Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell, I know many will love this book but me not so much. Not a fan of jumping constantly back and forward between timelines. Having been married to a Narcissist for years, before getting the courage to leave this was triggering to some extent. It was a struggle for me, but I did finish the book. Having said that I would still recommend to others because I know not everyone enjoys the same writing style.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and Atria Books, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Very reminiscent of true crime case of Dirty John! He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has 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 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 share 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.

✨Book Review✨
Don’t Let Him In - Lisa Jewell

Release Date: June 24th 2025

Thank you so much to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Queen Lisa Jewell is releasing yet another bingeable thriller just in time for summer. I could not put this down, I read it in 3 days which is saying something because it’s been taking me 15+ days to finish a book lately.

One man. Many lives. Questionable motives. I went into this pretty blind so I will recommend you do the same. Let me just say that this got so into my head I started to look at my completely un-suspicious and totally normal fiancé sideways like what could you be hiding from me sir?!

Anyways now that I’ve ordered a background check just in case… 👀 jkjk I am telling you read this one when you need a good thrilling pick me up or a great speedy summer vacation read.

4/5⭐️ if you’re already a Lisa Jewell fan you can’t go wrong just be prepared to get inside the head of a despicable villain.

There was a lot of jumping around between timelines and characters, but I actually didn't find it to be confusing and I was pretty well able to keep track of what was going on. Some of it was a bit predictable, but overall I think this will be a hit for fans of psychological thrillers and people who love a plot twist. There's a big audience for this type of book in this area, so I'll definitely be recommending this to library patrons as well as personal friends.

I have read a couple Lisa Jewell books and enjoyed them, but this one was rather boring and anticlimactic. Throughout the story, we meet various women who have been gaslighted by the same man. It was annoying how gullible these women were. I was hoping for a thrilling plot twist revenge ending but it just wasn’t there. I do think I will read other books by this author in the future, but this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Another Lisa Jewell book that I absolutely loved!
This story is full of twists and I was not able to put this down! I loved the multiple point of views and the ending. Great thriller for the summer!

Overall, this was a decent read. I appreciated the short chapters and straightforward writing style, which made it easy to get through. That said, the plot became a bit predictable, and the ending didn’t deliver much of a twist. Around the halfway point, the story began to lose momentum and felt like it was dragging. If you're in the mood for a quick and easy thriller, this could work—but don’t go in expecting any major surprises.

WOW! I loved this book! Lisa Jewell has knocked it out of the park with this! Full of twist and turns and shocks that left my mouth on the floor! I was able to finish this book in one sitting! I was not able to put this down! This is one of my favorites by Lisa! I loved the multiple POV and the way the timeline was written. I WILL be getting this physical copy for my favs!

Twisty! A unique set up, although I could imagine what would happen next pretty early on. I appreciated the multiple points of view, and how the threads connected multiple characters. Slow in some parts, and there were lots of people/storylines to keep track of.

This was another good Lisa Jewell novel. I did enjoy having the perspectives of both the women and Simon/Al/Nick. It was quickly apparent that this man was attempting to scam Nina and Martha. This could have gotten boring quickly, however the twists and turns kept me interested in hearing more. My favorite character was Ash, and I rooted for her to help her mother and uncover the truth. The only frustrating part was knowing all of these women were making poor decisions.

Fans of Lisa Jewell, her newest book is out in two weeks! While I didn’t think that this one was quite as “edge of my seat twisty” as her normal books are, I was still hooked from the beginning! This is a treat for those who are fans of the Dirty John podcast. This MMC was VILE. Wait for the craziest, most convoluted character of all time! This story is told from multiple points of view and while it make take you a second to get it, it will come together quickly and you’ll be able to jump from person to person seamlessly. The chapters are short and the pacing is quick! I need for this to be a Book Club book so that I can unpack it with others! Lisa Jewell is just the queen of diabolical characters!

Creepy and fast-paced, but not as emotionally layered as I’ve come to know from Lisa Jewell. The premise pulled me in, but the characters felt flat and the story a bit rushed with no big reveal. Entertaining for a quick read, just not super memorable.

Well, that was good! It's definitely a page turner. The story is written in multiple points of view that I found easy to follow. There are a lot of names to remember, but I didn't find that to be a big problem.

The reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there is not a big revelation. You are pretty clear on what's going on in the entirety of the book. It feels a little like an episode of Columbo where you know who the killer is in the beginning and you are trying to see how he is going to figure it out. So, while good, it didn't give me that bombshell drop that I really love in a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley the publisher for the ARC

I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and she will always be an-buy for me, but I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as her others. From the beginning, it was clear where the story was going and I would have loved for there to be more mystery or intrigue like we usually get from her. I also found all of the female characters absolutely insufferable in how much they let this man put them through and really found myself more angry at them than sympathetic.

I love Lisa Jewell! This was really good. It may have dragged on just a little but oh my gosh, what a creepy man. Thanks for the chance to read early.

Nick Radcliffe is a charming, middle aged man who comes into Nina Swann’s life approximately a year after the unexpected death of her husband Paddy. Nick appears from the surface like a perfect guy who always knows the right things to say and do.

Ash is Nina’s adult daughter who has been living back at home since shortly before her father’s death. Ash starts to suspect that something is off about Nick and that he can’t truly be as good and genuine as he seems. Ash starts to look into Nick further and discovers more than she could’ve possibly anticipated about the man they have come to know as Nick Radcliffe.

This story is teeming with a vast cast of characters, point of views, and timelines. Jewell does an excellent job of writing an absolutely deplorable psychopath of a character who the reader is chomping at the bit for him to get his comeuppance. This did feel a bit repetitive at times and the ending was a little lackluster, but it was an overall satisfying read.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Lisa Jewell’s last book, None of This is True, so I was very excited to get approved for an advance readers copy for her new release, Don’t Let Him In. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.
Not only did I not like the main character’s POV, as he was the villain… and he was really very awful, but I also did not like the other characters. They were all shady, made shady decisions, and I could not connect with any of them.
The timelines were confusing to me as well.
I also felt like the story developed slowly, but then the ending was rushed( although I liked the ending).

Summary: Nick Radcliffe moves swiftly and seamlessly into Nina’s life once her husband is tragically killed. She seems to fall fast for him, but her daughter, Ash, sees right through his fake smile. Ash begins to look into Nick’s past, and finds that things aren’t as perfect as they seem.
Meanwhile, Martha is stuck at home while her husband, Al, disappears for days at the time, not telling her where he’s going, and not answering his messages while he’s gone. When he’s home, her life is wonderful…. But lately he seems to disappear more often, and she begins to have doubts.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Like all of Lisa Jewell’s mystery and suspense novels this one did not disappoint. The character development was done so well I found myself wanting to scream at the pages out of frustration as the antagonist’s feelings of self entitlement and narcissism bring two women into the folds of his history of lies and deceit. Over the course of the book pieces of the puzzle are revealed with a timeline of the past meeting the present alternated with the perspective of the antagonist in a first person point of view. I found switching from first person to third person a very creative way to give the reader a true understanding of the antagonist to make the reader hate him more and more as the book went on.

This book had so much potential but was just not well executed. It had SO many characters to keep track of. I truly couldn’t keep them all straight.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria books for my Arc. I really enjoyed reading this book although I would have changed the ending slightly.. i liked how the book alternated between the past and the present. When Nina Swann, a wealthy widow begins dating Nick, a successful businessman, her daughter Ash disapproves. Who is this mystery man? Martha, a mother of three is married to Allistair. They are always in debt and lately Allistair has been acting strangely. This has been one of my favourite books this year.