I have read a majority of Lisa Jewell's books and was thrilled to receive a copy of her upcoming summer release Don't Let Him In.

Recently widowed Nina Swann is surprised to find romance with Nick Radcliffe an old friend of her deceased husband. Nina's daughter Ash isn't buying Nick's story and begins an investigation. With multiple points of view and timelines we discover along with Ash, that Nick has more to hide than could be imagined. This book kept me reading, although at times I had to walk away from it due to my frustration with all the villain is able to get away with. Lisa Jewell writes him well and he is A LOT. Because you spend a large majority of the story with him, the book feels that way too.

That being said, overall Lisa Jewell delivers another satisfying, page turning thriller with Don't Let Him In. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to have an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

3.5 stars rounded up

This was absolutely a great thriller that kept the twists coming (although somewhat predictable) and put the reader in the head of a true monster. Something about this didn’t quite feel like the “usual” Lisa Jewell though - it was a fast paced and intriguing story but there wasn’t as much depth with the characters, he was just a really really bad guy lol

I've been a fan of Lisa Jewell, who I've had the pleasure of meeting, for many years and several of her books I have loved (Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, I Found You, The House We Grew Up In, None of This is True ...).

But Don't Let Him In wasn't her usual engaging and tense read.

This 450 page book is a very slow burn, repetitive story about toxic relationships a male sociopath has with several women. The reader understands his MO right away - he gaslights, steals from and manipulates the women in his life - but despite evidence of his treachery, the women stay with him.

Told in different time frames and a large cast of characters (both were hard to keep track of), this book is filled with the scheming and manipulation of a narcissist. That's it. But it was how these middle-aged women were portrayed as gullible, weak and in need of a man to succeed, that really burned my biscuits.

Repetitive, predictable, underwhelming and longer than it had to be, this was a frustrating and disappointing read for me. Confusing with its characters, icky with its portrayal of women and its repulsive main character and lacking the big, twisty ending we've come to expect from Jewell, it hurts my book nerd heart to say that this book was a big miss for me (but I highly recommend her backlist).

Disclaimer: Thank you to Atria Books for the complimentary digital and paperback arcs of this book which were given in exchange for my honest review.

Lisa Jewell delivers another gripping thriller with Don’t Let Him In. While it’s frustrating (though sadly realistic) to watch women overlook red flags and toxic traits, the story keeps you hooked. The ending is satisfying and ties things together. Overall, it’s a solid, twisty read—perfect for thriller lovers looking for a summer page-turner. Add this one to your TBR!

Don’t Let Him In had a solid premise but it didn’t quite hook me the way I hoped. The pacing felt uneven and I struggled to connect with the characters. I found myself comparing it to None of This Is True—which I enjoyed much more. This one just didn’t pack the same punch.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review early! My opinions are my own.

Nina Swann is grieving the tragic loss of her husband Paddy, when she receives a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, who says he is an old friend of her late husband. After he reaches out to her a second time, she agrees to meet him, and soon they are dating. Nina is convinced he is a good guy, with a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter, 2 sons from a previous marriage and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

I love this author's books. I have yet to read one that I did not thoroughly enjoy. They always have twists and turns you didn't see coming, and end on a twist, which I love. I felt like I knew where this was going the whole time, but I wasn't sure how they were going to get the evidence they needed, because lets face it, the man was shady. I have never been so happy to be single in my life! If you love a good nail-biting thriller, then look no further. I highly recommend this one!

Lisa Jewell has become one of my favorite authors. I will likely read whatever she puts out; however, she’s touch and go. This ARC was a nice surprise to receive and was anxious to read. I enjoyed this book, even though it’s a plot that is often overdone ~ no good man and the naive women that fall for him. I grew a bit annoyed with the women in this book, yet it was an enjoyable read, even though it was a bit predictable. Solid 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley,, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy.

Don't Let Him In is the new summer thriller from Lisa Jewell.

"Nick was an old friend of Nina's recently deceased husband. He's looking to connect and begins showing up more and more at her house. Nina's daughter, Ash, thinks something is off about Nick so she starts looking into his past. Something is definitely going on.

Martha is a florist and lives with her daughter and husband, Alistair. He is often gone for business and unreachable most of the time. Martha feels like something's not right.

Nina, Martha and Ash on on a collision course with a disturbing truth...because the past won't stay buried forever."

You find out quickly exactly what kind of man Nick is. He has no problem with anything he does because all of the women want him to do it. There are some disturbing things in his past - much of which you will guess. This story is a bit of a slow burn (it drags a little) I did like the ending. First time since 2017 that her summer novel is not a BOTM pick.

Domestic thriller fans should enjoy this one.

First of all, I'm so thankful (and surprised) that I got approved for an ARC of this novel! I try to keep up with Lisa Jewell's publications, so to get an early read of this one was awesome!
With that being said, I liked this story, but it's definitely not my favorite of hers. Overall, this novel kept me reading, and the ending was good, but I want to spend some time talking about my less-than-favorite parts.
To start, I generally like the multiple-character, multiple-timeline aspects of her books, but in this case, I found several of the characters to be fairly nondescript so it was a bit hard to follow the storyline. I also feel that she laid on the hate-ability of the first person narration perspective too much (I can't say more without it being a spoiler). But overall, I felt angry, yes, but also irritated. I feel the best villain characters are those with one or two redeeming qualities, and our antagonist definitely lacked that.
Also, though I did like the ending, I would've loved the ending if there had been some sort of epilogue. Open-ended conclusions are good to an extent, but with this one, I finished it with more questions than answers and the whole thing just didn't sit QUITE right with me.
I will say, good thriller summer read if you go into with my above points in mind. Perhaps others will enjoy her plot devices and conclusion more than I did, so I will say don't let my review put you off reading this novel altogether. However, certain aspects were just not for me. Read at your own risk (haha).

Please note: This review is now posted on my GoodReads account. Thank you for letting me read!!

Don't Let Him In, Lisa Jewell's latest psychological suspense drama, is dark, unsettling, and a read guaranteed to keep you turning pages to find out how this all resolves. To say more would spoil your enjoyment of the book, and I don't want to take that away from you.

I rate it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Good story line, interesting characters, a bit repetitive at times, but definitely worth your time.

My thanks to Atria Books for allowing me to access a DRC of the novel via NetGalley. Publication is 6/21/25. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Today I’m reviewing Lisa Jewells latest thriller Don’t Let Him In. Unsettling, yet unputdownable, Jewell is a master at creating characters that are born from nightmares. From the opening chapters readers will quickly feel creeped out by the male MC. You’ll 100% know there is something VERY off about his character and that’s what compells you to keep reading. Because you just have to know what’s going to happen next.

I couldn’t put it down.

I had this urgent need to know how the book was going to end.

The title is spot on.

I was inwardly screaming don’t let him in whenever he was interacting with literally anyone. Although, I did feel the book could’ve been edited down a bit. There were moments I was like, okay I’m ready for this guy to get caught.

Regardless, if you’re a thrillers book addict, you should definitely grab a copy of Don’t Let Him In.

3.5⭐️

Thank you to @atriabooks @atriathrillers + @simon.audio for the ARC & ALC! ♡

🚪 Do you enjoy secret double lives + villains we love to hate?

This book is kaleidescopic — 3+ POVs intersect with jumping timelines, by the end putting together puzzle pieces to unveil the full picture.

I enjoyed the kaleidoscopic format and book overall. I think I just expected more because Lisa Jewell is such a household name for domestic thrillers. Most things unfolded exactly as I expected… which seems odd for a thriller?

I will say despite this, this is still very much a bingeable, train wreck type situation where you just can’t help but keep reading until you get to the end.

Beyond that, I think you should go in blind.

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။‌‌‌‌‌|• 🎧 6 narrators! Full cast audio did a nice job. I did read this mostly on paper bc of the short chapters, jumping timelines and perspectives.

I have read most of Lisa Jewell’s books, and this one might be my new favorite. It was quite a ride. One where I knew the overall big picture of what was happening the entire time, but more and more pieces were revealed along the way that made the whole thing bigger than I could have imagined.

It’s easy to read a book like this and think “how can people (these women) not realize what this man is doing?” because it seems so obvious, yet the real world shows us all the time how manipulative people can fool even the smartest person. There is a reason I enjoy reading — because most of the time, the person in the wrong is usually held accountable in one way or another. This one was a frustrating tale at times but came to a satisfying conclusion for me.

This story is told for three different POVs, in different tenses depending on the POV, and in different timelines. I think it all worked really, really well here and was very effective in how it controlled the narrative as the book went on. I enjoyed this style a lot more than I have similar structures in the past.

Thank you to Atria Books via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Jewell knows how to write from a villain’s perspective! Don’t Let Him In is a binge-worthy domestic suspense novel. I loved the structure and narrative style.

I didn’t find many twists to this story, and it felt somewhat straightforward and predictable. Yet, I still enjoyed the overall structure and narrative flow. I couldn’t put this down, and I was fully entertained by the impending ruin and disaster of the plot.

Read if you’re looking for a bingeable book with a villain you love to hate.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria books for the ARC of Don’t Let Him In in exchange for my honest review!

“He’s the perfect man. It’s the perfect lie.”

When I first started this book, I was CONFUSED. So many names and timelines that it took me a minute to piece everything together. It was clear the man who appears in Nina & Ash’s lives is the connecting piece to all these stories, but as things develop you realize how connected he is.

This book was fine. It kept my attention and was a quick read. I finished it while on two flights headed on vacation. Nick, or whatever his name is, is a convincing con artist and I hate how believable he was. We hear about stories like this on the news and Dateline often. I wish people weren’t so gullible to the clear manipulation of others! Is it something I would recommend? No probably not as it was not my favorite Lisa Jewell book, but it was a fun, quick read!

Ash Swann is staying with er mom, Nina, after the death of her father, Paddy. In time, Nina starts dating a new man who claims to have known Paddy years ago. Ash is sure something isn't right with Nick, and decides to look into his art to see if he is being truthful and trustworthy. The story then follows a few storylines, and alternates to a timeline of four years in the past.

I read it in a day or two because I was anxious to find out how the story would resolve. I can see how it might be a bit confusing because there is a lot going on, with many characters, timelines and characters who go by different names. But the story itself was engaging, and maddening. I hated the male character so so much.

This is a great summer read for a day at the pool or beach, or camping out in the AC because it is too hot outside, it will keep you sucked in to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author.

3 startsAisling Swann has battled her own demons in the past and is trying to put it all behind her, especially as she continues to recover from her dad’s awful death, pushed in front of a train by a stranger. Her mother, too, is trying to move on and begins dating a man that Ash just doesn’t feel comfortable around. Even though Nick Radcliffe knows the right things to say and claims to have known her father, Ash just knows something isn’t right.

Meanwhile, Martha is trying to fulfill her dreams off owning multiple florist shops, with her second husband, Alistair, their baby daughter and her two sons from a previous marriage. “Al” loves Martha, she’s sure of that and he encourages her to expand her shop, Martha’s Garden, into her dream business, while Al continues to work long days and nights as a trainer in the hospitality industry. Still there never seems to be enough money to provide comfortably for their family. Al tends to disappear for days at a time with his cell phone turned off to focus on his chaotic job, but a family emergency reveals how untenable this arrangement is.

Soon, more women surface with suspicious stories of husbands, boyfriends, and neighbors, but what is really going on?

Lisa Jewell creates a world where things aren’t as they seem, much like she did in None of This is True, the only other novel of hers that I’ve read. While I enjoyed that one as a lighter read for a dark thriller, I cannot say I got the same enjoyment from Don’t Let Him In. I did stick with it and it absolutely provides food for thought and insight into the mind of a true psychopath.

However, the suspense was a bit lacking, as it was easy to see what was happening early on. The story seemed mired in the middle, which made the very good twists at the end seem more like rewards for persisting than true “a-ha” moments.

Told through shifting perspectives in two timelines -- one in the present and one starting four years in the past and moving forward – it was cumbersome to remember what was happening and whose viewpoint I was following. For fans of this genre, it is a decent selection, but not the same lasting caliber of her Jewell’s previous novel.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC of this book through NetGalley, which I received for my honest review. This book will be available to the public on June 24, 2025.
#DontLetHimIn #LisaJewell #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #books #bookreviews #bookstagram #bookreview #nerdventureswithbooks

Thanks to Atria books and NetGalley for the eARC. This one was meh for me. Not bad enough for 2 stars, not good enough for 4. The jumping timelines were difficult to follow as you go along the twisty path which is this book. As a woman, I struggle when women are portrayed to be so easy to fool and trick and gaslight. I would have preferred more strong female characters not ones who keep making excuses for someone elses’ behavior for it to fit their narrative.

𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3½✨⭐️
DON’T LET HIM IN
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: psychological thriller
📖 368 pages
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶𝘀: 😱🚂🚔🚪🤥💍🧼💐🤫👀🔪✍🏼
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 6/24/2025

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
◽️ multiple POV & timeline
◽️ domestic thrillers
◽️ groundhogs day
◽️ multiple identities/con artists

💙𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲💙

Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks @simonaudio for the #gifted copy!

This one hooked me right from the beginning — I was completely invested in unraveling the endless twists surrounding Nick/Alistair, & the tangled web of identities. The story unfolds through multiple POVs & timelines, even jumping back 4 years at times, which made it a bit tricky to track all the characters at first. Thank goodness for my notes app! 😅 Despite that, I couldn’t wait to see how all the pieces would fit together.

Unfortunately, as the story progressed, it started to feel repetitive. Each new chapter seemed like a rehash of the same deception but with a different name, which stretched believability a bit too far for me. By the time I reached the ending, it felt over-the-top & left me with a few lingering questions that never got answered. While this one isn’t my favorite Lisa Jewell book, she remains one of my top thriller authors — & I’ll still read anything she writes!

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: Nina Swann reconnects with Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who seems charming but raises suspicions in her daughter Ash. Ash secretly investigates Nick & uncovers disturbing secrets about his past. Meanwhile, Martha, a florist in a nearby town, grows uneasy about her husband Alistair’s frequent unexplained absences. Nina, Ash, & Martha’s lives soon intertwine as they edge closer to a chilling truth. They all learn too late the danger behind the same warning: Don’t let him in.

#DontLetHimIn #thriller #pyschologicalthriller #suspense #mystery #crime #giftedbooks #netgalley #kindle #bookaddict #whattoreadnext #botwxbs #bookcollector #booksaremylife #booksonbooks #crimewithaclaw #readdrinkandbeMary #cozycorner #audiobook

4.5/5.0

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. It started off a bit slow and confusing, with each chapter being a different character’s POV, but once you got to know them it started picking up speed. By part three it was hard to put down. Overall, a twisty thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.