4.5 stars! Three women with one man in common. Who is he really? And how does he charm so many?

This book is a little confusing in the beginning with the number of characters but STICK WITH IT! It comes together quickly and once it did, I could not put this book down!

Thank you Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this great ARC. Definitely a must read!

I waited a while to post my review because I got an ARC and wasn’t sure if the publisher wanted my negativity out there around pub day… 😅

This book was not my favorite. It’s about a conman manipulator who uses women with no remorse. The timeline and POVs change to help the reader piece together just how horrific this character is. This means that about half the book is spent inside the mind of this psychopath. The manipulation is not even crafty. The abuse is bold, inconsiderate, and overt. I was sometimes more shocked by the women who stayed than I was by the behavior itself. I was bored and disturbed, but I stuck with it because of some very positive reviews and a hint that there may be a twist at the end.

It wasn’t worth it and I should have DNFed. 😂

Read if you like character-focused stories that examine psychopathic behavior. It’s slow burn but jaw dropping at times. I usually love Lisa Jewell, and the way she writes her characters is amazing.

Don’t read if you’re looking for a thriller, twists, or a female-empowered read.

Don’t Let Him In is a fast-paced, psychological thrill ride that grabs hold from page one and never lets go. This is the kind of book that demands your full attention—you’ll fly through it in a single sitting, heart racing, jaw dropping, constantly questioning who you can trust.

The women at the center of the story are vividly drawn and deeply human. Their choices will frustrate you, scare you, and make you want to reach into the pages to warn them—but you’ll still find yourself rooting for them, hoping they can break free from the chaos closing in around them.

Nick Radcliffe is one of the most chillingly realistic villains I’ve read in a while—the type of predator who wears a perfect mask. Smooth, intelligent, and calculated, he doesn’t need to hide in the shadows because he thrives in plain sight. What starts as a web of small manipulations quickly escalates into a psychological nightmare, with revelations that hit hard and twist the story in unexpected ways.

This book is razor-sharp, disturbing in all the right ways, and absolutely addictive. If you’re into dark thrillers that explore control, deception, and survival, Don’t Let Him In should be at the top of your list.

3.5 stars for this fun mystery from Lisa Jewell! As this is my second book from her, I'm excited to continue reading more of her books in the future after this one.

Paddy Swann, a beloved restauranteur is killed after being pushed into a train suddenly, leaving behind his wife Nina and his two children. Shortly after, Nina is contacted by Nick who was an old friend of Paddys. From there, a romantic connection sparks between Nina and Nick, however her daughter Ash is highly suspicious of Nick's motives. He seems almost too good to be true, and Ash decides to play detective and find out if this man is who he says he is.

Lisa Jewell does a great job of putting you in the villains mind and truly giving you someone to absolutely hate. I was immersed from start to finish and after a while started to feel quite attached to the characters. The POV switches between Ash and Nick were perfectly timed with what was going on in the main story, and helped link together a lot of what was happening. My main critique is that this book presented so many characters that for a while it was hard to keep track. I also felt like at times it was quite predictable, with nothing really giving me that jaw dropping moment I hope for when reading a mystery thriller book.

Overall though I had a really great time reading this book, and it helped get me out of a book slump which is always a good sign! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars. Following the death of her husband, Nina Swann receives a condolence card from a man named Nick who said he was an acquaintance of her late husband, and they soon begin dating. While Nick seems perfect, Nina’s adult daughter Ash has her doubts, and she begins digging into Nick’s past. Meanwhile, Martha has been happily married to her husband Alistair, but recently he’s been distant, traveling more for work and turning off his phone, and she begins to have doubts of her own.

This book was a bit of a mixed experience for me. I went into it expecting a true psychological thriller, but it leaned more toward psychological drama, with fewer twists and less suspense than I had hoped for. The gaslighting and toxic relationships were frustrating to read, especially with the female characters repeatedly falling for the manipulation. While this wasn’t the best fit for me, I’d give it a shot if you are looking for a complex and character-driven psychological drama.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my gifted digital + physical copies!

Don't Let Him In is a slow-burn thriller that unfortunately felt a little boring to me. I was really expecting some giant twist that would make the book so much more interesting. But the twist never happened. Lisa Jewell definitely wrote a great villain that I would never want to meet in real life, but overall this wasn't the book for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

What did i just read!
This book was a fast page turner for me. A slow start but then quickly picked up the pace with lots of twists and turns. the story is told from multiple pov. I did find some of the characters frustrating and times and wanted scream at them and tell them to wake up!
The plot is well thought out and Lisa Jewel does well at pulling you in. The book is centered on Nick and 3 different women. The tangled web of lies and deceit will keep you flipping pages.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and Lisa Jewel did not disappoint. i highly recommend reading!

A top-notch creepily queasy psychological mystery.

After the death of her father, celebrity chef Paddy Swann, Ash and her mother Nina, are adrift in their large house on the English South Coast. Ash feels directionless since Something Happened in London and she moved back home, so when her widowed mother starts seeing Nick, an old colleague of her father’s, she feels resentful and out of place,

There are two other narrative threads: in one, we follow Martha, a creative florist, and her family and the other is told from the perspective of a man who is getting ready to leave his wife. Naturally all the threads are interlinked but I don’t want to spoil the plot as it’s both surprising and yet also inevitable.

The author does a terrific job of keeping the unsettling off-balance feeling going, even as the plot moves towards its conclusion and the twists run their course. Highly recommended for those who sometimes wonder what their partner is really thinking.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Honestly, this one took me forever to get through because I just wasn’t riveted enough to want to keep picking it up. Eventually, on a night when I couldn’t sleep, I powered through to finally finish. The back half of the book picked up a bit, but it still just moved so slow, with chapters that oftentimes felt repetitive (and some were, but just from a different POV that really didn’t offer much) and other chapters we could have done without. The book ending was lackluster and kind of disheartening, but the epilogue did at least give it a more satisfying wrap-up (though I still don’t really get HOW, because it wasn’t realistic at all). But anyways, not my favorite Lisa Jewell book, but still a fan, of course.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This was tough to get through. I had a hard time keeping up with all of the characters. I almost felt like I needed a whiteboard mark up of everyone. I do not think I’d recommend this one.

This was a great read! I loved how the story was set up with multiple POV’s, past/present timelines, and a strong villain. I had no idea how certain parts and characters of this story would connect, but once I started to figure everything out, I thought it was very well done. I really enjoyed the last couple of twists towards the end too! Lisa Jewell never disappoints!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Delighted to include this title in the June edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This wasn’t super twisty, but I enjoyed the roller coaster train wreck. Thank God, I’ve never met anyone like that in my life.

I like an alternating POV, which this had, and added bonus of alternating first/third person. There was more repetition than I’d like. Not my favorite Lisa Jewell by a wide margin..

There are always tons of crazies in the world, and this book just cemented that fact.
You’ll hate “him” throughout the entirety of the book, but I couldn’t put it down!

I recommend Lisa Jewell to anyone who wants a fast-paced, well thought out thriller! There’s a reason she’s considered one of the best!

Definitely would buy this book for myself or my friends.

I usually love Lisa Jewell’s books, but this one didn’t deliver.

There are too many characters and subplots, and the central mystery lacks suspense—it’s more of a “here we go again” situation. With so many characters, none are developed enough to care about. Ash, Nina’s daughter, plays a key role in uncovering the truth, but her backstory is told in vague, rushed bits. Aside from being vegan, there’s little depth to her.

The supporting characters blur together, and the victims’ perspectives are so underdeveloped that it’s easy to fall into blaming them.

It’s possible that watching The Other Mrs. Jordan—a real-life account of a polygamist scammer—right before reading this made the book feel less compelling by comparison.

This was incredible work told from multi POV, that kept the narration but clear but also insanely infuriating. The con artist of all con artists even conned himself into thinking he was happy and in love. With twists abound, Lisa Jewell does it yet again. Incredibly well done.

Don’t let him in by Lisa Jewell.

The story centers on three women and their relationship with a man who seems to be perfect. Until he isn’t.

Nina is a woman struggling after the death of her restaurateur husband when she meets Nick. Nick says he knew her husband and being in a similar business can help her with her restaurants. Her adult daughter, however, finds him too perfect, too polished, moving too fast, and a lot suspicious.

Martha is a single woman with two young sons who meets Al, a man whose job requires him to travel frequently. They marry and expand their family while she continues to run her florist business. Al continues to travel frequently for business, but never seems to be available when she calls.

And then there is Tara. Tara’s husband, Jonathan, swept her off her feet and married her within a very short space of time. He also is away on business often. Tara has adult children and is fairly well off, and trusts her husband implicitly.

There seems to be something off with each of these men and their relationships with the women. All of the women appear to be strong and independent, but are actually quite vulnerable. All of the men seem to be hiding something.

Don’t let him in is psychological thriller told from the perspective of each of the main characters; revealing little tidbits of information as though unraveling a ball of yarn or peeling layers off an onion. I enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening, where things were going, and if/how the characters were connected.

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

I’m not personally a thriller reader but this one had me hooked every twist and turn was great. Fast paced and very enjoyable. I definitely got the chillls from this one but nothing too scary. Perfect in my opinion for those don’t like to be spooked.

I love Lisa Jewell! What a good book, full of suspense and mystery! It was a quick read for me, and I really enjoyed the thrill ride it took me on!