape from Aidan's clutches.

What makes this novel truly exceptional is the way in which it explores the bonds between women, and the strength that comes from these relationships. The Quiet Tenant is a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power. Michallon's writing is daring and completely satisfying, and she manages to create a story that is both haunting and unforgettable.

Overall, The Quiet Tenant is a bravura feat of storytelling that is sure to keep readers hooked from beginning to end. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers, this novel is a must-read for anyone looking for a gripping and thought-provoking read.