If Lisa Jewell writes it, I'm reading it, so I was elated to receive an ARC of her newest book "Don't Let Him In."

I think it makes sense to go into this book blind. This synopsis I can give is that a florist Martha, who seemingly has the perfect life and husband, and a recent widow of a restauranteur in the UK's lives unpredictably crash into each other.

This was a page turner - even in the middle when I felt like I knew where it was going, I was hooked. The ending was a bit predictable from the beginning, but did have a twist I didn't necessarily see coming. I could absolutely see this being adapted into a series or film. I just adore everything Lisa Jewell puts out.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Don't Let Him In is the newest thriller by one of my favorite authors, Lisa Jewell. At first, when you start reading this novel, you might get confused about the many characters and how they are all connected. Stick with it! Everything will slowly become clear to you as the characters in the book unravel many secrets that they've become involved in. The conclusion is a great payoff for the intricacies of Jewell's storytelling craft, which she is well known for. Read and enjoy!

Absolutely addicting thriller following a con artist and his gaslighting, scamming, skeevy deceptions.

Completely hatable guy, could not put it down!

Wow this one had me spinning! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Kept me intrigued the whole time. I enjoyed it and read it rather quickly

Unfortunately, this is my least favorite Lisa Jewell book. The alternating POVs and timelines had me sooo confused at the beginning of the book. There were too many characters for me to keep track of and I struggled with the change of writing style.

I enjoyed the suspense within the story and the short chapters helped keep me engaged & wanting to keep reading. It is definitely a bingeable book!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

what a wild ride this was. In typical Lisa Jewell fashion this story takes you on a journey. I tried guessing where it was gonna go and never was correct. The beginning was a little confusing for me to understand the layout and the different timelines but once I figured that out I was hooked. The ending was better than I could’ve predicted. I loved the conclusion and how this wrapped up. Another great quick read from Jewell.

Lisa Jewell is a go to author for me! If she writes it, I'm reading it. With that being said, this one was no different. From the very first page I was hooked and read this book in two days (fast for me). The twists and turns throughout had my jaw on the floor and the ending was shocking! I can't wait to make all my friends and family read this one.

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell is a good read. This would be a great mystery/thriller book to take along on vacation. There are a lot of characters and I did struggle with keeping them all straight. I wish I would have been able to read it one day or would have taken notes to help me remember.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

What is so good about me reading this was i just fonished watching this series dirty john. Although there are similiraties, i still cant help but read through! What a Page turner!!!

A year after the unexpected death of Nina's husband, a man named Nick comes to visit to reminisce about memories of her late husband. Nick becomes the perfect person to lean on during her grief and a romance builds between them. But Nina's daughter, Ash, just can't accept that Nick is as picture-perfect as he seems. To Ash, Nick seems a little too polished and smug, so she starts looking into his past. In a nearby town lives a florist named Martha with her infant daughter, two sons, and a loving husband. But her husband has been out of town more and more often lately and seems to be hiding things from her. How do these two women's lives intersect and what will happen when the truth gets revealed about the men in their lives?

Really good mystery plot reminiscent of the Dirty John miniseries about conman John Meehan or The Tinder Swindler documentary about conman Simon Leviev. I loved all the intersecting plots and kept hoping for the women to get revenge or find out the truth before it was too late. I also enjoyed the tension-building as the author revealed different timelines and different points of view.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

*hardback

⭐️⭐️✨✨✨ (2.75/5)

I really enjoy Lisa Jewell books but I quickly became disinterested and had to push so hard to avoid the dreaded DNF. If I had to describe this book in a few words it’d say convoluted, exhausting and uninteresting. Oof I know I know. I’m sad about it too because I’ve really enjoyed this author’s work over the years. It was just long, slow and soooo redundant.

There were a lot of missed opportunities…

🚪Character development
🚪More on Ash’s breakdown and the details that lead to it (it was only briefly discussed)
🚪More escort interactions
🚪If Nick is that bad let him pull more of his heinous bs
🚪When everything comes together right before the epilogue I was disappointed (the ending in the epilogue made me feel a little better)

I was so over hearing about how Nick got his money or disappeared for weeks, months, years at a time…I get how he disappeared a lot but didn’t think we needed to recap the logistics of it so much. I think the word count would’ve been better used with more action from Nick or more character development. I couldn’t tell you much about any of the women except Ash had a mental breakdown, her dad was pushed onto train tracks and that Nick was a real pos who preyed upon women’s vulnerabilities oh and a little bit about Jane.

I think this book would’ve been better with less characters, more character development, cutting some of the redundancy with Nick Radcliffe’s antics, less talk about his schemes because honestly they weren’t that interesting and more drama…not much really happened. I think there was more focus on the money stuff than was really necessary. I mean if he’s a bad dude let’s make him “page turner” bad…let’s get invested.

Ash’s mental breakdown was a solid piece of the story, why wasn’t that explored a bit more! I think less characters and more substance would’ve made this one more enjoyable. There were just so many missed opportunities to make this really top notch.

I think it’s a total me problem though because it seems most people liked this one. This book reminded me a lot of When You Disappeared by John Marrs. IYKYK. I should NOT have read them at the same time. Oof. Talk about a brain scramble. Very similar books. I loved the works of Lisa Jewell and John Marrs but not a fan of this one (or When You Disappeared).

Overall, this one missed the mark for me. I wasn’t invested and definitely don’t think this one is as strong as some of her other novels.

Lisa Jewell has always a favorite author of mine. I always look forward to her books and was optimistic about Don't Let Him In. However, I struggled with this book unfortunately. The storytelling was difficult to follow and I could not grow attached to any of the characters.

This was a wild ride. I listened and read this one and found it a bit confusing to keep track of all the characters and timelines when I was listening, so I would suggest reading this one. That being said, I was hooked from the first few pages.

Lisa Jewell had a knack for writing really unlikable, unhinged characters but the MMC in this story was vile. The manipulation was so abhorrent I wanted to jump into the pages of the book and slap him. At one point I thought I had pretty much figured out where the story was going, but there was a jaw dropping moment for me and although somewhat predictable, I still really enjoyed going along for the ride. This one also has a really satisfying ending.

This was such a disappointment after how much I loved “None of This is True.”

The beginning was very slow and there was no hook to draw you in. I had a hard time getting into it, and even when the story starts to pick up, it’s still a drag because the main character is so dislikable, such a sleaze bag who keeps ruining people’s lives that I don’t want to read about it.

Then there are too many storylines. I understand the picture that the author is trying to paint, but it was confusing and ultimately it became repetitive. It also felt unbelievable that all of these women ignored red flag after red flag, never asking questions or going to the police with what happened? He operates in the same circle around London and never comes across anyone who recognizes him?

There were no twists or surprises. It was all very predictable and you know the direction the story is headed and how it’s going end once you’re a third through. I was hoping for a satisfying thrill or reveal at the end - here comes retribution! - but it was so meh. Unfortunately I can’t recommend this one.

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

NetGalley, you’re the best for gifting me with an ARC of this book!

Lisa Jewell is one of the best thriller authors out there in terms of getting me out of a slump haha. Her chapters tend to be short and multi pov/timelines.. which is hard to do well. But she’s fantastic with it and it really draws you in from the beginning.

This book was an easy and enjoyable one for me to get through quickly, I am giving it three stars though because the main character was insufferable. Which was the point, 100%. But wow I just spent a lot of time being like HOW IS THIS GUY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS SHIT STILL haha.
If you watched the show You, you’ll understand this feeling. Just situation after situation that this guy had no business talking himself out of but he magically did.

The ending was somewhat satisfying? I loved the way everyone came together to really scare the shit out of him at the end but of course the little weasel found a way out of that too haha. Worth a read though! I’m never mad about a Lisa Jewell book.

Okay, this one was an absolute whirlwind—in the best way! It felt like trying to navigate a maze while riding a free-form roller coaster, with unexpected drops, sharp turns, and just enough moments to catch your breath before the next twist hit. The story unfolds across multiple timelines that are expertly woven together, giving the whole plot a dynamic and almost fluid feel. It kept me completely engaged, constantly questioning what I thought I knew. Each timeline added a new layer, and the way they collided by the end? So satisfying.

I consider myself pretty good at spotting twists, but this one kept me genuinely guessing. The big reveal landed with a punch, and I definitely didn’t have all the details figured out ahead of time. I love when a thriller doesn’t just rely on shock value but builds the suspense in a way that feels earned—and this book nailed it. If you're a fan of twisty plots and stories that keep you on your toes, this one should be at the top of your TBR. I highly recommend it!

This book was an interesting read. It was my first read by Lisa. I enjoyed it and thought it was an interesting plot and story not something I’ve read before.

I really enjoyed the different point of views from the MMC past and the future but I wish it just stuck either first person or third because I had a bit of a hard time following with that. Also in the beginning when it was switching between the different wives I didn’t know if I was reading into the past or the present.

This story made me think of that one Netflix documentary the Tinder swindler , I think that is the name. I really enjoyed the characters especially Ash and Jane and believe it or I enjoyed the MMC “Nick” as well. His character was so sneaky yet loveable but at the same time I thought he was such a piece of crap.

My favourite part of the book, SPOILER!! was how Ash connects with her dads ex to investigate Nick. I loved how bad ass both women were to want to take this guy down.

As for the things that fell short for me personally, I felt some parts dragging on and not as entertaining and I was waiting for something exciting to happen. I was really hoping and expecting a big twist at the end but majority of the book I felt it was so easy to guess what would happen.

All in all I think this book is interesting and enjoyable, I just wish it was more anticipating and got me to the edge of my seat. I have heard many great things about this author and will continue to explore her other books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5

Nick? Alistair? Who knows. I feel like this was a podcast a few years ago. Was not a fan of the main male character at all. This was not my favorite book of hers but it was still okay.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was okay. Not a bad read, but I definitely wasn’t on the edge of my seat. The plot felt pretty predictable and slow, and overall it all ended up feeling a bit anticlimactic (I like drama, okay?) I did enjoy the alternating POVs and timelines, and even found the MMC oddly intriguing (but the sheer audacity of some men, my god 🙄). It was decent enough to finish, but definitely underwhelming.

Thank you so much to Atria for the eARC via NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Jewell, and Atria Books for the eARC. Lisa Jewell never disappoints! The queen of the slow burn delivers again with a uniquely compelling storyline. Every moment kept me hooked, and the ending was absolutely epic. A superb read from start to finish!