📚 Book Review 📚 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

You’ll dive into the world of “Rachel”…the captive, Cecilia…the daughter and Emily…the smitten as they tell us their lives with Aidan…the unknown serial killer. Unlike anything I have read before, we are given an inside look from a captives perspective, those before her, how her captor navigates his double life and how one woman plays by the rules in order to survive.

I was glued to my kindle, reading this every second I could and finished it floating in the pool in silence 😄 I loved the writing, the flow and how you felt for the women. The ending was great but I wished there was just a little more “something” but honestly it was perfect!!

Thank you #NetGalley #clemencemichallon and #knopfpublishinggroup for the ARC

Believe the hype! I saw so many stellar reviews for this one, so it shot to the top of my list and I listened/read it in a little over 24 hours earlier this week. I was looking for something to hook me immediately and this one definitely did.

The audio was truly amazing. Parts of it were haunting. I’m so glad there were so many narrators in this story it really helped to add to the story.

Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already! It’s available now!

Thank you to @prhaudio for my audio copy and @penguinrandomhouse for my copy!

3.5 The way this book was written was unique and kept you guessing as to how it would end. Written from the point of view of the female characters, you get to see all the sides of the villain. A story about survival and the masks that both villains and victims wear to make that survival possible. An interesting read.

A truly unique thriller about Aidan Thomas, widower and father to a teenage daughter. A hard-working man that the town rallies around. He is kind. He is beloved. He is a serial killer.

We see Aidan’s story through three perspectives - Cecilia, his 13-year-old daughter, who is grappling with her mother’s death. Emily, who owns a restaurant in town and has known Aidan since she was a teenager. But now she finds herself growing increasingly interested in the handsome and charming man. And Rachel, the woman Aidan kidnapped five years ago and has been keeping captive in the shed behind his house.

But when Aidan is forced to move he has no choice but to take Rachel with him and his perfectly crafted and controlled life suddenly becomes anything but.

I’m a fan of going into thrillers a bit in the dark and highly recommend you do that with this book. The slow peeling away of the story and of these characters really added to the tension + the mystery + the creep factor. This book is haunting and disturbing and I loved it.

This thriller had me hooked from the first page and was spectacular. Trust me - this is a book you don’t want to miss. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

the writing style was phenomenal - and i was fully hooked into this storyline! I loved the multiple pov’s and how beautifully this story flowed! I am still shook this is a debut novel! BUT the ended left a lot to be desired…it just ended with no explanation and quite a few plot holes that I would have liked tied up in a pretty bow. i still HIGHLY recommend this book and could not put it down - but I just needed MORE in order for it to be a solid read.

The Quiet Tenant is thrilling and disturbing in equal measure, making for a book that is hard to put down.

Aiden Thomas is a beloved widower and father. The entire town loves him, including Emily, who owns a local restaurant and bar. Her crush on Aiden is fierce.

Aiden's daughter, Cecilia, is quiet and a bit of a homebody, but that's the way he likes it. He likes to be in control.

What no one knows is that he has a woman chained up in his shed, and he's killed before. Rachel has survived for 5 years by knowing the rules. Now that his wife is dead, he and his daughter have to move out of their house, and Rachel sees her chance. She somehow convinces him to move her into the new house as a tenant. She's still chained (to the bed at night, to the radiator during the day), but she gets to interact with his daughter and see sunlight again. She knows her chance to run will come. But will it come before someone else is killed?

If you like books about serial killers, this is a good choice! Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

4.5 stars

Clemence Michallon spins a dark and suspenseful thriller about serial killer Aiden Thomas leading a seemingly picturesque life to the outside world while holding a woman hostage in his home. The Quiet Tenant is an intense psychological thriller that keeps you on edge from the moment it starts until the final pages. Told from the perspectives of the three people closest to him—his daughter, girlfriend and victim he’s holding hostage in his home—readers see how he’s perfected his art of playing the roles in his life—dad, boyfriend and psychopath. While not scary in a horror sense, this book is scary in a true-crime all the nightmares and creeping thoughts in the back of a woman’s mind that actually come true kind of sense. It’s truly a nightmare situation where a serial killer “spares” one victim to an isolated life of brutality and abuse. I can’t decide what was hardest in this book—feeling the pain and angst of Rachel’s current existence, watching the monster Aiden fool everyone around him into thinking he’s the all-American family man, or the delve into trauma and abuse that is examined throughout the story. Gripping and thought-provoking, with a sharp look at survival and the bonds between women, The Quiet Tenant is a searing debut you won’t soon forget.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down! It had all the elements that I love in a thriller...short chapters, multiple POV's, full of suspense. It wasn’t really fast paced but for me I was racing to finish to know what was going to happen. It's a unique read for a thriller because it's more character driven than plot driven and the story is told via second-person POV. I loved every minute of it and can’t believe it’s a debut.

All the stars!

Thank you to Knopf and NetGlley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

WOW, just…wow! One of the darkest, most eerie and bone-chilling psychological thrillers I have read in a long time..or ever. This book is one you will not be able to put down, as much as you may want to at times because of the sinister, disturbing nature of it. It will sink it’s claws into your very soul, and have your eyes glued to the pages and have your fingers frantically flipping to the next page, because you have to know what’s going to happen next. I feel that this is one that will divide an audience into two sides, no in between: you will either love it or you will hate it. I am of the former, because I was completely enthralled throughout the entirety of the book.

It’s a slow burning progression, which will have your heart pounding in anticipation, as you can feel the dread creeping in ever so slowly, with each turn of the page. The dark atmosphere of the novel only added to the overall experience while reading the book.

This is a complex, unconventionally written story, with complex, multilayered characters.

Long after the flip of the final page, I was left haunted and disturbed by the utterly dark and disturbing nature of the story. Furthermore, heart wrenching thoughts about the victims in the story and what they went through lingered in my mind.

The ending did not disappoint. It was phenomenally done and I couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion.

This book was so uniquely written that it definitely stands apart from other thrillers, and is definitely worth the read.

Despite being so disturbed by this novel, it was an amazing reading experience, and I will definitely be reading more of this author’s future work.

***a huge thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eArc of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Quiet Tenant is a great story told from the perspective of the women in the charming and handsome serial killer’s life, including his daughter, the women at the point of their realization of what is happening to them, and the one who he has held captive for 5 years. This debut thriller is going to put the French author on the map. I couldn’t put it down.

This is a very intriguing and compulsive read. I couldn't put it down and think that was mostly due to the way it was told through alternating POVs. I do wish there had been a bit more development of the backstory but overall it is a fun, fast, entertaining read.

This book that kept me interested from the start. I was waiting for something major to happen but did not get what I expected. Told from 3 major points of view with some bonuses thrown in, we learn about the outer world of a serial killer. I asked myself many questions. What would you do if you were the one being held captive? How can he live such a seamless life? What is going on inside his head? Would I run when given the opportunity? The one thing I would have liked was to have some insight into the head of the killer.
Many May not like the slow pace of the book and the decisions of some of the characters but there is a build up to the ending. For me I enjoyed putting my own thoughts as a spectator and think this would be a good movie adaptation.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and freely given.

The Quiet Tenant did not hold my interest. I’d pick it up to read and find myself unable to focus on it and end up doing other things. I had to force myself to finish this. It felt really tedious. I skimmed over parts to make it through. This book is from the perspective of multiple women and about a man named Aidan who has affected each of them. Aidan seems like a normal, nice man. He’s beloved by the community he lives in. His wife has just died and he is left to raise his daughter alone. But everything is not as it seems. Aidan is a predator who has taken many women, and one of them has been living in his shed for 5 years now. Being terrorized by Aidan almost every night. Now they have to move and this may be her only chance for an escape. I’ve had the advance reader copy of this book for awhile and meant to finish it before it was published on June 20th. But as previously stated, it did not hold my attention. For me, this was a meh read. I gave 2/5 stars. A lot of other people seem to love this story, but it didn’t do anything for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me access to an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review will be found on Instagram and Goodreads indefinitely.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

I'm marking this book at three stars when it's a 3.5 for me. I felt this book was well-written with three points of view. Aiden's captive, Aiden's daughter and a new target, Emily. I had to reduce stars for personal feelings, so my review may not be representative of how you may feel. The majority of the book was written from Rachel's POV, the captive of five years. You of course can't imagine what it would be like to live through that and I'm very thankful there was no detail on his nightly visits because this book was bad enough with the creep and disgusting factors. While it was well-written, Aiden seemed to be a combination of conflicting psychoses which at the time you're reading the book you're just deep in that horrible world and it wasn't until aftering finishing the book that I realized this. He had to be a sociopath for most of what he did and a narcissist for other parts and a paranoid schizophrenic for others. In this respect, the book was not believable because if it's possible to be afflicted with all of these, there's no way he would be able to function in society, let alone juggle all of the balls of his sick and twisted choices while presenting his perfect persona to the town. I honestly felt like I needed a shower everytime I read more of the book. The author did well with the reveal and POV timelines, moving you closer and closer to the explosive ending.

Thank you to Knopf Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing an advance digital copy. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

Mind blowing twisty thriller of the year! I was so surprised by this one and I loved every creepy second of it!! Aidan is dad of the year - a new widower and single dad. Everyone in town loves him. He’s the go to guy whenever you need help. What people don’t know is the issue, and he is precise in everything including what he shares with the people in town. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this gem of a thriller!

This is such a complex story and I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. The characters and their motivations are fascinating. It's not a fast-paced thriller, but a mildly creepy psychological mind twister and it's going to stay with me. Give yourself time to let this one absorb and percolate.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

OMG! This is it! The book that has put all others on the back burner….so to speak. I was engrossed, intrigued, and so entertained to the point that I neglected everything and everyone until I finished the book. It is a 5 star psychological thriller that mystery readers wish they could read everyday. I had never heard of this author and so when I read this book, I did so blindly. Oh but it turned out to be the best book I have read period. It I digress, let’s get to the good stuff so enough about me…..

This is definitely pulse pounding as the blurb states. Told by multiple POV’s it tells the story of a serial killer. A serial killer that is not exactly what you, the reader would expect. Or maybe that is how the author wants to tell the story. Aiden is a great dad, husband, and well known in his community. Sadly though, his wife passes away and he is left to raise their daughter Cecilia. This puts things in motion and really starts to push the story forward. Aiden must move he and his daughter but there is one dark secret that he must figure out how to handle. What to do with the woman who has been imprisoned in his shed. Her name is Rachel, and he has kept her as a prisoner for almost 5 years. Aiden is betting on the fact that during those years, Rachel has been brainwashed not to leave and he feels sure she won’t try to escape. However, Rachel is tougher than he gives credit for. During her captivity, and after the move, she has seen Cecelia and thinks that she might just be her help to get away from Aiden. Then we meet Emily who developed a crush on Aiden and begins to enter his world but will she see the evil that Aiden possesses? Or will she fall victim to his conquests?

The characters alone are very interesting, well developed, realistic, and after finding out whomAiden really is…..creepy. The reader is told the story by alternating the different POV perspectives together. It is done so well that as you are reading you do not realize that the the change has occurred other than knowing it is either Cecilia, Emily or Aiden. The author is a very talented writer who has written a thriller that is very unique. There is tension that pulls you and twists and turns that guide you but overall it is the writing and the excitement to see how this will end is what keeps you. If you enjoy reading psychological thrillers with serial killers, kidnapping, great men with terrible secrets then this is a book you NEED to pick up. The is by far THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ! And it most certainly will be the best book you have red also…….

Release Date June 20, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley but also to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.



Alternating perspectives

A woman held captive, a beloved man in the community, a thirteen year old girl that has lost her mother, a restaurant owner on the cusp of a new romance. WOW! Michallon has us completely riveted with her brilliant, cleverly written debut. Pulse pounding, complex and bone-chilling, this book is slow building, nerve-wracking and will have you riveted until the very last word! Looking forward to MUCH MORE from Michallon. Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Excellent thriller! A game of cat and mouse where you aren’t quite sure what the end game looks like.

The book alternates POVs between a woman locked in a shed, and a bartender. But really, any book that begins with a woman locked in a shed in the thriller book world? Absolute yes from me.

This book did an amazing job of showing the grit and perseverance that women have, how easy it is to think everything is just fine, how commonly we let down our guard…and the deadly consequences that can result.

Must read if you haven’t already!