The Quiet Tenant

Aidan Thomas is a handyman-type neighbour in a small upstate town, the man who helps out and has a kind word for everyone. In private he is a kidnapper who has killed eight women. The ninth, Rachel, has been held in a backyard shed for five years, and he has marked her for death.

After his wife dies, Aidan and his 13-year-old daughter Cecilia have to leave their home. He takes Rachel with him and tells Cecilia she is a family friend who needs somewhere to stay. He is gambling that years of captivity have left Rachel too frightened to run.

Rachel sees it differently. She starts testing the limits of her new surroundings and builds a fragile bond with Cecilia, who may be the one chance she has been waiting for. Meanwhile Emily, who runs a local restaurant, takes a liking to the widower and moves closer to the household, and closer to what he hides.

This is a psychological thriller told in three voices: Rachel, Cecilia and Emily. The killer is seen only through the women around him, so the book centres on what his crimes do to them and on the ties between them. The tone is tense and dark, with the pressure coming from a family home where one person knows everything and the others know little.