The books I read and loved in August.

Hello!

After a bit of a reading slump, I’m back reading books with a vengeance.

This month, I’ve read an unmissable psychological thriller that you’ll want to inhale in one day, a stunning debut from an Australian author, and a rom-com that made me fall in love with rom-coms all over again.

Here are the books I read and loved in August:

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

Aidan Thomas sounds like the lead of a romantic comedy. Recently widowed, with rugged good looks, he’s always there to lend a hand to a neighbour in need.

He’s also a serial killer, who has kidnapped and killed eight women.

After his wife dies, three women remain in Aidan’s orbit. Emily, the 20-something local restaurant owner, who’s had a crush on him since she was a teenager. His 13-year-old daughter Cecilia, who lives under her dad’s strict rules. And Rachel, the woman he has kept tied up in his back shed for five years.

As The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes through the eyes of Rachel, Emily and Cecilia, the women slowly draw closer to each other and finally discover the truth about the man that binds them.

The Quiet Tenant is a one-of-a-kind psychological thriller, that’s both a pacey page-turner and a study of power dynamics and the impact of trauma.