The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

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.

Published by Abacus on 20 July 2023.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.