The Quiet Tenant

A Novel

By: Clémence Michallon

Narrated by: Gilli Messer, Elena Rey, Valerie Rose Lohman, Amber Battaglia, Reba Buhr, Clémence Michallon, Jess Nahikian, Aure Nash, Milly Sanders, Sara Sheckells, Yu-Li Alice Shen

NATIONAL BEST SELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR • GMA BUZZ PICK • “A bravura feat of storytelling...daring and completely satisfying.” —James Patterson, #1 best-selling author

A PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER NARRATED BY THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM: HIS 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, HIS GIRLFRIEND—AND THE ONE VICTIM HE HAS SPARED

"Intelligent and suspenseful." —Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World

“All…of the expected suspense and psychological tension, but offering a story about women—the ones who didn’t know the evil that lurked within, the ones who tried to placate or fight but still perished, the ones who might actually survive. Haunting but never prurient…truly unforgettable.” — Alafair Burke, author of The Wife

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. 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. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.

Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes on the women in his life—and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back. Both a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant is an electrifying debut thriller by a major talent.

©2023 Clémence Michallon (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • GMA BUZZ PICK • A LibraryReads #1 Pick

One of The Washington Post’s Notable Summer Books 2023

One of Vogue’s Best Books of 2023

One of Goodreads’s Most Anticipated Books of 2023

One of New York Post’s Best Summer Books

One of CrimeReads’ Most Anticipated Books of 2023

One of Apple’s Best Books of the Month–June 2023

"An expertly paced psychological thriller . . . with a white-knuckle climax."—The New York Times Book Review

“A gripping psychological suspense novel . . . Michallon’s riveting tale shows a killer through the eyes of the women in his life.”—The Washington Post

“Clémence Michallon has written a classic on her first try. The Quiet Tenant is a daring and completely satisfying . . . bravura feat of storytelling . . . Who in her right mind would attempt a novel utilizing the first, second, and third-person? And then have the skill to actually pull it off.”—James Patterson, #1 best-selling author

Massive plot hole in chapter 60

The story is very gripping, and Suspenseful. The characters are well rounded, and it keeps you engaged. But what happens in chapter 60 is NOT conducive with real life!
SPOILER ALERT
Rachel is alone in the house with Aiden’s 13-year-old daughter while he’s at work. She’s been kept prisoner for years and he’s got a tracking device on her arm so she can’t run away. Like any other 13-year-old in the 2020s Cecelia has a cell phone! Why would you not ask to borrow her phone and call 911 or your family?
Instead, she’s sneaking into a locked basement snooping around the house. If a character has an obvious way to get out of a dangerous situation, they’re not going to take some convoluted twists and turns to safety. But no, she has to draw things out and make it more dramatic even though it doesn’t make it realistic.

I kept waiting for it to get better

I wish I could say I enjoyed this book, but I just didn’t. It seemed like it would get better. I waited and waited for it to get better. I agree with the reviewer who said the character of Emily was annoying and over the top. The fact that I made it through this book says that it had promise. I kept expecting some great ending that would make it all worth it, but it never came. This is my first book by this author and I don’t see myself trying another one. It didn’t help that I found the material pretty disturbing. We were never given a motive for why this man he did. I also felt like I didn’t understand whether he actually had feelings for Emily or whether she was just another conquest . I was glad to read some thing outside of my normal genre, but this wasn’t very enjoyable for me.

Great story and performance!

I loved, loved, loved this book. I couldn’t stop listening. The performances we excellent. I wish I was longer, was sad when it ended.

Riveting twist on a common story

I’ve read many stories like this but have never heard the story presented in such a riveting way. I couldn’t stop listening. Just superb.

Underwhelmed

I wanted to like this story more than I did! I found it a bit predictable.

I couldn't put it down!

What a great book! Things like this happen every day, so reading this from the victim's perspective was insightful. It's always the ones we least expect that carry out such terrible crimes, such as the ones described within this book. What's more, like a certain character in this book, we never know how close we are to being uprooted from our everyday lives and either killed or held hostage by some psychopath. This book will have you looking at others just a little more closely and scrutinizing their behavior a bit differently. Happy reading!

Great Story

Long but good. Great thriller.
Reader was great and made it easy to listen to and follow.

Wow!

FYI, TRIGGER WARNING SA
The storyline was like no other book I've listened to before. The way it was written almost made it feel like it was non-fiction. Very compelling, I finished it in 2 days. All the narrorators were phenomenal!

Great thriller

Really enjoyed this one! I liked the different ways the story was written depending on which characters perspective we were getting. I liked the second guessing and how this felt like a more realistic take.

A Real Page Turner

Unique points of view are presented. Kept my interest throughout. Suspenseful. Highly recommend. Fast read.