💙 The Tenants by Alia Luria ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Normally I’m not a devoted reader of this genre, but the author’s language and narrative technique were so beautiful that I really loved the book. It was the first book I’ve read by the author. The style is very unique and from the very first page the book pulls you in. It’s a claustrophobic story that creates tension, yet it never leaves you with an unsettling sense of horror. And that’s exactly the thing I care about the most. Also I like the main character, narrator. 🏠🔪

If you enjoy crime and psychological thriller; then this one is definitely for you!

This book was definitely a quick read for me. It kept me interested. The secrets just kept being revealed & I felt like I figured out some of it, but definitely not what the ending was. I’m talking about the ending before you get that last final twist that has you contemplating if you just read that correctly. 😂 The main character’s need to be needed and secretly gratified by being wayy too invested in her tenants lives, got a bit annoying. This book is kind of what nightmares are formed from & I am just happy we own our home because I would be paranoid. So much going on in this story and it’s all wrapped up in a bow neatly for you sit back and say how did I not see this . 4 stars almost 5 but the reveal was a little too quick for me. Thank you to @netgalley #TheTenants #NetGalley best book about tenants I’ve read all year 😉

Enjoyed this book, however did predict the twists. I love the way the author writes and thsi book didnt take me long to read at all. Definitely would read more books from this author xx

Eve has agoraphobia, she has not left the building she lives in for five years, due to an horrific attack. Eve owns the building, living in the top flat, letting all the others out. Her Tennants don’t know that she keeps an eye on them all from the hidden passageways that go behind the walls accessed via a trapdoor in her flat; or do they?
Then one of her tenants is discovered hanging in his flat, discovered by Eve and another of her tenants, and from there everything changes.
A really good read thriller with plenty of unexpected twists, my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

The Tenants are angry, deceitful, and with many secrets. Are they also capable of murder? This thriller will keep you hooked! 💫💫💫💫💫

Eve is such a caring and thoughtful landlady. She cares for her tenants so much that she spies on them through a pathway in her building. But don't judge her. She is just looking out for them since she suffers from agoraphobia. They are her life and her family, and her days and nights revolve around them. Until a tenant is found dead by apparent suicide. Eve's life is turned upside down when her days and nights start to blend in. She blacks out, and she isn't quite sure what she did or didn't do. Is it the agoraphobia that is causing this, or perhaps the alcohol that she may or may not be taking without remembering or could it be a tenant that is seeking out revenge for an accident that happened in her childhood?

Perfect for those who enjoy a complex and meticulous thriller that keeps you guessing the whole time!

Thank you, Netgalley and Boldwood Books, for this ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I was very interested in the plot of this book. It starts off slow, and I had a hard time getting into it. The agrophobia is interesting. There were unexpected twists in it. The end leaves you hanging!

Great summer read!

I took The Tenants with me on a recent trip, and it turned out to be the perfect travel companion. Hunter’s pacing kept me hooked through long stretches on planes, trains, and buses, and the suspense made the hours fly by. The characters felt vivid, the twists landed well, and the atmosphere was just creepy enough to make me glance over my shoulder a few times.

A solid 4 out of 5 for me. Perfect if you’re looking for something engaging and a little unsettling for your next getaway.

Thanks to NetGalley (and the Boldwood intern!) for the ARC!

Dramatic, mysterious, gripping and riveting, M.A. Hunter has delivered with The Tenants: A BRAND NEW psychological thriller from M. A. Hunter for 2025! Eve is a landlady of a building that she inherited from her father. She lives in the top flat and enjoys looking out for the safety and happiness of her tenants. Eve has not stepped outside of the building for the last five years as she has agoraphobia following a horrific attack. Eve wants everyone to feel safe but everyone's sense of safety is rocked when one of the tenants is found dead in their apartment and the police arrive to investigate....

Even thought the tenants, with the exception of Eve, can go in and out of the building, The Tenants: A BRAND NEW psychological thriller from M. A. Hunter for 2025 still has that 'trapped' feeling that I enjoy in books. As the book progresses, there is a sense of desperation and dread that seeps from the pages. Eve no longer feels safe as it appears that someone is doing things to mess with her mind But who and why? Is there a killer amongst them? If so, it would not be the first time. Eve has learned that the building that she inherited has a dark past.

This is a gripping mystery which kept me engaged and doing my best super sleuthing to determine whodunit! I enjoyed the mounting tension, the eerie vibe, and the sense of danger. This is the 7th book that I have read by M.A. Hunter and he always creates riveting well thought out mysteries with interesting characters.

M.A. Hunter delivers a unique closed-room mystery with a strikingly memorable main character. The story’s premise — a landlady who hasn’t stepped outside in five years — instantly sets the stage for an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere. Hunter excels at portraying a single character with complex challenges, from deep-seated phobias to social restrictions, making her vivid and deeply human.

The tenants, each with their own quirks, secrets, and shifting loyalties, add further intrigue and keep the reader guessing about who can be trusted. The writing flows effortlessly, and the pacing keeps you hooked from start to finish. Even though I often found the landlady obnoxious and frustrating, her flaws made her feel real, and I could still understand and even empathize with her. The layers of secrets, tension among tenants, and the slow peeling back of the building’s sordid history make this an engrossing, character-driven thriller that lingers after you turn the last page.

I enjoyed this. I found it an easy read. Quite a unique plot and covered a lot of issues surrounding mental health quite well.
I found it slowed down in the middle but picked up towards the end, and I also like how it was told in day/time stamps.
You really start to feel for Eve and what she has been through however that may change at the end.
Thank you for my early copy.

The Tenants is an eerie psychological thriller full of suspense. This is the first book my M.A.Hunter that I have read and I enjoyed the narration style of the book. Although the book felt fast-paced, at times it also felt like the plot was developing slowly, however overall I was left with a feeling of urgency and needing to know what was happening!

3.5 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for access to this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher Boldwood Books and Author M A Hunter for the advanced e-copy of The Tenants.

Oh my god.. From start to finish this was a masterpiece and I would be so bold to claim that this might be the thriller of the year!

As someone.who lives in a flat I was so looking forward to this! Wow what a read, it literally pulled me along from the first page, I loved it, so many twists and plot changes! A fabulous read!

Eve is the landlady of the 9 flats she owns. She keeps a watchful eye and a listening ear on the 9 residents living in the other 8 flats in her block. Running a tight ship and keeping everyone happy, Eve aims to please everyone and nip any problems in the bud. Could a bicycle left in the hallway become an issue?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Tenants and consider it to be an OUTSTANDING 5 star read. This is the second book I have read from M.A. Hunter and it is another British psychological thriller. I liked how this time not only were there mind games playing with the reader but also Eve, who wondered, just like her brother Pete, if she was losing the plot a little. Boy, does this book make the reader think as you read through the short chapters. When I got to the end, I had to sleep on it before writing this review the next day as my head was still spinning.

The Tenants has all you can expect from a psychological thriller plus a condition that is seldom spoken about. Eve suffers from extreme agoraphobia following an incident involving her coming home one day before the Covid pandemic. With the anxiety caused by the incident and the risk of catching Covid, Eve has not been out of her block of flats for over 5 years. Her extreme agoraphobia has made her a prisoner in her own home. Thankfully she can work online from home and gets everything she wants delivered to her door. The author describes her condition very well indeed, a condition I did not understand, as I can drive or walk anywhere in the UK without batting an eyelid. The author explains the challenges that Eve faces every day so well, that the reader develops an empathy for her very quickly indeed. I felt for Eve and it saddened me when she and her brother Pete questioned whether she was losing the plot due to stress.

I liked how this story was told, totally from Eve’s point of view and with a linear time scale. There was none of this wretched back and forth in time that can plague other novels. Although Eve holds a dark secret, the author is very clever and does not go back in time, he simply hints in passing that something may have happened when Eve was a teenager. The plot of The Tenants is simply brilliant with many, many twists along the way and the final paragraph has a truly GOSH! moment. The writing quality is top rate and I look forward to reading more from M.A. Hunter. I always read a book until the very last page and if you do read a copy of The Tenants, then you must read the following acknowledgements because he has slipped a very funny joke into there!

Eve inherited a large house, already converted into flats, following the death of her father. Eve lives in one of the flats, renting out the others to carefully vetted tenants. Five years ago Eve suffered a serious attack by an unknown assailant, since then she has refused to leave the safety of her building, not even stepping over the threshold to empty her online groceries from the crate. Eve devotes her time to looking out for her tenants, holding monthly meetings to ensure any concerns they have are quickly resolved. She appears to know what is going on in the tenants lives without being told. Unbeknownst to the them, Eve is able to hear some of their conversations by climbing into a series of spaces between the walls of each flat. Life continues as usual until the day Eve discovers one of her tenants dead in his flat. Eve's life is thrown into chaos, the safe world she has built herself in tatters.

The plot romps along at a fast pace and was an easy read. For me there were no shocks or surprises, although there are hints of past happenings with a few twists along the way. Eve herself is quite creepy and gets more so as the story develops, all adding to the tension of this engaging thriller. If you enjoy this genre and want to quickly immerse yourself in a psychological mystery that isn't overly complicated, this is the book for you. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my advanced reader copy in return for my honest and unbiased review

Set in an apartment building landlady Eve is your star landlady.
Eve does everything and anything to make her tenants feel cared for and watched out for.
Unknown to the other Eve is fighting her own battle and masking her life to help them.
This thriller takes such a twist readers aren’t sure what to think.
Do the tenants appreciate Eve?
Is there a reason they are all there together?
Is someone hiding in the building?

The ending is shocking and one you do not see coming. Read it to find out.

Highly recommend this read!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital review copy. Below is my honest review.

I have wanted to read more from M A Hunter after reading The Woman On Platform 8. I am a huge fan of the writing style and the stories. So I was really excited to be given the chance to read and review this one.

The Tenants is a psychological thriller based around Eve who is both a landlord and tenant in a building that was inherited from her dad. Eve has agoraphobia and cannot leave the flat.. this is where the story gets creepy.

The story is intense and haunting. It had me questioning everyone and everything. I really felt for Eve the whole time whilst also not knowing whether to trust her 😂

I wouldn’t say it was fast or slow paced, maybe medium. At times it felt like a mixture of both but I really enjoyed it.

There was one or two plot twists that I was not expecting, I was truly kept on my toes. The last one especially had me SHOCKED. I’m a big fan of M A Hunter and I will be reading more from him!

If you have any content triggers, I advise you to read any trigger warnings beforehand.

I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of an eerie, psychological thriller!

Thank you Boldwood and M A Hunter for letting me read and review.

Overall, I give this 5 stars!

Oh, I do love a locked-in read, and Eve, the main character, can't be more locked in because she suffers from agoraphobia.
As always the author delivers a quick read with packed, but snappy chapters, that twist and turn.
Is Eve delusional or is someone really out to get her? A question you'll ask yourself time and again until you reach the breathtaking end.
A perfect read for the holidays, interesting enough to keep you engrossed and light enough that you can dip in and out without losing the plot, literally!

Eve Pennington is the very best, conscientious landlord anyone could want or need, all she wants is for her tenants to be happy and content. Eve inexplicably seems to know exactly what they require, even before they do. “A Guardian Angel with a sixth sense”.
The peaceful harmony is unbalanced when one of the residents is discovered, tragically having taken his own life. This is the catalyst for secrets and long held gripes to emerge. Echoes from half a century ago, further muddy the waters.

Eve is a really interesting, complex character, the past has clearly defined her adult self. Her agoraphobia turns The Tenants into a locked room mystery, the extreme medical condition has shrunk her world to the nth degree, giving her a skewed sense of reality. The tenants themselves are an eclectic bunch, not entirely likeable; it’s certainly not a place I would feel comfortable living.

The author laid down plenty of misdirection, so I was constantly changing my mind as to “whodunnit”, questioning everyone’s behaviour and motives. My views on Eve were in flux too, not in terms of her guilt or innocence, but I never doubted her intentions.

I found The Tenants to be a tense, gripping read, which I read quickly. I can see this book being the reading choice for many late summer holidays.

The Tenants is a psychological thriller centered on Eve, a agoraphobic landlady who hasn't stepped outside her inherited apartment in five years. Her carteful routine is upended when one of her tenants is discovered dead.
The police lean toward something sinister and draw Eve and other tenants into the investigation. As Eve unearths the buildings disturbing history, she realizes the walls may hold more secrets and dangers than she ever imagined.