Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review. If I were to say what my favorite part of this book was, I think I would have to say the differing timelines and characters. Lisa Jewell had to spend a ton of time mapping out how things were going to come together to stay true to the plot and to the different characters. It ended up being really wholesome and I loved the underlying redemption arc for some of the characters. However, the ending was a little lackluster and at times the plot felt too drawn out and predictable. If the book was 15% shorter, I think I would have been more engaged, and it wouldn't have felt like there were pacing issues. All in all, a solid read that I recommend!

Lisa Jewell is known for her twisty, dark and creepy tales and this is no exception. I would throw complicated into the mix for her latest - it was at times a tad hard to follow and that actually slowed my reading down a bit. I picture the author writing this book and then numbering index cards 1 - 60 to represent the first 60 chapters. She then throws them up in the air while laughing like a bit of a crazy lady. The order they fall and she picks them up becomes the order of the book. Am I far off Lisa? In any case, it worked. I was hooked from early on and flipped pages as fast as I could figure out what the heck I was reading. If you need a dark, sinister story to distract, Don't Let Him In is the one.

It was very okay - I expected more from Lisa Jewell's books. The ending was also not satisfying and I think it took too long to reach the conclusion

I wanted to love this one, but it just felt like chaos. Too many characters introduced too quickly, too many threads with not enough grounding, and chapter titles that didn’t offer any help in keeping track. By chapter 7, I found myself more confused than curious. Just not the right fit for me.

This was a bit of a different kind of book from Lisa Jewell. While it was definitely a psychological thriller, it wasn't an edge-of-your-seat super twisty thriller. In fact, I was a bit surprised at how un-twisty it was. I knew "whodunit" from the beginning, but I liked how the narrative switched between points of view and timelines in order to slowly get all the pieces to put together the full story. It was more predictable than most of her other stories, but I still enjoyed how it all unfolded.

Woah! This book was good! I received this as an ARC and absolutely loved it. Women love him. He’s handsome, smooth, kind, and so caring—or is he? What don’t you know about him? Why does he leave for weeks at a time with radio silence and then pop back into their lives with all the answers. When Ash’s father dies and her mom ends up with this guy, she has to unravel the truth, and when she finds out he has other aliases, she has to dig deeper. It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. Read it!

This book took me a bit to actually get into. It was a slow burn but still had me hooked. The last 40% or so upped the pace and I loved how the story all came together

In the mood for a peek into the mind of a gaslighter? Look no further than Don’t Let Him In, Lisa Jewell’s latest thriller. I went into this not really knowing what to expect, but that much POV from the sociopath was both nauseating and fascinating. I was completely horrified for basically the entire book, but I was also glued to the page watching the noose tighten as we learned more and more about the sick SOB at the heart of it.

Calling this a thriller would be a stretch, but Lisa Jewell is more about the psychological mind games, the insights into the humans that you hope never, ever cross your path. There are a few twists, some I saw a mile away, others a bit closer in. No jaw drops, but I think that’d be hard when what felt like over half the novel was in his head. It was more about being there for the justice of seeing him go down amid the chaos he caused. It’s a page turner for sure!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this DRC for review consideration.

I love all of Lisa Jewell's books but I did not love this one. The plot is frustrating and eventually it gets kind of repetitive: bad guy gets away with doing bad things again.. and again.. and again. And, scene. Overall, this was a quick read for me and while it was far from my favorite LJ and I sadly didn’t have any moments where my jaw hit the floor, I still had a lot of fun with it.

Don't Let Him In brings all the drama of a family mourning the passing of their patriarch and the widow finding solace in one of his old colleagues... only, is he who he says?

I liked the different perspectives and how it took a bit for me to get a sense of who was who - an identity how-does-he - then the second half I was wondering how it was going to wrap up for the main character.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Atria Books for an ARC.

The plot of this book was messy and interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t feel as if there were any plot twists that grabbed my attention and the whole book was just leading up to the take down of the main character. I found it very predictable and was hoping for me.

I was really looking forward to this book after loving None of This Is True, but unfortunately, it didn’t land for me. While the premise was interesting, the execution fell flat. There were too many characters and storylines, making it hard to follow. I wish it had focused on fewer characters but explored in more depth. The epilogue left me confused, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to take away from it. It never felt like a true thriller, more like just watching a swindler in action, and I kept waiting for a twist that never came. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Nick Ratcliffe is a man who is evil and cunning and uses so many different names it is a miracle he remembers to use the correct name the person knows him by.

He knows how to get women interested in him while he is only interested in their money.

He finds out a woman's husband who owned quite a few restaurants has passed. He poses as an old friend of her husband's and sends a package to her with something he says belonged to her husband.

His charm pulls her in just as he pulls in many women.

We then meet Martha married to Al along with a few other women who have a connection to him.

Both Nick and Al always have some business trip taking them away from their families.

And what a trip they both are on.

DON’T LET HIM IN will have your mind spinning and whiplashing back and forth after each introduction of a character and a new scheme of Nick’s.

You will not know where to turn and not know how Nick pulls it all off.

Lisa Jewell has outdone herself with this one even though it takes a bit to figure who is who and and how it all fits together.

If you love to hate a character, this book is for you.

He is despicable and has a ready lie for anyone who questions him and anything that might threaten his charade.

You won't be able to stop reading. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Don't Let Him In is a story of several women over the course of a 5-year period who all have loved a charming, handsome man with silver hair and black glasses - but could those men possibly be the same? As Ash gets to know her mom's new boyfriend, she begins to suspect he isn't on the up-and-up. Martha worries about her husband's frequent disappearances, and Tara feels the same. As these woman fret about the men in their life, one central mystery nags at them - who is this man that they have married?

Generally speaking, I don't love a story with more than two POVs. I find that things get too confusing in keeping them straight, especially in audio form. One female narrator playing 3-5 women is hard to follow, especially when most of them are of the same archetype. This book, though, felt easier to follow than others of its type. One strong reason for this is the full-cast audiobook narration with Richard Armitage playing our male POV. Armitage's performances are always exceptional, and the rest of the cast really matched the quality in this audio recording. I think this is a major reason for how much I enjoyed the book.

As far as a plot goes, you'll have heard of this before. However, I really felt that the author put a unique spin on a done story by including the POV of the man. The chapters from his point of view felt extremely well thought-out and gave depth to a character that could have easily been boiled down to his basest traits if he was only viewed through outside perspectives. (This is incredibly hard to write about without completely giving away the story, so bear with me.) The other POVs - those of the women across time - were also very well-written and it was easy to differentiate who was speaking and what their motivations are. I felt the mystery was compelling despite a large part of it being given away early on, and I enjoyed Ash's investigation the most as I read along.

The story did feel a bit repetitive in the middle, with multiple women experiencing much the same behavior from their partners and husbands. I got a bit sick of listening to how Alistair was never around and how hard Martha had to work without him. I got it the first time, man - you don't have to remind me every chapter how absent he is. Still, I understand that a lot of this was left in to show the scope of what each woman was dealing with and how it escalated over time.

I will admit that Lisa Jewell has been a bit hit-or-miss for me in the past, but I enjoyed this one a lot and will recommend it to my thriller lovers that come into the library looking for something that will hook them. This one definitely had me saying, "One more chapter!" before going to bed at night.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC of this title.

am such a Lisa Jewell fan and was so excited to sit down with this one. Don’t Let Him In did not disappoint. The synopsis intrigued me right away.

If you were a fan of The Tinder Swindler or Dirty John then you will absolutely love this book. Although I found it extremely predictable, I still enjoyed it. I wouldn’t consider this a thriller as much as some of her others but it was still very engaging.

I have never disliked a character as much as I did Nick. Those poor women - he was just so punchable. Sadly I fear this is a story that happens far too often in real life. Nina and Ash were my favorite out of the women - the others I just felt bad for. Jewell’s ability to weave all of these stories together and connect them all perfectly is truly a gift. And the end - OMG!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lisa Jewell for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I don't want to say this was a typical Lisa Jewell book, because some of hers have been fantastic and some have been huge misses for me. This one definitely fell somewhere in the middle of all that, not great but not terrible at all. I loved the audio, but it was a bit too slow for me. I did figure out a lot of the plot early on, yet it was still exciting to watch it all unfold and see how it really all connected.

Overall definitely won't be my favourite of hers, but worth a listen or a read!

The book overall fell flat. I could sense a build up in the story but was able to predict what was going to happen every time. The build ups never built up too much either. Overall it was a good story, confusing to follow at first, but good nonetheless. However, the whole book ended and fell flat overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy, all opinions are my own.

Wow! Lisa Jewell does it again, and this is why she at the top of her game! Loved every page!! 5 stars!

The perfect, compulsive read for a summer weekend.

I found this devour able and just like Lisa Jewell said at an author event, it felt like I was watching a netflix documentary or series.

This won't be for everyone as some may think that the female characters don't have enough agency, but this one really worked for me.

""𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎.""

Special thanks to @atriabooks @atriathrillers & @netgalley for the #gifted eARC and physical copies.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️.75

UNPOPULAR OPINION AHEAD⚠️

This is my second Lisa Jewell and I feel like she may not be for me. I wouldnt call this a thriller more like a fictional suspense. Yes there is death but that doesn't mean it's a thriller. It just didnt wow me. Yes I kept reading to find out how it all played out but in the end I still didnt feel that twistyness and jaw dropping part that makes a thriller for me.
I'd probably consider her writing more mystery/suspense than thriller and that may be part of why it's not my fav. I crave the twists and turns that make your stomach leap.

Even though this isn't for me, I've seen so many great reviews so please check this one out for yourself.

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
June 24, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ What's a book/author that everyone raves about, but just isn't for you?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #lisajewell #atriabooks #atriapartner #partner #dontlethimin
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