This was a darn good read! Creepy, heart string pulling, and suspenseful! I loved how the various points of view overlapped a little to give the full picture and how through them we see the different sides on the serial killer. The intermission like chapters from his various victims over the course of time provided a nice mental break for the reader as well as a foundation to how he himself evolved separate from the three povs narrating the story. It is hard to believe that this is the first book this author has written in English! Word usage was so strong and on point but still brought in the more European (Scandinavian noir) feel that I love in my reading. This is definitely an author I will keep on my radar!

I have finished The Quiet Tenant, but I am not finished thinking about and feeling this book! It is one of those books that remains with the reader long after the final page as been turned.

This is not the typical serial killer book, but it lands in that realm within the thriller genre. The book is told from the POV of three females. Rachel, a kidnapping victim that has survived the last five years being chained in a shed. Cecilia is the 12 year old daughter of Aiden Thomas. Emily is a restaurant owner, and trying to build a relationship with Aiden, who is a grieving widower, having recently lost his wife to cancer.

The pacing of the book is pretty steady. It is not until the very end that things really ramp up and the action takes off. It is more of a steady burn as we see the story revealed through each of these three characters. Along the way we get brief information about the different women that have been murdered by Aiden. We also find out how close Rachel was to meeting the same fate, but then randomly uttered a phrase that had an alternate impact in the life of Aiden. The story is less about a serial killer/kidnapper/rapist who is beloved in his small town, and more about the strength, courage, fight, survival instinct, and growth of the females, particularly Rachel. It is a dark story. There is no way around that, but thankfully the depravity isn't the primary focus, although it is never far from the mind of the reader.

I did enjoy the writing style and the story. I was impressed that this was a debut thriller for the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy in exchange for my thoughts and impressions of the book.

Just when you think there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to psychological thrillers, comes along a book like The Quiet Tenant.

This is the story of a serial killer told through the eyes of three women. The woman he let live and has held captive whom he calls Rachel. His thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia. And Emily, a local restaurant owner, has quite a crush on him.

It’s so interesting seeing the serial killer through all of these different sets of eyes. The most interesting character is Rachel who he has held captive. She talks about herself in the third person a lot when she is held captive, which I think makes sense, she is having to separate herself from what is happening. It’s almost like she is looking at something that is happening to another person.

When the serial killer’s wife dies, he moves Rachel into his house and she meets his daughter Cecilia. Rachel’s interactions with Cecilia were a bit of a puzzle. She immediately cared about the girl and made some unwise decisions, which were completely unlike her methodical character up to this point.

Emily was the most frustrating. She pursued the killer, throwing herself at him, and came off as immature. She was almost school-girlish in her behavior, I wouldn’t be surprised if she doodled his name with hearts drawn on it, on her notebook.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it approached the psychological thriller genre from a slightly different angle.

The Quiet Tenant is filled with slow building tension and doesn’t let up until the dramatic ending. Despite only having minimal amounts of action, Clémence Michallon creates fear and suspense through multiple points of view that heavily rely on the girls’ feelings and train of thought. The terror “Rachel” felt was palpable. It is a true psychological thriller, perfectly capturing the mindsets of all the characters.

I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in a day. It is a fabulously thrilling debut novel.

I will be posting this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CttxWeRrbLs/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5178976367

And Amazon

Twisty, turning, wonderfully written and fantastically well-plotted, THE QUIET TENANT by Clémence Michallon is an extraordinary story -- not just because I am not a diehard fan of thrillers and serial killers, but because of the way the perspectives of those women around an exceptionally dangerous serial killer are given. I cannot remember the last time I read a story presenting outside perspectives of victims and relatives of a deranged person so convincingly, reminiscent of Alice Sebold's THE LOVELY BONES. Remarkably strange and wonderful. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

You can feel how eerie this one is just from the cover!

I love a good psychological thriller and this one delivered. I definitely will have me paying attention to my surroundings and sharing my location!

We meet the woman in the shed. She's been told her name is Rachel. She was kidnapped and has been held in a shed for five years. At this point, anyone looking for her certainly assumes she is dead.

Rachel is not Aiden Thomas' first victim. But she is the only one alive. He's a serial killer, and why he kept her alive she does not know.

Aiden is a true narcissist. He has lost his wife and plays the widower and father to Cecilia, age 12, to his advantage. He is charming and smart and deceitful.

When his wife dies and her parents ask him to move from their home, Aiden convinces Rachel to move with himself and Cecilia. He will say she is an old family friend staying with them. She goes along with it, because the other option likely leaves her dead. He chains her up and locks her in a bedroom when he is away or at night. She joins them for dinner most nights and plays the part.

We also meet Emily, a local restaurant owner, who met Aiden when she was younger and has a crush. Aiden feeds the flames and she grows more and more drawn in as time goes on.

This one kept me on the edge of my seat.

The ending was well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think this is my thriller of the summer? The one I'm going to push into everyone's hands? Could it be the thriller of the year for me?

The Quiet Tenant ramped up the locked room feeling with a closed cast of POVs from various women involved in the story (victims, daughter, and lover). Each chapter added a little more terror to the story, just like a good thriller should.

This was a pure, dark, thriller. No mystery and plenty of trauma and will to survive. I had to drop everything to finish

This was so creepy and fun to read! If you’re a true crime person, this is very Ted Bundy-esque. The local man that everyone thinks is a solid, all around good guy. Oh boy does he have a dark, dark secret. The things he gets away with in his on home, in plain sight, absolutely blew my mind. Told from four different POVs and I enjoyed each one of them. A total nail biter that has you hooked the whole way through.

Sometimes the people who seem like the most upstanding citizens can be hiding the darkest secrets; they’ve just gotten really good at covering them up. But in The Quiet Tenant by author Clémence Michallon, a dangerous man starts to underestimate those under his control.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

The Quiet Tenant is about a recently widowed father Aiden Thomas and who is adored by the whole town and would give the shirt off his back for anyone. His one major fault is that he is a serial killer and has a young woman help captive in his shed. This story is told from multiple POV's to include his kidnapped victim "Rachel", his 13 year old daughter Cecelia, his love interest Emily and the multiple women that he has murdered.

The description that this debut novel was very intriguing and I liked the idea of the story being told by the victims instead of the killer. Unfortunately, this book was not as gripping and thrilling as I had hoped. It is a slow burn and at times was kind of boring. The overall premise is great, but unfortunately fell a little short for me.

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one seems to be getting quite the buzz here on booksta, and I definitely would agree it's a unique book that you're either going to love or hate.

The main polarizing thing I've seen: the majority of the book is told from a second person POV. Some hate it, but I didn't mind it. I like when authors try something different and thought the second person POV really worked here.

Aidan Thomas is a man leading many lives. He is a father, a widower, a reliable man in town, and a serial killer. This book is told from the perspectives of the various women in his life: his daughter, a love interest, the women he's killed, and mainly the woman he captured and has held hostage for five years, "Rachel."

I felt so much tension when reading this book. Rachel is trying to make sure she stays alive while also trying to plan her escape. Although there isn't a ton of action in this book, I found the tension to be palpable. I was totally hooked, hoping Rachel would escape and out her captor, and hoping that the love interest, Emily, wouldn't be next.

Overall, I thought this one was a fun read. It's not going to be for everyone, but it worked for me.

This was a fantastic read! I was a little confused at the beginning trying to figure out the timeline and who our main character was. Since we’re not given her name at the beginning, I wasn’t sure if the other women being mentioned were her in a different timeline or someone completely different. Once I figured it out, I had no issues. It was a little slow for me at the beginning and it wasn’t until I got about half way through that I found myself flying through the rest. The story was gripping, I was rooting for the main character the entire time, and there were so many great moments of tension. I really ended up enjoying my time with this one overall.

I want more! I want to hear Aidan's side of the story. I want more from the victims. And I want more from Cecilia. I hope that doesn't make it sound like the book was left unresolved, because that is not the case. I was left pretty satisfied at the end, despite... wanting more!

This was a fun read with the chapters being divided up by a different person telling their story. Of course you're going to have your thoughts about "Rachel" and your thoughts about Emily, but that was the fun of it. Loving or hating each of them in different moments based on different scenarios.

This was also a terrifying story, obviously. Imagine being put in this situation. Damn, no thanks. But this would make for a good movie. The scenes would hop around but still tell a story and all intertwine in the end. I'd watch it.

This is one of those books that you either love or hate by the 4th chapter. Unfortunately for me, it leaned toward hate. The premise seemed great, but it quickly lost my interest, when it got to a seeming unbelievable storyline. The last 3 chapters seemed to have the same appeal as the start of the book, and were the most interesting, with the twisted ending. But the majority of the book just seemed in need of major editing. I can't really recommend it, but to say maybe check out from the library, and see if you like, but I wouldn't waste money on it, in case it's one you hate too.

I am SO glad I received an ARC of this book because wow!! I loved everything about this book. When I originally read the description, I was hooked. I finished the whole book in a day because I couldn’t put it down. I love the mystery, different points of view, how the timeline is laid out, and the characters! So, so good!

Well, I am so glad that Abby from Crime By The Book put this book on my radar. I’ve been in a little bit of a reading slump and I cruised right through this one!

This was such a dark concept: to tell a story from the tale of the victims/women affected by the actions of a serial killer. So many times we learn so much about the serial killer and recognize their name before remembering the names of their victims and, to turn that on its head, is this book.

When you hear horror stories about murder and kidnapping you think: well, I would never have done this or I wouldn’t do that but, actually being put in a situation, your mindset and reaction time would most likely be very different than you could imagine. This book really put an emphasis on the psychological effects that the serial killer had on his victims. Some situations are much harder to get out of than you’d think!

This story has very quick chapters and biting short sentences that keep you flipping to the next page. There are different perspectives, but the chapter titles make things very clear and end up being a clever way to identify the narrator of that chapter. It came off as very conversational and was easy to follow and picture the look, sound and scent of things as they were being described.

This whole story is that of freedom and taking control of your own life. May no one ever have to live through something like this.

Thank you so much to the author, Clémence Michallon, Knopf and NetGalley for the eARC of The Quiet Tennant in exchange for my review!

He is a loving father, a grieving widower, a beloved member of his town's community. He is also a serial killer... In this absolutely brilliant debut novel, the story is told from the point of view of several women: the girlfriend, the daughter, the victims who perished, and the one whose life he spared.

I devoured this book. It was simply impossible to put down. The story grabs you immediately, before you even know what's going on. And just like the victim who is held against her will, a quiet tenant, you begin to realize her predicament and the tragedy of her situation. She tells the story in second person, which is not very common, and with that she places the reader right in the middle of her fight for survival.

This is one of those books that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was terrified for the MC, Rachel. One wrong move, and she could join the rest of the victims. I was nervous for Emily, the girlfriend. She was so head over heels with the serial killer, and no one to warn her. And of course I couldn't help but feel incredibly sad for his daughter. After losing her mom, the girl was going to get her heart broken again - she loved her dad.

So much suspense, so much agony, heartache in this book. Yet so much hope, fight for survival and will to live. This book is truly unforgettable, from the writing style to carefully crafted plot. A must-read psychological thriller.

Have you ever wondered why a woman stays with a man even when their gut feeling tells them to run?

I feel The Quiet Tenant slowly answers that question throughout this story. Told through the eyes of three different women all connected to the same man for very different reasons. Rachel (the tenant) who has been kidnapped and imprisoned for years, Cecilia Aidan's daughter who befriends Rachel, and Emily the bar owner who has a crush on the man who she has no idea who he is. Aidan Thomas is a serial killer ,father, and pillar of the community it seems. Beneath the facade is the dangerous man that the reader never knows what goes on in his mind for motivation. If there ever was one, unless it is just being caught.
This thriller took me by surprise. I was not familiar with the author, but the description sounded so tempting.The author did not disappoint. The story kept me interested, and I found myself wanting to keep turning the page. This plight of Rachel always had me asking why not run when she had the chance, but trauma is something not understood unless you have encountered it personally. The fear keeps you paralyzed. The "what if's" keep you surviving. The author gave you twist and turns, and an ending that felt authentic. Great characters, plot, and conclusion that would make me want to read her next book. Give this one peak, and you might just be surprised how good it really is!
#NetGalley
#TheQuietTenant
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Are you looking for a dark, haunting book to keep you up tonight? A novel that feels like you're binge watching a creepy live version of a true crime storyfrom the POV of the victims? A book written so well it's hard to believe that it's the author's English language debut? Then I've got your book right here. The Quiet Tenant is Clémence Michallon's deeply unsettling, slow burn thriller focusing on an abducted woman and the two women connected to her.

Rachel was abducted by Aidan five years earlier and since then she's been kept prisoner in a small shed. When Aidan tells her that they're moving, she's not exactly sure what that means for her. At first she thinks living in the house with Aidan and his daughter Cecilia will be good, maybe it'll even be what saves her, but soon she realizes that nothing has really changed. Desperate and running out of time, Rachel must come up with a plan to outsmart Aidan and escape.

In all honesty, I had a hard time getting into this one, until I figured out why. The book is told through the POVs of teenage Cecilia; restaurant owner, Emily; and the woman abducted, known simply as 'the woman' or 'Rachel', which isn't her name. Over the course of novel we learn her backstory, what happened, and how she came to be where she is. The woman's chapter's, which are the majority of the book, are written in second person.

What I realized was, that by not using the woman's actual name, Clémence Michallon reduces her to a statistic. She becomes just another nameless abducted woman, a person that's easy to ignore, like it is in real life. Only when she is called Rachel are we able to empathize and see ourselves in her. Only then does she actually become a person and only then is it easier to connect with her as a character.

The reviews for The Quiet Tenant seem to be all over the map: some love it, others think it's okay, and still others can't even finish it. Due to the brutal subject matter and the way it is depicted, The Quiet Tenant is not going to be for everyone. If you are looking for a thought-provoking thriller fraught with suspense and intrigue, you won't want to miss this one. I loved it and have already ordered a copy for my own library.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor, Clémence Michallon, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and given voluntarily.

5 Stars
Highly Recommended for fans of:
True Crime, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries, General Fiction, Women's Fiction

So dark, so creepy, so edge of your seat compelling.
Aidan Thomas is a horrific serial killer. But you would never know it from the outside. Not going to give anything away, very well done!