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.

Lisa Jewell is an auto-buy, auto-read author for me. I will always pick up every new book she writes and I eat them all up. This one was no different in the sense that the story was gripping.. The short chapters made it quick to binge and stay engaged with the story. The switching around of perspectives was a little tricky to get a handle on right off the bat, but the short chapters helped with that and I quickly found myself pulled into this story.
A little bit too much though, if I'm being totally honest. The way Lisa is able to write a manipulating, gaslighting man is spot freaking on. So much so, that I wont be able to finish reading this one. Thrillers don't normally bother me, but the conversations that this man has with his wife ("No, i didn't say that. Why would I ever say such a thing? That just doesn't even make sense.") along with all the lies and blatant manipulation felt like scripts out of my own past. In those moments, I couldn't differentiate between the story and my own memories and as much as I want to finish this one and see it through till the end, I just can't.
That's not to say this is a bad book. Obviously, I'm stating quite the opposite. It is exceptional in the way it is written. Chilling, and sends so much anger coursing through you, the feeling is visceral.

DON’T LET HIM IN by Lisa Jewell

୨⎯ SYNOPSIS ⎯୧
A conman has left a path of destruction in the lives of multiple women, and is still going strong when we meet him. This man is charming, quick to think on his feet, and knows how to lay it on thick to get what he wants. When the daughter of his latest conquest begins to get suspicious, his web of deceit is slowly unraveled and his game is finally exposed.

୨⎯ MY TAKES ⎯୧
While this book is entertaining enough to have kept me flipping pages, I don’t think it’s a standout for Lisa Jewell. As a huge fan of hers and as someone who credits her novel, Then She Was Gone, with getting me back into reading, this one doesn’t hit the same as her others. On a readability scale, it would get five stars, because it’s easy and it’s fast-paced. You can get through this book in a couple of sittings. On a thriller scale, I’m more inclined to lower it to three stars, because it isn’t inherently “thrilling”. There is no real twist - we know who the villain is from the beginning, and he remains the villain and does villainy things. We learn more about him as we move along, but it isn’t anything that elevates this story of a conman into something greater. Unfortunately, people like him exist in real life and he has befallen many in the real world, and those stories are heartbreaking, but as a work of fiction? It doesn’t quite pack the same punch.

Overall, this book is a series of events that we follow, sometimes dipping into the past, but ultimately staying on course until the end. Nothing jumps out at you or blows your mind. I’d liken this book to Jewell’s The House We Grew Up In, since we are more or less drawing out a story with a set ending, with a few small mysteries solved throughout, but ultimately wraps up as it was always meant to.

If you want some interesting characters and a fairly fast-moving plot, I’m sure you’d enjoy this one! Just don’t go into it with a thriller reader’s mindset, because you’ll be let down on that front.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A huge thank you to Atria Books Publicity & NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! ʚ♡ɞ

Lisa Jewell has written another fast-paced, heart-stopping story. DON’T LET HIM IN is everything that a 5-star thriller should be. Al is despicable, and I felt such anger toward his treatment of women. I was ready to beat him to death with a hairbrush! He’s a textbook case of a narcissistic and toxic man. Lisa has his behavior and speech patterns down perfectly. But it made me wonder, are we women that easy to fooI?

The plot is face-paced and smooth, and the short chapters made for quick reading. I had to force myself to slow down. Oh, what a great movie this book would make. Lisa, please keep the books coming!

DNF at 20%.
Extremely unlikeable characters, infidelity, and a boringly repetitive storyline. I tried to pause and return but I have no interest in continuing.

I’ve been deeply immersed in true crime for a long time; my obsession began with Dirty John, which pulled me down the rabbit hole of the “armchair detective” life. So, when I picked up Don't Let Him In, I felt an immediate sense of déjà vu… and for good reason. The plot mirrors the Dirty John case almost beat for beat, making many of the twists predictable for anyone familiar with the infamous podcast and its subsequent adaptations.

That said, this book still delivers in terms of sheer entertainment. The domestic drama is completely over the top: jaw-dropping and chaotic in ways that would feel too extreme if it weren’t for the fact that this sort of thing has actually happened in real life. If I hadn’t gone into it already knowing the beats of the story, I think I would have loved it a lot more.

If you’re new to the “conman enters the family and wreaks havoc” trope, or you just love stories packed with tension and toxic relationships, this will be a page-turner. But for seasoned true crime fans, the sense of déjà vu might steal some of its shock value. Either way, it’s an addictive, whirlwind read, just adjust your expectations accordingly.

I officially have a new “most hated book character”.
This story starts off a little confusing because it follows different timelines and people, but it comes together and it’s crazy. Martha owns a flower shop and her husband Al is always off dealing with his hospitality business. Nina and her daughter Ash are grieving their husband/father and trying to keep his restaurants running. An old friend of her husband’s comes into the picture and Ash starts getting suspicious. Eventually these stories intersect and it’s a wild ride!

Get out your corkboard and string or whiteboard for this one!!! Keeping track of everything going on was insane in the absolute best way. The characters were phenomenal; the storyline was so intriguing, frustrating and thankfully in the end-satisfying.

I will be recommending this one!

Thank you to Netgally, the publisher and author for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion

This book was addicting! The male lead is a vile psychopath conman who preys upon smart women with his special brand of manipulative charm, and playing the long con. It’s a tad confusing weaving in all the wives/marks/lives/names this man had, as the story layers them. It definitely kept my interest, and I couldn’t put it down. I will not give spoilers but will say I figured out two of the “twists” well ahead of their reveal in the book, but that didn’t ruin anything for me.

Thanks NetGalley!

In Don’t Let Him In, Lisa Jewell crafts a dark, intricately layered psychological thriller centered around a web of deception, manipulation, and the strength of women who begin to uncover the unsettling truth. The story revolves around three women unknowingly entangled with the same enigmatic man—each slowly coming to the chilling realization that he isn’t who he claims to be.

Jewell masterfully unravels the narrative, peeling back the layers of each character’s perspective while building a suspenseful momentum that keeps the reader gripped from start to finish. The tension is palpable as secrets are revealed, alliances are formed, and the women come together in a gripping search for answers.

With its complex characters and expertly paced storytelling, Don’t Let Him In is a compelling exploration of trust, identity, and the dangers that lurk behind a charming facade. A smart, sinister thriller that will keep readers guessing until the final page.

What a page turner! Lisa Jewell knows how to write a domestic thriller. Once I grasped the characters and their history, I was fully immersed in the storyline. Don't Let Him In is full of manipulation and lies from the main male character. His behavior keeps you on edge questioning everything. Just when something horrible happens, he outdoes himself a few chapters later. When I thought the plot couldn't go any further- it did.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spider web of lies, deceit, betrayal, with possibility of revenge 🤔 No spoilers.
Common storyline of a guy who cons a bunch of women. A LOT of main characters, including their relatives, children's, and friends, that makes it hard to keep track of everyone. Plus, the timeline jumps around, so get your notepad ready.

This was a unique storyline that kept me hooked! I didn’t know exactly how it was all going to connect, and it was hard to keep track of the names and characters at first. Once I got to the last half of the book, I was intrigued and couldn’t put it down. I wouldn’t say that the twists were crazy or unpredictable, but the book keeps the mystery throughout. I liked how it showed into the mind of the “villain” and was enlightening to consider his perspective while knowing what he was doing all along.

This book was an interesting read. I wouldn't say it was my favorite book but I enjoyed it. I did feel that the way it was written was a little bit confusing. It jumped from many different perspectives and time frames without making it super clear. The characters were a little dramatic and over the top as well. What I did like was the little things that tied it all together at the end. The ending was my favorite part of the book, I don't want to give away anything about it but I thought it was really good and had me screaming in happiness.

Don’t Let Him In is the newest thriller by Lisa Jewell. The book starts with the tragic death of Paddy Swann, local restauranteur. As time goes by, Paddy’s widow Nina meets a former colleague of Paddy’s. The two begin dating. Paddy’s daughter Ash, however, has some misgivings about the former colleague Nick and starts to do some investigating of her own.

In true Lisa Jewell fashion, there were quite a few twists and surprises throughout this book! It does take some time to get the hang of the timeline and variety of characters. But, I very much enjoyed the story and think it would make a great summer beach read!

I love several of Lisa Jewell’s thrillers and this book was highly anticipated for me. I did find it to be suspenseful, dark, and tense like many of her novels. However, this story wasn’t my favorite. The main character was soo unlikeable and it was hard to read at times. I was underwhelmed with the ending and felt that the story was a bit predictable.

Thank you Netgalley and Lisa Jewell for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.