Five years. That is how long Aiden Thomas kept Rachel in a shed after kidnapping her. Was she one of the lucky ones? After all, he killed many women before he took her and several after. After Aiden's wife died, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Cecilia, are forced to move and he made the decision to take Rachel with them. He told his daughter they will have a tenant named Rachel who needed a quiet place to stay. Rachel had learned the rules about staying alive while in the shed, but will those rules keep her alive in her new environment? Had the time finally come that she could find a way to escape the horror that has become her life?
THE QUIET TENANT is told by three women: Rachel, Cecilia, and a local woman named Emily who fell in love with Aiden. Of course, neither Cecilia nor Emily knew that Aiden was a monster. Each woman saw him differently. Rachel is a superbly crafted character and she eloquently tells us everything there is to know about her life before the abduction, her life in captivity and what she has learned about herself and survival. Her words make her very real to the reader. Her actions or inactions might frustrate, but there are reasons for this. Having had no control over her life for so long, there were adjustments to be made. Was she up to this and was she strong enough?
Well-plotted and populated with carefully constructed characters, this impeccably detailed narrative moves quickly. The high level of tension never once abates. THE QUIET TENANT by Clemence Michallon is a memorable psychological thriller. Highly recommended.
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
“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.
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