I did enjoy this book. However, it was not one of Lisa Jewell's best. There was too much jumping around. I would just begin to understand a character and it would jump to another one. I will continue to read anything this author writes. But, I don't think I would recommend this book.

Lisa Jewell has done it again. A great story - this ARC received from Netgalley was full of suspense constantly going back and forth between the many women involved with Nick. He really is a charmer (aka psychopath) who woos many women, some he married and had children with but all he won over with his smooth talking.

At first it was hard keeping up with Nick who not only gave a different name to each woman he was with but also told them different stories. I started to get confused so I had a small pad and jotted down names to keep track. But I must admit the ending was thrilling and a surprise. Worth the read when it is released on June 24, 2025.

This was a very thrilling read! My first book from Lisa Jewell and it did not disappoint! The plot twist really got me!

Once again I wish goodreads gave you the options for half stars but alas here we are.

3.5 ☆

A smooth talker wiggles his way into the life of a newly widowed woman but her daughter isn't as easily charmed. Follow along as Ash navigates the charming devils past lives.

Pros:
▪︎ Overall a good story
▪︎ Ending isn't too predictable but still left me with questions

Cons:
▪︎ You've got to pay attention because there's multiple women's names and their get a little muddled. It took me to 50% to finally get each person's name down.
▪︎ It just didn't do it for me, it was just OK.

Although many others have great things to say about it, I just didn't find it a must read. But read it for yourself, you may love it.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #DontLetHimIn hitting shelves June 24th!

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell is a very highly recommended domestic psychological suspense novel following one one con man, or perhaps three, and the women he targets. Once you start reading this one it's impossible to put it down.

Recent widow Nina Swann receives a condolence card and soon after that a lighter from Nick Radcliffe, who claims to be an old friend of her late husband, Paddy. She meets Nick and starts a relationship with him, much to the dismay of her daughter Ash, who has bad feeling about him. Ash begins to look into Nick. In a nearby town, Alistair, husband of Martha, a florist, seems to be traveling for work more and more and she is suspicious something else is afoot. Then there is also a jump back in time following man who hates his wife and is scheming to get her money.

The writing is absolutely excellent. The tension ramps up with each revelation and shocking twist leading up to a very satisfying conclusion. Obviously, it will be clear that Don't Let Him In is following the nefarious deeds of a man who is a smooth operator and a narcissistic sociopath. His actions and thoughts are increasingly treacherous and cunning.

Give the narrative time to set up the different scenarios as it follows alternating points of views, indicated by a change in fonts. When it moves back in time, it is noted before the passage. This man's slick but devious actions will infuriate you, but keep reading. While it may seem disjointed at the beginning, things will quickly become clear and the plot becomes intense, ominous, and un-put-downable.

The characters are all portrayed as fully realized individuals with strengths and weaknesses. Following the thoughts and deeds of Nick/Alisair will anger you. At the same time you will be cheering for Ash's efforts to find out more about the man who calls himself Nick Radcliffe.

Don't Let Him In is an exceptional novel of psychological suspense. Thanks to Atria for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell is a tense, twisty thriller that keeps you questioning who to trust until the very last page. Jewell masterfully builds suspense through chilling revelations and deeply flawed, compelling characters. It’s a gripping, unputdownable read that proves once again why she’s a master of psychological suspense.

Lisa Jewel, master of the thriller novel, lost me on this one. Although it is not my favorite genre, I read and was mesmerized by the characters and beating heart suspense in The Night She Disappeared. This one, however, did not do it for me for a number of reasons.

It is the story of a charming, handsome psychopath who thinks he is deserving of more than he’s been given. He operates in two ways. He either does painstaking research on his victims before he enters their lives or he gets off on scaring random women just for the fun of it.

He is slippery—each life comes with a different name and set of lies. He has perfected charisma and charm. Each of his victims feel so loved and needed by only him, that they can’t conceive of living without him. Even when they begin to be suspect him. Even when he begins bankrupting them.

As the book goes on, we see how he worms his way into the lives or otherwise bright, successful women. It seemed like throwback victimhood to me They all let themselves be duped repeatedly. The character Amanda had the most preposterous scenario. She experienced a whole other level of criminal behavior and became complicit, until she wasn’t.

It took one of the observer characters, rather than a victim, to try to bring him down.

I agree with another reviewer who said the read was infuriating and exhausting. The repetition annoying. How many times do we have to read about the same woman rationalizing what she knows are lies. Or in alternating chapters, read ad nauseum about Nick/Andre/Al/ or whatever persona he assumed ranting about his needs, manipulations, distortions, and what he deserves in life.

I would give another Jewel thriller a try. Perhaps, this book was just too long. With the action arcing with less filler, it might have been a different book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria for providing this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley for my ARC. I loved "None Of This Is True", so I couldn't wait to start "Don't Let Him In". I thought the story was interesting, but at times it was hard to follow as there was a lot of jumping around between past and present, between different relationships. Perhaps that was intentional, so that you, as the reader, could understand how challenging it could be for Nick's character (or Al, or whatever he was going by in his relationships) to keep track of what he'd said to each other character. It took me quite some time to get through the first half of the book, but I finished the second half pretty quickly.

Caution: SPOILERS AHEAD!

You could tell from the beginning of the book that there was something suspicious about Nick's character. I didn't fully understand all of the motivations behind his behaviors, but possibly that is because I am not a psychopath. His trick of making his eyes tear up got old pretty fast. It made me sad that so many of the women he was with were unable to see what a lech he was, but perhaps that was just meant to demonstrate how good he was at being manipulative and deceptive. I feel like I was left with a lot of questions at the end - like how did he not drown and escape all of the people confronting him? How was he able to fake his death or depart people multiple times, change his name, and leave debt with him? Was Tara really the only woman he had killed? I have to imagine if it was so easy for him to kill her and threaten Jessie, that there was a much larger wake of physical destruction left behind along with the financial destruction. Why was Ash the first person who really looked into him, other than Emma Greenlaw?

Overall, I think the book was worth a read. I do wish I'd been given more of a look into his childhood than the brief glance we were given near the end of the book. And I'm very glad that I'm married an not looking into dating any time soon.

4.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books. Lisa Jewell has done it again. Even though this book was a little more obvious as to what was going on there were some Jewell mind &uc*s that went on and some total WHAT!!! moments. This book is told by the POV of 2 characters. This is definitely a must read for the summer and one of the best phycological thrillers that Ive read so far this year

Don’t Let Him In is a fast-paced, addictive thriller about three women whose lives slowly become entangled around one charming, dangerous man. Nina is grieving, Martha is questioning her seemingly perfect marriage, and Ash is the only one who senses something is very wrong. The tension builds with every chapter, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, it twists again. If you like domestic thrillers with multiple POVs, secrets unraveling, and a satisfyingly dark payoff, this one is a solid pick.

After the unexpected death of her father, Ash has an unexpected intruder into her life. Nick Radcliffe starts seeing her mother claiming to be a friend of her father’s in the 90s. Nick is charismatic, handsome and smooth, but something feels off to Ash. The short chapters, multiple points of view and flashbacks make this a quick read. It had great twists and a unique storyline.

This was very good - 4.5 stars!

Don't Let Him In starts after the death of Paddy Swann, a restaurateur. Paddy leaves behind his wife, Nina, and his daughter, Ash. After the funeral, Nick Radcliffe sends a note and a lighter than once belonged to Paddy to Nina. Nick and Nina start to talk and they start a relationship. Ash is concerned about Nick's intentions and starts to investigate his past. Another POV is Martha, a florist with 3 kids. Martha is struggling with her marriage to Al. The timeline switches between when Martha met Al 4 years ago and the current timeline.

This was definitely gripping and twisty. It starts a little slow, but once it got going, I didn't want to put it down.

There were a lot of women to keep track of as the book switched between POVs and timelines. I was able to keep everything straight, but I did have to pause and remember as I started each chapter that switched POVs/timelines. I think this is a very bingeable book and it would have been easier to keep straight if I read this in one sitting or within a day or two!

For the most part, I could see where this was going and wasn't shocked by anything, but it was still entertaining and I was nervous for our main characters!!! This book was trending towards a 4 star read of me, but the epilogue put it over the edge to 4.5 stars! I would describe it as a borderline psychological thriller - its not quite a psychological thriller, but close.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed this book! I love when the chapters are short, it makes it so easy to fly through the book.
I didn’t really feel the same psychological intense feelings that I have in other thrillers. I got annoyed by some of the people and things happening. But it was good for a quick somewhat suspenseful book!

Lisa Jewell has done it again! I love how you get sucked in from the beginning and there’s always something to keep your attention til the very end. The characters, the plot, the way the story was laid out, all perfect! Loved the twist at the end! 5 stars, definitely a must read!

I’ve a longtime Lisa Jewell fan so I went in with high expectations. She did not disappoint! I could barely put this one down to care for my child lol. She did an excellent job fleshing out the character of each of the women in these relationships and making me hate the male species lol. Highly recommend this book!

Nina Swann, grieving her husband's death, is drawn to Nick Radcliffe, a supposed old friend of her husband whose charm and sophistication hide something unsettling. Her daughter Ash senses danger and secretly digs into Nick’s past, uncovering disturbing secrets. Meanwhile, Martha suspects her husband Alistair’s frequent absences aren’t as innocent as he claims, setting her on a path toward a devastating revelation. As their lives intertwine, the truth they uncover is far darker than they ever imagined—some warnings should never be ignored.

**Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for an eARC of Don't Let Him In.

I don't think it's possible for me to not love a Lisa Jewell book! This one was no exception, with alternating POVs and timelines, dark, jaw-dropping scenes, many well-written characters, and one horrible disgusting man at the center of everything.

In typical Lisa Jewell fashion, it was hard to keep all the characters and timelines straight at the beginning of the book, but once things got underway I was hooked! Especially after the halfway mark, I could not put this down because I just had to know what happened. I was rooting for a few characters so much (Ash and Jane were my faves!), and HEAVILY rooting against one character...

Although there wasn't any life-changing big twists that have been prevalent in some of her previous books, I still really enjoyed the ending (even down to the very last page...if you know you know!).

I definitely could see this book being a perfect quick binge read by the beach or pool. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Can't wait for Jewell's next book!

Psychological thriller by the 👑 Lisa Jewell

Nick Radcliffe is a handsome, charming, malevolent master manipulator, whose life-work is swindling innocent and vulnerable women.
He my 2025 #1 most despicable character.

He is a viscous villain, utterly upending the lives of his unsuspecting victims. (Have you seen “Bad Sisters”? He’s John Paul) There doesn’t seem to be any stopping point to his sick scams.

I LOVED some of the female characters , Ash and Jane in particular, also Martha and her friend Grace…Very well-constructed, sympathetic and believable.

This was a fast read and a page-turner , I was committed to seeing where we were going, and if our perp ever met justice, and how. I also wanted to know just how deviant his behavior could get if/whenwhen his cover crumbled.

My only complaint … I thought it was too predictable, I wanted more twists, I wanted a shift, something I never saw coming … I might be just a spoiled rotten thriller enthusiast … I gave it 4 stars for readability , but it might be more of a 3.75

Thank you to Atria Books, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!!!

Very twisty and turny and it kept me so intrigued and invested. I did catch what was going on fairly early but I think that was the point.

The problem was it was drilled in from the beginning and I just kept expecting more to happen. Surely that had to be more to this story. But that didn't really happen. There was a twist at the end but it was nothing major or unexpected. I just felt there was too much build up for such little outcome.

This book was such a trip! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, I couldn't put it down. It's like when you drive past a car crash and you just can't help but look even though it's terrible. It was clear from the start what was happening with this book and yet, the more I read the more shocking it got, and I could not peel my eyes away. It will keep you on your toes until the very last page and also maybe filled with rage for the MMC. It's a great time.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!