I loved this! It kept me captivated and I didn’t want to put it down. I really enjoy Lisa Jewell’s books and this was a great new one. I’d highly recommend!

Lisa Jewell is one of my must-read authors. For better or for worse, I will always try to get my hands on her new releases!

Don't Let Him In was a solid 4-star read for me. I started it on an airplane and read far enough in that I got a sense of what was going on with the different characters. I would recommend that to anyone picking up this book...don't start it until you know you have a little bit of time to invest in your reading, otherwise you might be a little confused about the cast of characters and the timeline.

What Worked: The things that I enjoyed about this book is that the storyline is intricate. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but once you realize what is going on it gets a lot more interesting. Towards the end of the book, I had to keep reading to find out what happened!

What didn't work as well for me was that there is one character who is truly awful-you think the character is bad, and then you get to a certain point where that character really crosses the line into evil territory. The ending also didn't totally work for me, but it ended better than I thought it would at at about 90% in.

If you are a Lisa Jewell fan, you will probably be entertained by this one, too. 4 stars.

After the tragic and unexpected death of Paddy Swann, his daughter, Ash, and his wife, Nina, receive a letter from a man named Nick, an old friend of Paddy’s. He offers his condolences and requests to meet Nina. Nina is reluctant at first, but after finally agreeing, it’s not long before she is swept up by Nick’s charms and begins a relationship with him. Ash, who is still grieving her father, doesn’t trust Nick. And after doing a little digging and learning more about the man who’s enthralled her mother, she finds she has a very good reason not to.

I knew nothing of this book before diving in. Despite Jewell being a popular author, I had only read one other of her books and was disappointed by it, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. And after devouring this twenty-four hours, I can say that Don’t Let Him In was an unexpected gem that I didn’t know I was looking for.

This isn’t a mystery/thriller in the typical whodunnit sense, which was a refreshing change of pace. You know who the bad guy is pretty early on. This book focuses more on the what and the why, and how much someone is willing to lie, manipulate and hurt to get what they think they deserve. We spent much of this book in the brain of a narcissist, and it is truly disturbing the hoops this person goes through to justify their actions.

While none of the other characters were particular standouts, I did like their relationships with one another, particularly the mother-daughter relationship between both Nina and Ash, as well as Tara and Emma. I liked the friendship between Martha and Grace. And I really liked Jane. I take it back, Jane was a standout character. She was awesome. The connections between these characters is what made the ending such a satisfying pay off.

My only big negative about this book was that it was maybe a hair longer than it needed to be. We follow the perspectives of Nick, Ash and Martha, and at times, all of their inner monologues start to get repetitive. Some of that could have been edited down to help with the pacing.

I also felt some of the dialogue was a tad cringy. There are too many references to Gen X, Gen Z and millennials, as well as a fifty-year-old woman saying aloud “TBH” instead of “to be honest.” COVID was also mentioned more than once in this book, and while I understand it is now a part of our history, it’s still a little too fresh that I don’t want to be reminded of that horrible time when I’m already following the depraved mind of a psychopath.

There were also two characters with the same name, which I thought might tie into a greater plot point, but it turned out it was just a coincidence, which ended up just being a little confusing.

Overall, I give Don’t Let Him In a 4.5/5 stars. I was sucked in pretty early on and could not stop reading. I was unsettled by the antagonist and felt vindicated by the end. Reading this has made me reconsider trying other books by Lisa Jewell.

4⭐️- This was my first thriller of 2025 and it did not disappoint. Right off the bat I was hooked. I love how the story was weaved together and I was guessing the at the beginning. It was definitely not anything spectacular but it was really good. My one major complaint is that there is no way to tell when the POV switches. We have three characters that have a POV in this story and sometimes it took me a minute to figure out who it was. (Not sure if this was done on purpose for the story). Overall, if you’re looking for a good, fast paced, short chapter thriller, pick this up! Get this title June 24th.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria books for an advanced copy of this book.

4.5 stars. 🌟 Lisa Jewell is the queen of unputdownable psychological thrillers, and she knocked it out of the park again with this one! Right now, this is tied with "None of This is True" for my favorite Lisa book!

Nina and Ash Swann are still reeling from the death of the patriarch of their family, Paddy Swann, when charismatic Nick Radcliffe enters their lives, claiming he knew Paddy. Ash, the late Paddy's daughter, is very skeptical of Nick. Her instincts are right. Nick is living a double life.

If you're a fan of the podcast or show "Dirty John," this is 100% the book for you. It explores how a grifting conman can earn the trust of so many women and what happens when they start to suspect something isn't right.

As is the case with a lot of Lisa's books, I could not put this down and read it in several sittings. It's one of my favorite thrillers in recent memory. I had to know what happened next and how everything would wrap up for the women caught in this man's web of lies.

I was really impressed by Lisa's writing in this one, too. It was smart and thoughtful.

If you love a riveting story with an extremely unlikeable antagonist at its center, you definitely need to preorder this one.

Lisa Jewell consistently delivers intriguing, mysteries. Nick Radcliffe is everything a woman wants, and he works hard to be! He scams multiple women at a time out of their money and walks away when things get to difficult. Who can stop this scammer? Great, easy read and the reader will route for his demise!

Lisa Jewell has done it AGAIN. At this point, I’m convinced she’s incapable of writing a book I won’t devour. Don’t Let Him In is a masterclass in slow-burning suspense, following a truly despicable man and the women whose lives he leaves in chaos. The tension? Immaculate. The mystery? Addictive. The female determination? SIMPLY CHEF’S KISS.

Jewell weaves anxiety, obsession, and an unwavering pursuit of the truth into every page, making this an unputdownable thriller that had me holding my breath until the very last twist. If you love dark, twisty mysteries with razor-sharp writing, you need this on your TBR.

Another solid lisa jewell book! This one felt unique in the sense that it did not have the super tense thriller feel. This was a little bit more of a slow burn, but it kept me interested in reading all the same. Originally all of the different POV‘s was a little confusing because they were jumping back-and-forth in time and there was no linear time line, but as I became adapted to the format and was able to recognize each POV, things got better for me. In the end I rated this four stars because I felt that I could see the ending coming from a mile away Which made things feel a little bit less like a thriller, I enjoyed this very much but I took a star because of the fact that I was expecting to pick up a more traditional thriller and did not feel that this fit. Fans of Lisa Jewell will love this!

I really wanted to love this book, I truly did. Unfortunately, Don't Let Him In didn't give me the same feelings as Lisa Jewell's earlier works. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, dying to know what would happen next. Especially in the beginning, I found it too confusing with all the different POVs, and there was no real explanation for why this mysterious guy was the way he was. It just didn’t grip me enough to make me want to keep reading—but I did anyway. Sadly, even the ending left me disappointed. I also didn’t really connect with any of the characters. It almost felt like this book wasn’t even written by Lisa Jewell. I had been so excited for it, but in the end, it really let me down. Oh well, maybe her next book will be more my thing!

4 ⭐️

Love the different POV, this book got me hooked instantly and her books are always well executed with toe curling thriller vibes which I LOVE SO MUCH!

This was a suspenseful thriller that at times was difficult to read, but often I felt I couldn’t look away. Nick Ratcliffe comes into Ash and her mother’s life, and though her mom is enamored with him, Ash is skeptical. Meanwhile, we learn about Martha, whose life with her second husband, Al is challenging: money is often tight and Al is often traveling for work. The book starts off slow, but as the women’s lives begin to intertwine at the halfway point, it picks up speed and WOW.

Understanding more about Nick and Al is twisty and - although there were a few situations I found predictable - it was engrossing and propulsive. I found it (particularly at the beginning) deeply unsettling, likely because I could so clearly see this as a real life story.

Thank you to Net Halley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t Let Him In is the newest fictional mystery by Lisa Jewell, and not one to skip!
This book follows different women, including Nina, Martha, and Ash. Nina and Martha are each in a relationship with the same man, even though they know him by different names and with a different story. But Nina’s daughter Ash starts getting suspicious, and tries her best to find out more about her mother’s boyfriend, while also getting her mother to trust her again.
This book kept my interest until the very end! I loved the different characters, the story line, and how they came together. I also really appreciated that many things seemed to be resolved by the ending, even if it wasn’t how I thought it would have been. I definitely recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review! Unfortunately, this one was just not for me. It’s not a thriller so much as a case study of a narcissistic psycho who is dependent on women he tricks to carry him through life as long as he can con them for. I honestly don’t know if there’s anything to spoil really, because that’s it. You read from his pov as well as some of the women, so you know his thoughts and plans upfront. You try to puzzle together timelines, but other than that it was too slow and not “thrilling” enough to keep me interested. I was so excited for this, but while the characters are well written that’s really all I can say for it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for a digital ARC of Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell.

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell! I love soooo many of her books. So, I feel like my bar for her books is set high because she's so amazing! So, I am rating this book a 4, because of my love for her and her writing is always on point.

But the story line for Don't Let Him In is more like a 3.5. It's not terrible. It just wasn't my favorite book by her. I did think the story picked up around the 52% mark. I'm not sure if this book is a thriller, but definitely a domestic drama. I will always give Lisa Jewell's books a try, so I'm looking forward to her next one.

Lisa jewell is one of my favorite authors so I was very excited to get an arc of her newest release. I read it and am glad I didn’t do an audiobook of thus one because even as it was, it was really hard to keep people straight for probably the first third of the book, if not more.
This is the story of a man and a family. Not his family. Our leads characters are Ash, a twenty something woman still living at home after the death of her father, and Nick, who reaches out to her mother upon her father’s death and works his way in. It’s hard to know how much to say without spoilers but suffice it to say that Ash thinks Nick is suspect and starts to try to find proof.
The overall storyline was interesting. The character development, especially of Nick, and the chapters from his perspective are vivid. His thought process was clearly laid out and he even had verbal phrases he used frequently so he felt very fleshed out. There were just so many other characters that it was hard to keep straight, especially at the beginning, and it was further complicated by time jumps to show us Nicks past. The end result was a solid 4 stars but the ride to get there was bumpy and led me to rate it a 3.

Although you figure out right away who the antagonist is in this novel, you don't understand how bad they are and where this originate from. Even though the story switched back and forth from different POVs and years, it was easy to follow. This book explored the complexities of relationships and allowed us to see into the mind of a narcissist.

there's a lot going on here and once it gets going, you don't want it to stop. in fact, weirdly enough, while it takes a bit to get there, the last 10% or so of the book felt almost rushed--it could have been longer / had more there and I would have been just as happy if not happier.
it's a solid thriller with multiple time points and points-of-view, and Jewell uses all of that very well in service of the story. if at moments it feels confusing, it seems by design, to mirror the confusing and overlapping things going on all around us.

good ole fun, and definitely recommended

After a lengthy introduction to the characters and plot of this new Jewell novel, it becomes a blockbuster hit! I love LJ's novels. This one is worth waiting for mystery readers. Women love the tall guy with white hair and blue eyes. They should follow the title's advice: Don't Let Him In!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book, which will be published on June 24, 2025.

A fun thriller. I am usually five stars for Lisa every time, but this one was just ok for me. Twists that were crazy, unhinged characters, and good pacing, I would still recommend!

I enjoy Lisa Jewell’s books a lot! She knows how to draw me in immediately and keep me hooked until the end. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t a favorite. While I was really interested in the premise and figuring out what was going to happen, I found the motivation of the main man lacking. His reasoning for his actions seemed flimsy, at best, which took me out of the world a little bit. I highly recommend reading Jewells books but this wouldn’t be the one I’d start with.