I have recently found the thriller genre becoming less and less interesting to me however, this was a very captivating read. I thought it was well written and the premise new and therefore kept my attention. I loved the different character POV. Doesn't have one of those big twist ending which I didn't miss to be honest.

An addictive and uncomfortable tale of a young woman who has been abducted and held in a shed for 5 years but a serial killer who seamlessly blends in with his wife and young child in their neighbourhood.

Creepy and upsetting in places.

I enjoyed this book and was on the edge of my seat for most of it. The concept was tough as you follow a woman who was abducted by a serial killer and has to play house with him, whilst he still abuses her. It was a tense story and the female protagonist was likeable and you wanted her to survive. There were some more far fetched aspects but I was so into I didn't mind.

I did feel like it was quite a slow start, but by the end I was hooked. The daughter character was a fantastic addition and the the way the plot flips at the end is clever. Would definitely recommend, but there are some strong trigger warnings (rape, abduction, death, murder, abuse (physical and sexual) and mental health).

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I was drawn in from the first page and it had a great pace that kept me hooked. It had a diverse set of characters and a fabulous story, I would definitely recommend this book and it is in my top ten reads of the year.

Nice guy Aidan would help anyone out but in his spare time he kidnaps and kills women, all apart from “Rachel” that is. Who wouldn’t want to read this, a great idea but sadly lets itself down badly. The writing was beyond stilted. Wooden and jumped all over the place. It also takes a while to get used to Rachel referring to herself as “you”. The decisions she made were ridiculous, Emily was a cretin and Cecile was strange! No satisfaction either when the end is finally reached. No character responses to what had happened, what they thought and nothing from the townspeople who had trusted Aiden. Sorry but I feel I’ve completely wasted my time reading this and so wouldn’t risk trying anything else by this author.

Unfortunately - not an easy writing style - made it difficult to read - so I did not finish it - not very convincing for me

Quite a good crime/thriller but the writing did irritate me alot. Which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. Without the narrative all the way through this book it would have been better. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is a dark chilling psychological thriller. The pacing was slow but it still kept me intrigued. The story is told from multiple perspectives. A really well written thriller

I love kidnap stories so am always excited when a new one comes my way. Unfortunately this one left me feeling a bit flat and didn't really live up to my expectations.

I'm not sure what it was that left me feeling this way as there were parts I liked and I wanted to read the whole book to find out what happened. I think the lack of tension and suspense made it feel a bit dull in places. It did suspend belief quite a lot and parts of it didn't really make sense. We weren't ever really given a clear motive or reason behind why Aiden does what he does and all the female characters were a bit irritating.

I liked that it showed the element of control being so strong that even when there is opportunity to escape it's hard for the victim to take due to the fear that has been ingrained to them. However I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and seemed to focus more on Emily rather than Rachel which was the less interesting of the two characters.

Not a bad book but not my favourite kidnapping story!

The Quiet Tenant completely unnerved me, which I guess was the whole point. We meet our "heroine/victim" after she has already been a prisoner in a remote shed for a number of years. She has been systematically violated in every way possible, her abductor has even given her a new name. She has understood that her survival depends on subservience. Nobody is looking for her. The whole picture haunted me.
In the meantime the abductor, a widowed father, lives a normal, respected life in a small community.
From this disconcerting start Clemence beautifully weaves a totally credible story (No spoilers).
Very well written, brilliantly structured, with all of the key characters delicately constructed and totally believable, which is why it leaves you unnerved. Very provocative read. Loved it.

The Quiet Tenant unravels a chilling tale of suspense, exploring the sinister double life of Aidan Thomas—a seemingly beloved family man and community figure hiding a dark secret. The multiple character view point plot (my favourite type!) is told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia and Emily.

The use of the second-person narrative for Rachel's chapters adds a unique and immersive element, which allowed me to experience her plight firsthand. The tension builds as Aidan's facade as a hardworking family man unravels, revealing his gruesome crimes and the psychological trauma inflicted on Rachel. The contrasting perspectives of Cecilia and Emily add depth to the narrative and showcase the extent of Aidan's manipulation and control over the women in his life.

The chilling premise and the characters' struggles contribute to this novel's effectiveness as a psychological thriller. The unique narrative style and the exploration of psychological trauma make this debut a compelling and tension-filled read, providing a nuanced perspective on the impact of a serial killer's actions on the women in his life.

I was looking forward to this read ,however it did leave me a little let down. I struggled to read this one and found it slow paced, however know that many friends would enjoy this.

I tore through The Quiet Tenant in one sitting - absolutely brilliant characterization, incredibly tense scenes on the page, and a main character you're rooting for until the very end. An absolutely brilliant debut.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon was a brilliant pulse-pounding psychological thriller, that just gripped me from the beginning till the end. Plus, it was a great page turner that will have you up to to the early hours of the morning as it was hard to put it down, In my eyes it made The Quiet Tenant an excellent book.

I highly recommend this book and great for a holiday read.

The Quiet Tenant is not a run of the mill psychological thriller. It has a real depth to the storyline, empathising with the characters, including the perpetrator of the crime. I couldn’t read it quickly enough as I wanted to know if and how ‘Rachel’ survived. It explores bereavement and loss, psychopathy and, to some extent, Stockholm syndrome.

I thoroughly recommend it and my thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publishers for the complimentary copy to read and review.

The Quiet Tenant

Reading this novel was quite an experience! I didn’t want to put it down, I was reading so fast to get to the next bit that I sometimes had to go back and re-read a paragraph. I had to tell myself to read slower and take it in, because the urge to devour this story is so strong. The writer has chosen an interesting viewpoint, that of the women in a killer’s life. I loved that contrast to other serial killer novels where a male serial killer and a male detective often narrate the story. Where the only women are the dead ones. Women are not expendable here. Even the murdered ones. 

This is still the story of Aiden, a serial killer, but told from the perspective of the women in his life: his daughter, the woman he has abducted and imprisoned in a shed, and the bartender who is infatuated with him. There are also small sections from the women he imprisoned before, now dead. Each woman’s narrative gives the reader a different side to this hidden monster. It’s an intimate reading experience, because I felt like I knew everything about this woman: how she thinks, how she feels and even the details of her dreams. It feels like you’re with her in that tiny space, sharing her experience. It’s a very tense existence, knowing that you’re here at the whim of a man who’s already killed so many times you mean nothing to him. As someone who gets claustrophobic it felt almost too close and I felt her fear that it might just take one wrong move for him to kill again.

Aiden’s wife has just died, so he and his daughter Cecelia need to move house and his captive moves with them. She goes from her place in the garden shed to being chained to a radiator in the house. If she puts a foot wrong he will kill her and somehow he does know everything she’s doing even while he’s out of the house. How is he watching her? Incredibly, he has a daughter in the main part of the house as well as a souvenir stash in the basement. This only adds to the tension. What is hard to understand is how he rationalises his killing of women when he’s father to a daughter.– to a place with no shed. After years of isolation, Rachel is allowed inside a house again, and meets her captor’s child. I had so many questions though. Why is she still alive? It’s been five years now and he’s always killed his victims. He also seems to be out stalking a new victim, Emily, a local restaurant owner. Is this good news for the captive, or is he looking for a replacement? 

Since the book Rebecca I’ve always been intrigued by characters that we don’t see, but even more so, by characters without the right name or a name at all. We know this woman as Rachel, but the choice not to use her own name makes you think. It seems common sense that he wouldn’t use it, he’s trying to distance himself. To make her an object rather than a human being. Yet she doesn’t mention her name either. Maybe even she can’t remember it or maybe every one of his captives is ‘Rachel’. This is part of the mystery that I wondered about when I was going about my day. It has allowed the author to place emotion and the victims at the centre of this thriller, making it stand out. As others have noted there’s a hint of Emma Donoghue’s Room here, where the four walls you’re in become your whole world and you become whatever you’re called. Rachel is a complicated character, and it’s clear that she’s suffered at the hands of Aiden. There are moments where I was rooting for her escape. She has time and opportunity, but can’t take it out of fear. From reading cases of abductions and long captivity, this isn’t unrealistic. Yes, she’s a strong woman, but she’s been manipulated and terrorised by this man so has to be sure before she takes a chance.

In the local area Aiden is seen as a good husband and father, in fact there’s probably an element of hero worship. So, local restaurateur Emily is aware of him already and might even be a little into him. She’s also young and alone, so it doesn’t take long for till she’s under his spell completely. Through these three narratives, Aiden’s captive, his daughter and the new love interest, Aiden’s dark truths are unravelled. This is not about considering his motivation or perspective, all of this story is about his victims and the mess the man like this leaves in his wake. I loved how the style of the author’s writing, which is mesmerising and poetic contrasts strongly with the dark subject matter. I doesn’t rush like thrillers often do. The contrast shows us that life can be beautiful, but what Aiden does is twisted and sadistic. I was desperately hoping that Rachel would survive and we might know who she really is.

The eponymous quiet tenant is a woman who has been kidnapped and locked in a shed, where she is regularly abused. The kidnapper suddenly has to move house and she has to go with him and his teenage daughter, to live as a tenant in their new home. An excellent opening to the story highlights the mood.

The tale is told from a number of perspectives. The woman victim's viewpoint is in told in the second person, something I'm seeing more of lately, and is, of course, quite unusual. Other characters are in the first and person and they serve to offer a balanced version of events.

There is some effective writing in this book although at times it strains and becomes a little repetitive and overdone. There are characters to root for - the kidnapped woman and the daughter of the abuser - although his girlfriend comes across as an infatuated teenager herself. Although the bad guy is charming, kind, well groomed and good looking, readers should be forgiving her for the adult crush. Her admiration goes to disturbing stalker levels at times though.

The middle of the book does get bogged down a bit and the wonder is where this story is heading. The end, however, increases in pace but it is a conclusion only in a physical sense without reflection. Perhaps this is the whole point of this story.

​A book about control, survival and resilience, that is strangely absorbing.

A work of queasy, unsettling suspense that ratchets up the tension skilfully as the villain plays his twisted game with our main character. I loved the dynamic between our lead and the killer, Adrian's, daughter, as well as the insights into trauma, belonging and hope. Not to be missed.

I downloaded this and then a fellow bookseller also recommended it, so it shot up my TBC pile. A girl has been held captive by a man. This man, who in the alternative chapters is a totally normal guy who drinks virgin cocktails and dates the bar owner, whilst at home, his prisoner, Rachel becomes increasingly desperate to escape. Very addictive and kept me awake way past bedtime to find out what was going to happen. Already recommended it twice!

A roller-coaster of emotions and spine-tingling moments awaits in this chilling thriller, where danger lurks behind every corner and the unknown is truly terrifying.