⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

• claustrophobic, quiet story
• unique POV
• slow burn

This is definitely a character-driven, dark novel. I can't believe this is a debut!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

Thanks to Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor publishing , and Clemence Michallon for this ARC. The premise of the book lead me to pick this one up to read asap..I’ve read a few reviews and some were 5 star and others not so much, but I’m glad I went with the choice to listen to the 5 star reviews. I though this book was unique in its own way with the chapter headings and making you think when the 1 page chapter gave you the “girls number” and their final thoughts. I’ve not seen that exact concept in a book before, so It’s always nice to see and read something so different.
You have to wonder what was so special about Rachel that he kept her and not any other..
This was a wonderful, exciting read I read day and night. I’d definitely recommend this to others... Being the first book written by this author, I’m hoping for more wonderful things to come from her .
My reviews are also seen on Twitter, FB, Goodreads, and Amazon. I review and recommend as well at local book stores and book clubs.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller/mystery📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
It wasn’t my favorite thriller but I was hooked from the start.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Dark and twisty psychological thrillers
Slow burn
intriguing plots
Multiple POVs
Character driven
Abduction/ serial killer stories

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
It was a captivating read

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I wanted more at the ending
Was a little on the slower side

📖 Book Review 📖

📱”The Quiet Tenant” by Clemence Michallon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Expected publication June 20, 2023


The author’s writing style is very straightforward, adding tension and drama to the storyline. The woman, ‘Rachel’, has been chained in a shed for five years, staying alive by appeasing, agreeing and apologising. Her captor is Aidan Thomas, a recent widower, and helpful friendly man. He’s polite, kind and a good father to a curious, twelve year old Cecilia. Aidan has to move house and at the last minute decides ‘Rachel’ will move with and become his tenant. Emily, is the local bar owner who becomes attracted to Aiden.

Rachel’s perspective is disturbing, haunting and at times brutal. Imagining the world and all the “what ifs” she hadn’t fallen for Aiden’s ruse in the first place. At the start of the book the sentences are short, sharp, and suspenseful. She knows she needs to comply to stay alive. As time goes on this subtly changes once she is the house tenant and some interactions with Cecilia, the tone is almost relaxed, as weaknesses are sought to exploit. Aidan is an enigmatic chameleon as most psychopaths are.

I’d like to congratulate Clémence Michallon for writing such a high quality debut in English which is not her first language - that’s quite a feat.

Thank you @netgalley for this early kindle edition.

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

It seems people either didn’t get very far in this book and put it down or binged it and dove head first into the dark, eerie depravity it that it was. ⁣
⁣
I, dove right in. On the edge of my seat, chewing my nails following “Rachel” the captive of five years, Aiden the widow, the devoted father, the killer; his daughter Cecilia who seemed devoted to her father but was aching for her mom; Emily the girl who fell well too fast for a stranger and put herself in terrible situations over she over that you wanted to shake her; other women? Who went missing. ⁣
⁣
He seemed to target women who seemed distraught. Who he thought may never be missed. “Rachel” seemed to stay alive by apologizing, agreeing, and doing anything and everything he said without putting up much of a fight. He almost groomed her, until he had to move locations and introduced his daughter to his captive who was a “quiet tenant.” ⁣
⁣
Except what happens when a lonely child missing her mom wants to get to know this quiet woman living in her home with her dad.⁣
⁣
This was such a different, thrilling, slow burn of a thriller that held me captive til the end. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!*

I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. It took me by surprise, in the best of ways.
Don't hesitate, and get it!

My nerves snapped like brittle violin strings.

First, let’s get expectations out of the way. The Quiet Tenant is marketed as a thriller. It’s not. This is slow moving, claustrophobic, intensely disturbing, dark psychological suspense.

I love character studies that put me inside the heads of victims and psychopaths. The author does both exceptionally well. I felt the creep factor rippling under my skin.

Content explores abduction and rape, and edges into Stockholm syndrome. Most of this is implied, without overly graphic details. But it’s hard to read. For me, this type of book hurts far more than the quick thrillers exploring similar topics.

So it might be weird to say that I loved this book, but I did.

The Quiet Tenant is a harrowing but good read. I'm beyond impressed the author was able to craft an engrossing story considering English is not her first language. It's one of those can't look away, got to see things through type of books.

The story alternates between the perspectives of a few different characters. There's really no reason to go into too much detail about the plot. Simply put, it involves a woman who has been held captive for years.

Part of the reason the story works is it's not so far rooted from reality. It's a scary world out there and from time to time you do hear about these horrific stories on the news of someone being held against their will. The author came up with this perfect scenario in which you feel invested in the character from the get go.

Give me all the bone chilling, under your skin, psychology thrillers!

Aiden Thomas is a family man. A well known figure. He always helps where he can. But under all that nice man posterior is a serial kidnapper and killer, that non are too the wiser about. He’s murdered eight women so far and has his eyes on number nine, Rachel. But when his wife dies and him and his daughter are forced to move, he has to bring Rachel along. He thinks he has her controlled that she won’t escape him, but Rachel is about to test his boundaries.

This was what I love in thrillers. It’s raw and gripping and definitely gave me the creeps. Because this is something that can truly happen. The story explores the impact of what Aiden has done to these women and it’s chilling at times.

I really want to get into Clèmence’s head and see what lurks there.

Aidan is a grieving widow, a loving father, and an active and valued member of his community. What his community and daughter don't know, is that he has a woman chained up in his shed. When circumstances change and he is forced to evacuate the shed, he is forced to move his prisoner into his home. Rachel tries to live quietly but as she is slowly reintroduced to the world and to Aidan's daughter, sitting still becomes harder to do....

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon was a phenomenal thriller! I was on the edge of my seat and had to finish it in one sitting. The only thing I thought was missing, was a longer ending. It would have been nice to know what ended up happening to all the characters. I gave the book 4 stars!

The Quiet Tenant was a wild ride! I was hooked right from the first chapter and could not step away. A gripping story filled with several perspectives and lovable characters, what more could you ask for?

I picked this one up on a complete whim and hadn’t heard about it until I received a copy from the publisher (thank you to Knopf for my copy!) but I’m so glad I did. It kept me hooked for the less than 24 hours it took for me to devour it (and in print, a real feat these days). A story about a serial killer told from the perspective of three women in his life – his captive, his daughter, and the woman who has a crush on him – it was utterly compelling, disturbing, and unputdownable. Content warnings abound, so be sure to look those up before you read this one. (This would be great on audio – it has a full cast narration.)

Incredible storytelling! Michallon uses 2nd person for some of the POV and it jacked my heart rate up to 11!

I was just whelmed by this one. The pacing is excellent; the author gives away just enough a little at a time to keep you reading, but I was disappointed that the story was dominated by the victim's pov. I was expecting that the uniqueness of this book was that the daughter and potential next victim's pov would shed some more light on Aidan's motives or his depth of character. The daughter's pov was especially sparse and contributed next to nothing when it came to plot or character dynamics.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon. This was a 5 star read for me. What you need to know : this is a serial killer/ kidnapper story from the point of view of the women. This is a smart book. It’s quietly propulsive , pushing you forward chapter by chapter but it is not what I would call a thriller and it is not a police procedural. You don’t hear from the kidnapper in his voice but by the end I didn’t actually realize it until I thought about that , I felt like I knew him. The chapter titles , they guide you. The characters are well done , the setting I could see in my head and the main character, well I may have yelled at my book a few times (IYKYK). I’m giving this 5 stars for enjoyment , writing , propulsive reading, plot and structure. I loved it. Thanks to @netgalley and Knopf publishing for the e copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is currently available .

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor and Clémence Michallon for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book! It immediately hooked me and I couldn't put it down! I loved the multiple POV's and perspectives from "Rachel", Emily and Cecilia. It was so interesting to see their take on what was happening. I would've loved to have gotten a chapter or two from Aidan's perspective and I wish the ending hadn't been so abrupt, but it doesn't change my overall opinion about this book. It was so well done and I could not stop reading.

4.5 stars for me rounded up to 5 and I can't wait to read what Clémence Michallon comes up with next!

I started reading The Quiet Tenant, and after a few chapters, I set it aside because I found it to be too slow. However, I had seen so many good reviews that I decided to give it one more try, and I'm glad I did because I ended up flying through it. I could not put it down, and I could not fall asleep until I read the resolution.

The novel is narrated via the POVs of three women, all with ties to a serial killer. One woman has been his prisoner for five years and is the only victim he hasn't killed, but that could change any day. The other is his teenage daughter, and the third is a love interest. The POVS eventually converged during an ending that left me with heart palpitations. The end was so powerful that after I closed the book, I sat and contemplated it for a while. Overall, this was one of the best debuts I have read in a long time.

This is was a unstoppable page turner for me! This story follows the main character Aiden who is your typical neighbor "always stays to himself" "doesn't bother anyone" "such a nice guy". But how well do you really know your neighbors? This story was written so well and in various view points from not only Aiden but those he's held captive. You will not be able to put this down!

Thank you netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC!

OMG, can we just take a moment to appreciate this book? This thriller blew my mind! Seriously, it ranks right up there with the absolute best. I mean, my heart was legit pounding the whole time, and those point of view switches? So smooth and easy to follow, making it impossible to put down!