What a page Turner. I literally couldn't put this book down until I finished the last page. I didn't know where the thriller was going at times. If you like your novels dark pick this up. A book I will not forget in a hurry.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an advanced review.

Wow-what a dark, disturbing psychological thriller. A little slow and hard to digest, but stick with it. It will blow your mind.

Aidan Thomas is a well liked, popular guy. After the death of his wife, the community rallies round him and his teenage daughter.
There’s a dark side to Aidan, and for five years, he’s keeping a woman hostage in his shed. When he has to move house, he decides to move her in as a ‘tenant’ as long as she stays quiet.

The story definitely held my interest and I got into it straight away. The chapters are quite short which kept it well paced. I did get a bit confused sometimes as it flips between the points of view of different characters.

The characters were good, but I would have liked to know more about Aidan and his history. I did root for “Rachel” and admired her tenacity.

For me, the ending let the story down. The tension and suspense ramped up in the latter chapters but then the ending was so convenient it was a bit of a damp squib. It was also very abrupt and I thought I was missing pages.

Nonetheless, this was a good debut and it kept me turning the pages.

3.5 stars rounded to 3.

The Quiet Tenant is published on 20th June. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for my copy to review.

WOW WOW WOW!

Aidan Thomas, a friendly and popular man, recently widowed with a teenage daughter, well liked and respected in his community, goes out of his way to help anyone he can and by the sounds of it, quite a hottie too!

But here’s the thing. HE’S A SERIAL KILLER! WHAT???

And! There’s more! He has had a woman locked up in his shed for five years!

This sinister and complex story is told from the POV of the woman in the shed, Aidan’s murder victims, his daughter, and Emily, a local woman who is attracted to him and there is a budding romance between them.

The way this is written is so clever; “the woman in the shed” is named as such and writes about herself in quite a detached manor, which I imagine to be part of how a person might become, having been locked in a shed and repeatedly raped for years 😞

A twisted and dark thriller, which I really enjoyed.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

'The Quiet Tenant' is a great first novel that pulls you in from the first page and holds you until the very last line. Aiden Thomas is an all round good guy, hard working, friendly but also unbeknownst to everyone a rapist and serial killer. It's a thriller told from 3 female points of view, 'Rachel' the one he holds captive, Cecilia, his teenage daughter and Emily who is in love with him. Well worth a read and the 4 stars from me. I look forward to reading more from Clemence Michallon. Thank you to author, the publisher and NetGalley for an arc.

The Quiet Tenant is an absorbing psychological thriller that I struggled to put down.
The woman in the shed, who is she and why is she chained there? Aidan is a serial killer but for some reason the woman in the shed has been kept there for five years. Aidans wife dies so he has to move house and the woman in the shed becomes the woman in the house, chained to a radiator in a bedroom, told that he sees and hears her every move always thanks to cameras. One foot out of place and she will be killed. The problem is Aidan has a daughter in the same house and a basement that is kept locked. Aidan has found his next murder victim but is her kindness going to get her murdered earlier or will he keep this one as well?
This was a very dark book but I did enjoy it and it has made me think about it days after finishing it. I liked the girl in the shed, she seemed like a real character as all her decisions were what I would expect to go through your mind whilst trying to survive. Really good storyline considering there aren’t that many characters.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK, Abacus for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Aiden, his daughter Cecilia, his good friend and local bar owner Emily and Rachel or at least the girl who has been held prisoner for 5 years by Aiden and who Aiden insists is named Rachel. An excellent and original literary drama told in multiple POV’s but mainly those of the 3 main female protagonists this is quite an enthralling read as you learn a little bit more about each persons life chapter by chapter. Well written, and not in the authors first language which in itself is amazing, this was a real page turner.

Briefly, “Rachel” was abducted one day by Aiden whilst out running and held prisoner in a shed for 5 years until one day he moves her into his house where his 13 year old daughter is told she is renting a room. However Rachel is handcuffed every night and he rapes her repeatedly. Emily sees Aiden as an attractive man, recently widowed, with whom she would like to develop a relationship.

So many questions! Why was Rachel abducted? Why hasn’t he killed her as Rachel believes he has done before? What are his intentions? The tension builds dramatically as Rachel tries to escape and the depiction of the trauma she is experiencing is brilliantly captured. A dark read, which is unsurprising given the subject matter, and the suspense was palpable; this is certainly a writer I will be looking out for again.

4.5 ⭐️

The Quiet Tenant is the first novel from true crime journalist Clémence Michallon. If you enjoy edge-of-your-seat psychological thrillers, this is the book for you!

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man living in a small town in upstate New York. The locals all love him but they don’t know the real him.
Those that do narrate the story for us. Cecelia; his young teenage daughter, Emily; a local woman who is falling for him and hopes for a romantic relationship, and of course, Rachel; the woman he abducted five years ago and keeps locked in his home.
We also hear from some of his other victims as the book progresses.

What I liked about this book is that we don’t really get to know this man at all, and we don’t need to. There’s such an over saturation of serial killer documentaries and podcasts these days that practically glorify these men, that it was refreshing to get to know Rachel instead.
We learn about her past and what type of person she was before her life as she knew it was taken from her. I think the author does a great job here too of depicting the impact this kind of trauma and control would have on someone. I’ve seen reviews where people felt it unrealistic that she wasn’t constantly trying to escape, but people become conditioned in these situations and the impulse to just survive can often take over.

I did feel the pace dipped a little in the middle of the book but certainly picked up again towards the end! I wanted to find out what would happen but equally my nerves couldn’t take the tension!

Lastly, a word of warning; this is a dark read. I’ve seen it described as having shades of Emma Donoghue’s Room, and Will Dean’s The Last to Burn, just to give you an idea of what to expect.
It’s also a serious page-turner. Prepare to stay up all night reading it!

With many thanks to @netgalley & @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for the opportunity to read an early copy.

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate town where he lives: He's the kind of man who always lends a hand. But Aidan has a dark secret he's been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him: he's a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there's a ninth he has earmarked for death, Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed fearing for her life. When Aidan's wife dies, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a "family friend" who needs a place to stay. After five years of captivity, Aidan is betting on Rachel being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a survivor and recognises Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years.

The opening paragraph is narrated by Rachel, the woman who has been held prisoner for the last five years. The point of view changes every chapter by a different character. The characters are well fleshed out. The plotline is unique and compelling. This is a deep and dark story that covers: kidnapping, sexual assault, coercive control. Rachel has to abide by Aiden Thomas's rules or be punished. I liked the authors writing style. This is a very good debut novel.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGrfoupUK and the author #ClemenceMichallon for my ARC of #TheQuietTenant in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know what I expected as I went into it blind, but based only on the cover, I can say it was not what I expected in a positive way!

As a debut novel this is great and I liked the use of different point of views to describe the antagonist and how cleverly that has been used throughout the book.

It is amazing to see how much different a person can be, or appear depending on who you ask to and at the same time, it shows how multifaceted someone can be! The old adage that you never gets to know someone for who they really are never gets old or less true.

In terms of the plot, halfway I started to get a bit bored and I continued because I expected something to happen at some point, but when it finally did, it was a bit anticlimatic and it left me with bittersweet.

Although I had some trouble with the speed of the novel, I appreciated the writing style and the deep look into trauma and the primeval instinct to survive which is what compels us to always go forward no matter what!

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and this is my honest review.

4.75⭐️

A debut psychological thriller about a serial killer from various points of view.

I immediately found the writing style captivating. We have various points of view the main narrator is Rachel ( only that’s not her real name), the woman who was held captive rather than being killed.
Then there’s the killer’s 13 yr old daughter Cecilia who lives with him.
Another narrator is Emily who is attracted to Aidan Thomas, his public persona is very much witnessed via her narration.

I liked how we hear about the captive/ killers escalation via his previous victims, that’s cleverly done, and a bit different.

We see the way Rachel has been indoctrinated, so that she complies even when she could have asked for help. It’s really well written. Then the tension increases, towards the ends it’s off the scale.
The only thing that I would have liked is a better understanding of what made him the way he is, the tipping point is mentioned. I would have liked more on his childhood, there was only a subtle hint.

This really is a cracking book, I’ve read a couple on this topic, and it’s up there with the best of them. If you loved The Last Thing to Burn (Will Dean) this is one for you.

I highly recommend it, I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

This is a pretty good debut and one which I enjoyed.

This is a different interpretation of the 'abduction and kept prisoner' stories; it's told from the perspectives of Rachel (the captive), Cecilia (the daughter) and Emily (the bartender/love interest) but also with chapters told from the victims points of view which were particularly powerful and unsettling however, there is nothing from the killer, Aidan which I found unusual and I'm still not sure if I liked it as it did leave me with quite a lot of questions as to how and why he did what he did however, maybe that was the point?

Anyway, The Quiet Tenant is a dark story of survival in the most extreme of circumstances but it's also a story about a man who is able to project an image of goodness and normality whilst hiding who he really is from those closest to him and the small community in which he lives.

It's a bit of a slow-burner, there is a little too much description at times and there are bits that are a little beyond the realms of reality however, as you read, there is a creeping sense of tension and dread that had me hooked and desperate to know how it was all going to play out and I wasn't disappointed.

Overall, a pretty good read and I commend the author for writing a book that's not in her first language and thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK, Abacus and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Quiet Tenant.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This mind-blowing crime thriller follows Aidan Thomas, a respected member of the community. However, he is a serial killer and five years ago he kidnapped a young girl who he keeps locked in a shed and names Rachel.

When his wife passes away, he must make a decision and decides to move Rachel with him and his daughter. The young girl dreams of making her escape but with the powers her captor has over her she is wary of making any sudden attempt.

Meanwhile, a local restaurant owner Emily takes a liking to Aidan and tries to build a relationship with the respected man, not knowing the danger she could be putting herself in.

Will Rachel manage to escape? How long will Aidan get away with his crimes?

Wow, this was a completely mind-blowing read, I didn’t want to put it down. There was so much tension as you waited for Rachel to get her possible moment to escape. There are scenes of abuse which some may find distressing, so avoid if this is a trigger for you.

This storyline scared me too, as Aidan seems like any other normal guy and manages to make a whole community believe he is a respectable and reliable person, whilst hiding his dark secret.

You mainly hear the sides of story from the two-woman Emily & Rachel as they have their different kinds of interactions with Aidan.

Overall, a mind-blowing crime thriller where a serial killer and kidnapper lives undetected in a local community.

An intriguing read but was a bit too far to be believable
We’ll written and interesting I would read something more from this author

The Quiet Tenant
by Clemence Michallon

I hate having to write a review for a book that I really didn't enjoy. I always want to point out the things that worked well as a counterfoil to the negatives that I must address to defend my opinion. I'm at a loss.

When I read a captivity story the most pressing question I have is "what happened to this girl to make her choose to stay when the opportunity to flee presents itself?". Everything else is just supporting information, or trauma porn. That's why I read these stories and I'll plow through the repetition and the telling, not showing until I get to that bit. Judging by the author blurbs that this title has garnered, I felt sure that this was going to be the story that gets right into the complexity of the dynamics between abductor and abductee, the fear and dependency, the brainwashing and snuffing out of all hope of rescue.

Years ago I read "Perfect Victim", the story of the girl who was picked up hitchhiking and held in a head box for 18 years. That book made me believe the process and I viscerally felt the victim's terror and pain and the psychology made sense. This book didn't do that for me at any stage.

Perhaps it was because the story begins when the victim was already in captivity for 5 years. Perhaps it was the use of the second person narrative throughout the chapters from the abductee's POV. I think I know why the author chose to write her chapters this way, but it feels like she was taking a short cut, trying to force the reader into the role. It didn't engage me in that way.

I had to force myself to finish the book just in case there was a last minute twist that might have given the "classic", "daring", "addictive psychological thriller" with the "masterful plot" that was promised by the blurb.

Publication date: 20th June 2023
With thanks to #netgalley and #littlebrownbookgroupuk for the egalley

Many thanks to Net Galley and Little Brown Group UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Wow! This is a dark, chilling read, a page turner, packed full of drama and tension, I was gripped from page one.
Aidan is recently widowed, he has a thirteen year old daughter, Cecelia, he is respected in the neighbourhood, handsome, a quiet hardworking man, quick to offer help where needed.
Don’t be fooled, he has a dark manipulative side, cunning and clever, he has raped and murdered and he has been keeping a young woman, who he has named Rachel in his shed for 5 years! She is chained, her family think she is dead. Now he and his daughter are having to move house, he moves Rachel into one of the bedrooms, she knows she has no choice but to go along with his narrative if she wishes to stay alive. He tells his daughter she is a tenant, he allows her to eat breakfast and the evening meal with them, he visits her room each night as his daughter sleeps and keeps her chained during the day.
Aidan has also been befriending Emily, a restaurant owner, she is obsessed by him, thinks about him constantly, waits patiently for him to enter the bar on his regular nights, is she his next victim, she is infatuated and unaware that Aidan is a monstrous psychopath..
This is a fast paced psychological thriller, the tension builds throughout the book keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. A five star read and a top 2023 book.

A book that has fairly mixed reviews, but for me it probably falls somewhere in between. The book told from three people’s perspective Rachel, Cecilia and Emily is an interesting approach, all whose focus is on Aidan, a serial killer. Rachel otherwise known as ‘the girl in the shed’ is one of Aiden’s victim, Cece Aidan’s daughter and Emily his new ‘interest,’ all see Aidan is very different ways. Then Aidan, well he is just a normal guy, a pillar of the community or so everyone thinks. What follows is a gripping, suspenseful ride.

It is dark and it completely sucked me in especially towards the end of the book, when the pace was quick and you just wanted to know how its all going to end.

A really good debut novel, well written and atmospheric. I certainly keep an eye out for the author’s next book.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Started off intriguing,dark,chilling and atmospheric and I was rooting for the victim to overcome him and the kidnap situation….but then it all became way too unbelievable with the move into the house….so sadly was a DNF for me

Aidan Thomas is an ordinary, hardworking, family man. He is also a kidnapper and murderer. ‘Rachel’, his ninth victim, has been imprisoned in his shed for years, but things begin to change when Aidans wife dies and he and his daughter move house. Rachel, of course, has to move too….
An excellent psychological thriller, told from multiple perspectives. I was pulled in right from the very first page and read the whole thing in two sittings.
I really did enjoy this story and found it intriguing. My only criticism would be that I found Rachel a little frustrating at times, with too many lost opportunities for escape. This made the story drag out too long towards the end.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a fantastic book following the story of Rachel who was kidnapped and held prisoner for five years in a shed handcuffed to a radiator by a man called Aiden who has kidnapped eight other women and murdered them.
I was riveted to this book and willing Rachel to survive and find a way to escape although this book deals with violence and sexual abuse it is a book that you want to keep reading to the end.
A great addictive psychological thriller that gets you hooked from the first page.
Would highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for a ARC for a honest review.