What a spectacular book!

I haven't read this genre in a long time and coming back with The Quiet Tenant was fantastic.

A serial killer keeps one of his victims kidnapped for 5 years. He lives a completely normal life and has her locked up in a shed a few meters from his house. However, when his wife dies and he and his 13-year-old daughter are forced to move, the guy decides he should take his hostage with him, but since he now has nowhere to hide her, his solution is to pass her off as a friend in front of her daugther and have her handcuffed all day in one of the rooms, telling the kid that she works from home and that's why she doesn't go out at all. Yet, he forces her to share some breakfast and dinners with them, and the tension is always creppy.

The novel is told from the point of view of that victim, of all the victims the guy killed before, of his daughter, and of a woman from the town who becomes the guy's girlfriend.

The level of character development is brutal. The tension is felt every second by the kidnapped girl, because even though she has the occasional chance to escape, she is so traumatized with five years of violence, she is so afraid of this guy, that she decides to stay. Every move she makes she overthink it because she is terrified that the psychopath will get angry at her.

The guy has her conditioned on such a deep level that sometimes you feel like the poor girl is going to live her whole life there, pretending to be a normal person living with a normal man and his kid.

On the other hand, the psicopath also has a great development. He is one of those prominent men in society for being such good people, the one you always go to if you have a problem, the one who never thinks twice before reaching out. Diligent father, loving husband and now sad widower. It's as if he conditioned EVERYONE around him to have in their mind a version of him that suits his interests. No one suspects or would suspect that the correct Aidan Thomas is a serial killer. And we know all this from what these three women (the victim, the girlfriend and the daughter) tell us (each one with their own version of Aidan), it is as if it were his world, the one he created itself that tells the story and that way I found the storytelling fascinating.

The last few chapters kept my heart pounding from the tension, the expectation, the fear, and the ending itself seemed incredible to me, a perfect closure for the entire plot that was made from chapter one.

Super captivating, you can't put it down once you start reading and you get impressed with each character. I loved it, HIGHLY recommended ♥

Ugh what a disappointment 😭

The plot of this book sounded SO good. A book about a serial killer narrated by the three women close to him: his daughter, a love interest and the woman he's held captive for 5 years.

This book was so drawn out. I can usually read a 300 page book in a couple days but this book took me a couple weeks 😩

It was slow and one character was pointless imo. It's supposedly a literary thriller but the literary part was TOO MUCH. It was just so dull and boring and tbh the only reason I stuck with it is because I was too lazy to find another book for the letter Q for my ABC challenge 😂

When this comes out in June, I'd recommend skipping it. I wish it was as good as the premise sounded but it's a flop for me.

Thank you to @netgalley for my advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Quiet Tenant. This book was riveting and definitely kept my attention - but mostly because I was anxious to see how it would end. I enjoyed the writing and that the story is told from the perspectives of several different characters - namely those of three women who are close to the main character - Aidan - who is a serial killer.

Rachel - the quiet tenant - tells the majority of the story. She has developed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome and I found her perspectives very compelling. However, her chapters are written in the second person, which I found a bit annoying and odd. Also, I found some aspects of Rachel's captivity a bit unbelievable.

Overall, I felt that the story fell flat because the reader isn't given any insight into Aidan's background or any explanation of why or how he has become a serial killer. He is continually referred to as a well-regarded member of the community, but this is never really depicted. And I just don't see when or why he is killing all these women and how he's getting away with it.

I also felt like Cecelia's story was lacking. I honestly didn't understand her relationship her father. The author hints that she has some secrets, and at one point says that she wants to tell Rachel things that nobody else knows. Aside from one minor confession, this never really happens.

I liked the ending from Rachel's perspective, but would liked to have known more about what happened to Cecelia.

Finally, I found it very interesting to learn from the author's note, that she is French and that this was her first work in English!

i really enjoyed this read. i love finding new authors and trying them out. the writing was good, the plot kept my attention and it got better and better. by the ending i couldnt put it down until i was done. so thankful i got approved to read this early!

This was a dark and chilling thriller, that was trying a little hard to be literary, but ultimately kept me turning pages as fast as I could. There isn't some big reveal or even a super thrilling climax. It just felt like a good story with an interesting format that really worked for me.

Wow! What an amazing read. I don't know what I was expecting when I started this book but I received an email with an invitation to read this book and I accepted. This is the author’s debut novel and I believe her first novel in English as French is her first language. I guess you don’t really ever know people in your area. This book revolves around a man who everyone in the area thinks of as a great guy, someone who helps out if you need it and the widowed father of a teenage girl whose wife recently died from cancer. But he has secrets, horrible secrets, he has a woman as a prisoner and has kept her for 5 years, even before the death of his wife. He is also a serial killer but no one suspects a thing. The town comes together to have a gathering at his home for Christmas and she makes her escape and takes his daughter with her. He realizes what is happening and gives chase but she makes it to the local police station and everything comes to light. There’s more I could say but I’ve given enough away already. Great read!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a different serial killer story. Done through views of various people involved. I would give this 4 out of 5 stars. The only that I would have liked to know it why the killer let May live. All in all a good read.

Sometimes I have to force myself to read a book instead of mindlessly scrolling on my phone but this was NOT one of those times. From the beginning this book instantly hooked me and had me reading at work, while eating, way past my bedtime hah!

At first I wasn’t vibing with the multiple narrators multiple writing styles but as it got further along everything clicked into place. The only POVs I wasn’t a big fan of was, to not give too much away, the chapters labeled in numbers. To me it felt like those chapters didn’t add much to the story itself and given who’s POV it was, just seemed like a stretch.

The more I read the more I found myself frustrated with “Rachel” until I realized I was looking at it from the wrong perspective. This poor girl is traumatized and her mind is on survival mode. It’s not an easy mindset to understand unless you’ve been there but this author does an amazing job at portraying how that may look and feel to someone. He captured “Rachel” beautifully and gave a great story into its not always the “bad guys” who do bad things.

Emily on the other hand was hard to understand. I don’t know anyone desperate enough to show up at someone’s house after they’ve stopped texting you, let alone use their spare key to break into their house! Twice! We needed her for plot development so it is what it is.

I loved pretty much everything about this book and I think it was wrapped up beautifully. Would I have loved to know more about Cecilia and how she handled it? Of course! One final chapter in her POV would’ve been the cherry on top. Alas, all in all this is one of my favorite books thus far this year!

Huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and I promise this review is 100% genuine, there aren’t many books that have you turning page after page but this one succeeds!

What a fantastic debut thriller!

With the story being told through several POV's, you find yourself quickly turning pages to see what decisions are being made and what the consequences are to those choices. Plenty to keep you intrigued.
I look forward to seeing more from this author. Definitely recommend to all those who are fans of psychological thrillers, suspense and crime fiction.

"The Quiet Tenant" is the first English offering by Clemence Michallon, a native of France. Her goal was to write a novel in English. She achieved it and did so quite nicely.

I love the story. It is suspenseful and creative. The character development is outstanding. There is a small cast, but the reader gets to know them intimately.

I gave this book four stars. I think at times it was overwritten/overstated and seeking too much drama. The story is first-rate and didn't need additional adjectives. Also, the ending isn't as strong as the book itself.

Nevertheless, I enjoy reading this book and thank NetGalley for the opportunity to preview a good new novelist.

Thank you to NetGalley, Clémence Michallon, and the publisher to read The Quiet Tenant.

I read a lot of mixed reviews for it, people seem to either love it or hate it, but it might be one of my favorite books I’ve read so far in the year.

I thought it was a very refreshing take on a novel about a serial killer. I really enjoyed all the different perspectives.

It follows a charismatic, well-loved, handsome man, "Rachel" and his 13 year old daughter. The chapters are written from the perspective of the women in his life and his victims. It's labeled as a psychological thriller, but I'm not sure if I'd really categorize it as that, as I didn't really feel like there was any suspense or twists and turns. It was, I thought, pretty straightforward, and just a story about a killer and the effect he had on the people around him. Which isn't a complaint. I enjoyed the book very much.

One of the characters, Emily, drove me a little crazy, She just kept making really strange decisions and was very gullible and desperate.

The end seemed a little abrupt. I would have loved to learn a little more about Aiden and the other women at the end and maybe one last perspective from his daughter but overall, it kept me engaged. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it especially being the authors debut novel in this genre.

Publication date: June 20, 2023

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon. This story is about a woman who has been kidnapped and kept in a shed for five years. By a man that is a much loved member of a small town. I wasn’t sure that I could read this story because I feared it would be too dark and twisted, too sad but the heroine Rachel is anything but sad. She’s a fighter, a survivor and that helps make this story move at an increasingly fast pace until the satisfying conclusion.

This was a quick and engrossing read for me.

I found the writing intriguing and different.

“Rachel” has been held prisoner in a shed for five years. The man who is holding her hostage is a well known family man and very beloved in the town. Nobody knows his horrible secret but when his wife passes away from cancer, he loses his edge. His secret is close to the surface.

Told in three POVs this one kept my attention and I flew through it!

The ending left me wanting more here bit I did enjoy this read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was addicted to this book within the first few chapters and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. The story reminded me of the book Room about a young girl who is kidnapped and kept in a shed. What I liked about The Quiet Tenant is that the author took us back and forth through how the kidnapper selected his victim, the main characters point of view before she was kidnapped, and many other voices of people who were affected in their own way. It was also interesting to look inside the mind of the victim and see why she did certain things to stay alive and not do the things you think she should to escape. It was a wild ride right until the end.
Aiden appears to all who know him to be a stand up guy, a saint really. His wife died and he's raising his teenage daughter on his own so the town has adopted him and has his back no matter what. What the town doesn't know is that the women Aiden claims is a tenant and down on her luck is actually a young girl Aiden kidnapped years ago and has kept locked up.
When Aiden moves his daughter to a new home he decides to bring Rachel with him but threatens her daily that if she says one word he will kill her, and she knows he means it. During the day and night Rachel is handcuffed to the radiator or the bedpost, and the only time she's allowed out is for dinner and she must pretend everything's normal in front of Aidens daughter. Rachel was locked up for so long that everything is overwhelming, the sounds, the sights, the smells, it's almost to much to bare. Over time Rachel will become more bold and start to look around the house for ways to escape and she'll soon realize she is not Aidens first victim and she won't be the last. There are many opportunities for Rachel to escape but she can't leave Cecilia behind, but she also can't convince her to leave without telling her why.
The Quiet Tenant is suspenseful and the story is always taking unexpected turns that will have you thinking and plotting. I loved that it wasn't predictable and that you get to hear from so many different characters without ever getting confused about who, what, when, where. So good it's bad.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon,Vintage and Anchor for the eARC.
Generally I don't like serial killer books, but there were so many excellent reviews, I had to read it.
Unfortunately, I did not finish. About halfway through I stopped, I couldn't like any of the characters except perhaps the killers daughter and really didn't care what happened next, sorry!

I enjoy reading thrillers and true crime podcasts, so this book seemed like it would be right in my wheelhouse. However, I found it to be a bit more of a character examination than a thriller, simply because the summary of the book tells you quite a bit about the plot.

There aren't tons of twists and turns as you might expect from a traditional mystery. Instead, you get to hear from the women affected by the choices and behaviors of "family man" turned serial killer Aidan Thomas.

These women deserve much more than being controlled or threatened by this psychopath, and the plot is really - whether (and how) - they are going to get out of his grasp.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read, and I think most people will - as long as you understand what type of story you're going to read.

The second-person point of view was an interesting choice and made this book stand out from others in this genre.

This was a fun read! I enjoyed all the parts of the story as well as the characters! I was craving more! A 4 star read for me.

This will easily be in my top favorite reads of 2023. This heart-pounding, spine-chilling novel will have you up til 3am. Michallon’s use of haunting imagery and terrifying narration puts the reader at the heart of the book. I felt like I was in the shed with the woman who was being held captive. It gives you chills and goose bumps in all the right ways. This novel is for anyone looking for the thrill of the year that will have them shaking with anticipation throughout it all!

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was a page turner that reminded me of Notes on an Execution, where we get to see the many sides of a serial killer. I love the different POVs, but wish they wold have gone deeper into the daughter’s POV. By the last 20% I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Loved this one!!

In a series of clipped, Hemingwayesque sentences we are taken into a world that from the outside seems to be the essence of respectability but on the inside is the essence of evil. When a serial killer is captured we wonder how no one saw what was going on. This book takes us inside that world and in the end shows us how difficult it is to describe and understand. A truly outstanding thriller.