3.5 🌟

Lisa Jewell is really so good at creative, messy thrillers and I am always happy to go along for the ride.

While I loved "None of This Is True" from last year, this one didn't quite hit the same. It took awhile to get going, there were too many characters, and some of the story beats got repetitive - I found it pretty tiresome watching these women get fooled over and over and OVER again.

I did really enjoy the second half of the book, and I loved to hate Nick's point of view chapters (Lisa Jewell has a talent for making characters who are just SO gross, it's amazing), and the ending was perfectly satisfying.

Not bad at all, and a very fun summer read. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced digital copy of this highly anticipated novel.

When Paddy Swann dies in a horrific accident, his family is devastated. One day, his wife Nina receives a note in the mail from someone who is an old acquaintance of her deceased husband, along with an old trinket belonging to him. When she arranges to meet the man who sent the letter, she is immediately taken by this handsome stranger, Nick Radcliffe, whose captivating personality and joyful smile make her feel like living again. When Nina eventually brings her new friend home, her adult daughter becomes suspicious of this too good to be true man who has charmed his way into her life, and she makes a plan to find out all she can about him.

Martha is a local florist with a successful business and perfect home life. Her loving and devoted husband, Alistair is an amazing father to their infant daughter and adoring stepfather to her two older children. Everything is perfect until Alistair starts disappearing for days on end. Although he always seems to have a valid excuse for where he’s been, Martha gets a feeling in her gut that something is not quite right, and she starts looking for answers.

Lisa Jewell has become an auto-read author for me, so I have been looking forward to this upcoming release, and I was not disappointed. The vibe for this one felt as though the reader was immersed in an episode of a true-crime drama TV show. Told from alternating points of view as well as an ever changing timeline, something was always going on and more and more pieces were being added to the puzzle. Although there were no shocking revelations, it was still suspenseful in its own way. While the reader may have understood what the villain in this story was doing at all times, it was still astounding just how much he was able to get away with, particularly over victims who were intelligent and successful people. The author did an amazing job creating a character that was so utterly detestable, but yet was also interesting enough to keep you fully invested in what was going to happen to him.

Short chapters made this a binge-able, fast paced read. While not a traditional thriller, it was more of a psychological, chaotic mind twister that will leave you questioning what is wrong with people that they are able to do the crazy things they do. Lisa Jewell has delivered again. Don’t Let Him In is a well crafted, character driven ride through the dark side of the human mind.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Don’t Let Him In.
Lisa Jewell can craft novels that keep the reader engaged all the way to the last page.
This novel takes the reader on a journey. That’s the best way i can describe this novel. It centers on a charismatic man who seems to live his life with a woman he loves. He draws her in with a smile, his charming manner, and his way of making her feel so special.
But this man has a side of him that is not so special. And when he doesn’t get what he wants, well he has to find someone else.
But it seems he is never quite satisfied.
It’s hard to begin this review without spoiling the full story but so worth reading and extremely entertaining! 4.5 stars

3.75/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve read five books by Lisa Jewell before this one and I’ve always loved her writing so I was super excited to read this. Don’t Let Him In releases on June 24th.

This book was so frustrating yet so addicting. I couldn’t stop reading.
I’ve always loved how slow paced and suspenseful Lisa Jewell’s writing is. Her characters are also complex and have really interesting backstories.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked reading from different points of view and across different timelines. It was a bit confusing at first to remember who was who but it got easier as the story progressed. The story as a whole really kept me captivated. The fact that men like the one in this book exist in real life is honestly so terrifying.

That said, this wasn’t my favorite Lisa Jewell book. There were a few things I liked less. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed since almost everything happened in the last 15% of the book. I was also expecting more of a thrill. It just didn’t fully feel like a psychological thriller to me.

That being said, I’ll always recommend Lisa Jewell’s books because I truly adore her writing 🫶🏻

🖤Don’t Let Him In🖤

Lisa Jewell has been a thriller autoread author of mine for awhile now. Though not every one of them hits the same, I am always curious to read her new releases so of course I was excited to have the opportunity to read an advanced copy of her latest, Don’t Let Him In.

Don’t Let Him In was definitely fast paced and not easy to put down. I binged it pretty quickly because I just needed to know how it would conclude. I did, however, find it fairly predictable and I guessed the ‘shocking revelation’ quite early on. My biggest gripe though was how the women in the story were portrayed. I understand that a very particular type of woman would be prey for what was going on but, they seemed a bit over the top with how naive and desperate they were portrayed and it got to be really annoying.

Overall, I landed with a 3⭐ rating because although there were a couple of things that annoyed me, I still found it to overall be an entertaining read that was very bingeable. If you’re into thrillers, or Lisa Jewell books, it may be worth checking out.

Thank you to @atriabooks & @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! Don’t Let Him In is out on June 24th!

⭐3/5 stars⭐

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC I'm exchange for an honest review.

I was already a fan of LJ books and this one didn't disappoint. It's about a shady, manipulative con man and all of the women he's damaged in his wake, along with all the chaos that ensues when the web becomes too tangled and begins to fall apart.

I loved that the women's POVs were all in the third person, but his POV was written the first person. You really get a chance to feel like you're inside the mind of a sociopath who thinks he deserves the world and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

At first I thought the book was very straight forward, almost predictable, though it was still enthralling to connect the dots between all the characters and how they connect to the MMC. Then you get close to the end, feeling a little unsatisfied, and then LJ hits you with the double twist and all is right in the world.

Pub date: 24 June 2025

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story pulled me in quickly, but ultimately left me underwhelmed. Everything unfolded exactly as expected—no real twists, no surprises, no thrills, no mysteries. Unlike Jewell’s earlier thrillers, this one felt more like a psychological drama than a mystery/thriller.

While the premise was intriguing, the execution dragged. The repetition became grating, especially the constant rationalisations and the endless monologues from Nick/Al/etc., about his manipulations and entitlement. It was hard to keep the multiple female characters straight until halfway through the book (they all seemed so helpless), which made the first half feel muddled.

Overall, it was an okay read—interesting enough to finish, but not memorable.

Wow! Lisa Jewell never disappoints with her domestic thrillers. I have been a fan of her work for a long time but with that being said this is not my favourite book I’ve read by her but was still a great read nonetheless. It kept me wanting more and I was constantly trying to figure out what Nick’s next move was going to be, I found some parts fell flat in the middle, a little predictable and repetitive. Also, I will admit I did struggle to keep up with all of the characters from all the different wives to the different names Nick (Simon) uses throughout the story. Once I was able to grasp the characters and how they fit into the story I enjoyed it immensely and flew through it. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Definitely a book of two halves. The first half was painfully slow—I was picking away at it a chapter or two a day (and the chapters are tiny). Not much actually happens, unless you count listening to a man who’s clearly in love with himself drone on. He might be the most irritating part of the book… second only to the bafflingly naive women orbiting him.


The second half picked up fast—finally—and all the threads pulled together as expected. A little too neatly, to be honest. No real twists, no surprises. It played out exactly how it looked like it would. Overall? Kind of a meh read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the free eARC in return for my honest review.

I was hovering between a 4 and a 4.5 for this but settled on a 4 because this thriller isn’t re-inventing the wheel but it was fun. This was a fast pace thriller from the start, I was hooked right away. With each piece of the story you just keep thinking “can there possibly be more?” and then there was.

Although most of this was predictable in ways I still had a great time seeing the story unfold. I think we all know people like the women in this story and they could be swept up in something like this easily if they met the wrong person.

Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Short synopsis: Go in blind!

My thoughts: I was sucked into this story immediately, and kept wanting to yell and different characters about the Red flags waving in their faces that they chose to ignore. But I think when you’re in the moment, it’s hard to see those signs.

At first there were a lot of characters to get straight, and trying to keep up with the timelines was tricky. But once I got the hang of it I couldn’t put it down!

Make sure you carve some uninterrupted time out of your day because you’ll want to binge. That being said, I was really hoping for a HUGE twist and was a bit let down. But that’s okay, I still enjoyed the wild ride.

Read if you love:
* Con artist stories
* Bingeable reads
* Multiple POV and timelines

What starts as a tragic accident quickly unravels into something darker. After the sudden death of Paddy Swan, his wife Nina and daughter Ash are left grieving and vulnerable. When an old friend of Paddy’s shows up offering comfort and support, Nina welcomes him—but Ash senses something is not right. Meanwhile, a local florist named Martha begins to suspect her own husband is hiding something. As these lives slowly intersect, buried secrets come to light and the tension builds toward a reveal that is genuinely unsettling.

Thank you Atria Books & NetGalley for this book! I actually really enjoyed this, the first couple chapters are quite confusing because of the pov shift but I was interested enough to keep reading. This isn’t a standard thriller but I did feel the suspense reading this! Collectively we can agree when we say who would fall for this?! But y’all have seen the 391 documentaries of ppl falling for this exact type of behavior… mhm it happens. That said, as a self proclaimed profiler I’d be calling in reinforcements immediately.

What I liked —
🍒Short chapters
🍒Realistic
🍒Bingeable

What I didn’t —
👀The beginning was confusing
👀I needed way more from the ending it should’ve been an OJ Simpson type of situation (as in press, not outcome)

i feel like this one had a good storyline and i was definitely into it. i just found i kept getting all the characters confused and couldn’t always remember who was who. but overall, it was a good and quick read.

I'm an admitted Lisa Jewell super fan and was absolutely overjoyed when I received an early copy of her new thriller. Truly, I think my neighbors heard me scream when got it! And even better - "Don't Let Him In' may be my favorite Lisa Jewell book yet! loved (and hated) the characters, who each felt very real. The story was engaging and the dialogue, as always, was on point. As is typical with Lisa Jewell books, plowed through this one and was genuinely sad when it was over. There's nothing quite like tucking in with this author's books and I can't wait for the next one!

Lisa Jewell does it again. She always hooks me right from the start and Don’t let him in is no different! Following Ash, Nina and Martha it was fairly obvious how the story was going to go, but Lisa Jewell did a great job of keeping me guessing how it was all going to come together in the end.
4.5 stars for me. Don’t miss this one, publish date 6/24!!
Thanks to Atria books and NetGalley for the arc

Thank you to the author and publisher for this arc!
What a wild ride…Lisa Jewell is the queen of domestic twists and turns, and that remains true with Don’t Let Him In.
This is a solid thriller read, however some points in the middle got a bit slow and/or repetitive to me. If you’re someone who has some trouble remembering characters, you’ll need to write down the characters and their roles in the story - at least I had to anyway.
This is a memorable book, and although IMO it’s not the best of her catalogue, it is still a great read.
4 ⭐️

4/5

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest book review :)

I’m thoroughly impressed by how well Lisa Jewell depicted the thoughts and behaviors of the sociopathic antagonist of the book. His life was so twisted and complicated, and I have no idea how Lisa came up with all of it.

I enjoyed the different points of view from some of the main females affected by Simon. Although it’s hard for me to believe how so many women could have been fooled by Simon, he clearly was a master manipulator.

I did get lost at times with all the different names and storylines. I started having to highlight names on my kindle so I could keep track of what was going on. I also wish there was more closure at the end for Tara’s daughter. I also don’t understand how Simon survived the ocean at the end??

Overall, it was a fun summer mystery and I enjoyed reading it!

A bit predictable but well written and juicy. I always devour Jewell’s books. Rolled my eyes a bit at how many times the words “is this him?” were spoken and I did not want to hear about that LinkedIn printout again. Overall, very entertaining.

“Don’t Let Him In” boasts an intriguing premise with multiple characters, switching between varying timeframes and POV’s. The story drew me in right from the get-go, and while I found it interesting and suspenseful, I also found the story’s execution to be a bit confusing—particularly, at first, when I was still grappling to make sense of the many disjointed pieces.

Unlike Lisa Jewel’s previous novels that I’ve read, “Don’t Let Him In” reads more like a psychological game of cat-and-mouse than edge-of-your-seat thriller, and while it’s an enjoyable story, overall, it doesn’t offer up any great surprises or shocking revelations. Hence, I liked this book, but I didn’t love it.

What in the world did I just read? The beginning of the story was a bit confusing and hard to follow. In all honesty, there were a few times I was going to give up on this one, but I am so happy I did not. There seems to be all these different plot lines, but there was a point in the book I had an epiphany and thought, "I see what you are doing Lisa Jewell."

Though confusing at the beginning, when it came together and the mystery/suspense really started, I devoured the book and did not want to put it down. My advice is to keep going because Lisa Jewell fits the pieces together and does not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for this advanced copy.
Publication date: June 24, 2025