The Tenant by Freida McFadden

The Tenant

By Freida McFadden
📚 Mystery / Thriller | 368 pages | Rating: ★★★☆☆

“Some stories pull you in before you realize it — this one locked the door behind me.”

Blake Porter’s perfect life shatters overnight—job gone, fiancée gone, and debt closing in. When Whitney shows up looking to rent a room, she seems like the answer he needs. But soon the neighbors grow distant, strange smells linger, and whispers echo in the dark. The Tenant is a chilling, twist-filled thriller that proves sometimes the danger isn’t outside your door—it’s already inside.

I found The Tenant after a late-night TikTok scroll and opened it without any real expectations. But within a few pages, I was hooked. It’s fast-paced — one of those books that dares you to put it down.

Whitney, the tenant herself, is the kind of character that crawls under your skin. She’s creepy in all the right ways, the kind of villain who plays with your mind just to watch you unravel. Her subtle manipulations — taking things, moving objects, even hiding food — were both infuriating and fascinating.

The story builds tension quickly, but what started as excitement turned into frustration. The ending felt rushed, leaving me disappointed. Maybe it’s because I’ve read another thriller with a similar plot, one that did it just a little better.

Still, The Tenant has its place — it’s a great fall-time page-turner for readers who crave speed, suspense, and a little chaos. It might not change your life, but it’ll keep you guessing until the last page.

Quick Snapshot

📖 Best for readers who: Love fast-paced psychological thrillers
☕ Perfect setting: A cool fall evening with a blanket and cocoa
💭 One-sentence takeaway: Entertaining and unpredictable, even if the ending doesn’t quite stick the landing.

Ratings

📚 Overall: 3/5
📖 Story: 4/5
🧍 Characters: 3/5
✍️ Writing: 3/5
💫 Enjoyment: 3/5

Claire — My Sister My Books

Amazon Book Description

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone he shares with his fiancée, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.