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

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Fantastic

This is a pulsating psychological thriller that had me hooked from the start. The multiple perspectives come together in a marvelous final act. The author paints a gothic and bucolic tableau of the New York Hudson Valley

Fantastic Read

I could not stop listening to this book! I loved that the author did not give the monster a voice.

mundane....

It was kind of boring and i kept having the feeling that something big was about to happen but just fizzled out every time all the way to the end and speaking of the end felt hurried....I felt like too many female voices and the killer needed to have a voice for bigger impact...

Great story

I thought the book was well written and the narrator was good. Liked the story, but a few parts were frustrating.

I could not stop listening !

Great book. Keep me on my feet ! Very dark, good pace and great character perspective !

Good, not Great

Enjoyable story that didn't feel truly believable. I was frustrated throughout by the main character.

A thriller like no other

Just an amazing thriller/mystery. Full of depth, full of full characters, full of things not in other books

Good read

I liked this book all the way til the end then it kinda fell apart. The ending is missing all the detail that the rest of the book has. It’s like speeding toward a tree and slamming into it instead of turning at the last minute. Multiple POV’s help keep your interest. I least liked Emily as she was such a weak person.

Excellent

Fantastic book well written and thought out. My only issue is why the author had to make the protagonist so stupid at the end.

Best listen this year

I listen to a LOT of thrillers and can usually predict the rough story line at this point. The Quiet Tenant was so different from anything I’ve read and I really appreciated. My one note would that Emily’s character was a bit unrelatable and a little silly at times.