Unfortunately, I ended up DNF’ing this book. Lisa Jewelll is an incredible author, but the plot of this book is one that I’m not a fan of when reading thrillers

I have always enjoyed Lisa Jewell's writing and was so excited to receive an ARC for Don't Let Him In. I absolutely loved this thriller.

There are a lot of characters to keep up with in this one and I feel like it was written well enough to keep them straight. I don't want to reveal any spoilers because I just love how all of my questions were eventually answered throughout the novel.

This releases on June 24, 2025 and if you're looking for a thrilling tale of cons and romance, this one is for you!

Many thanks to Atria Books + NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Lisa Jewell has been one of my favorite authors for a while and I was super excited about this book! Thrillers can often be a bit of a hit or miss for me lately and this one seems to fall in the middle. I was really invested in Ash while I was reading, however I did struggle to keep track of the story with the different point of views. Overall it was a good book and I did enjoy it, just not as much as I thought I would have.

DON’T LET HIM IN
By Lisa Jewell


Aisling (Ash) Swan’s father has suddenly died, and her mother begins to date again —Ash quickly becomes suspicious of her mother’s new companion.

This creepy psychological thriller intricately weaves the lives of three women—Nina, Ash, and Martha—who become drawn into the lives of two elusive men, Nick and Alistair. Do you ever truly know those you let into your life? How many red flags is too many? Not knowing too much about this book and going in totally blind and letting this twisted story unfold is best.


Lisa Jewell’s plot unfolds through multiple points of view, building suspense slowly but compellingly. There is unease and hidden danger that lurks behind the facade of normal life. Her writing is clear and approachable. It started off a bit slow for me and became more fast-paced midway through. I always look forward to Lisa Jewell’s books. Explores themes of trust, truth and deception, obsession, and the complexities of relationships. Delving into the darker aspects of human nature.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC ebook.

Between the flashbacks, multiple wives and characters, I was often confused while reading. However I kept going and was able to *mostly* follow along. Some of the story felt predictable, certain "twists" were obvious... that being said, I did enjoy the book.

An intense domestic thriller that kept me interested by fueling my rage. Keeping the timelines and women straight was a bit confusing, but the audacity of this man kept me reading. No super shocking twists, but I enjoyed it. Lisa Jewell is becoming a must read author for me.

I am a big Lisa Jewell fan! Unfortunately, this one fell a little short for me personally especially compared to some of her other books.

I have never wanted to keep reading to find out what happens and simultaneously throw my kindle across the room at this con-artist, toxic MMC.

Would still recommend for a quick suspense, thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced e-copy! Don’t Let Him In hits the shelves June 24!

This was a wild ride! I’m honestly not sure how to give a review without spoiling anything… but this book has love, lies, deceit, and murder, and will have you trying to put the pieces together. This does follow multiple POVs and timelines, which got a little confusing at times, but if you like other Lisa Jewel books, you will enjoy this one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Don’t Let Him In!

I found the multiple story lines hard to follow. This book was very slow paced and boring. Nothing really happens until the second half

The first 20% or so I really struggled. The shift in pov and timeline made it a bit of a confusing start. The pacing was also a bit slow for the first half, but then things started picking up and I needed to know all the drama of this man. Not my favorite Lisa Jewell but very entertaining.

I was so excited to get my hands on an early digital ARC of Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell—out June 24, 2025! I’ve read Lisa Jewell before, so I knew I was in for a twisty, addicting read—and this one absolutely delivered.

This thriller hooked me right from the start. Told in dual timelines—one in the present and one four years earlier—we slowly unravel the disturbing story of a master manipulator. The man at the center of it all is the definition of a con artist: charming, calculated, and dangerous. He love bombs, lies, and steals from the women who trust him most—and watching the truth come to light was both infuriating and impossible to look away from.

As the timelines start to intersect, the full scope of his deception is revealed—and wow, there were a few twists I truly didn’t see coming.

Nick Radcliffe's entrance into Nina's life was unexpected. It hadn't been long since her restauranteur husband's tragic death, and she certainly wasn't looking for love. Yet something about Nick and his polished, thoughtful, put-together self made Nina let him in.

Meanwhile in a neighboring town, Martha and her husband Alistair find her floral shop taking off in ways they couldn't have expected. In just four years, they've built something together that Martha couldn't imagine her life without. Alistair is, for all intents and purposes, the perfect man. So perfect, in fact, that in those lonely moments when Alistair is out of the house, Martha finds herself wondering: is he too perfect?

"Don't Let Him In" is without a doubt one of Lisa Jewell's better novels. In many ways, it tells you exactly what it is from the very beginning, and yet that doesn't detract whatsoever from the compulsively-readable quality of the story. Well-paced with twists and turns that are the hallmark of Jewell's thrillers, "Don't Let Him In" is a "how well do you really know your husband" novel that manages to still feel fresh, shocking, and very much worthy of a read.

It ends with a warning: Don’t Let Him In!
Nick Radcliffe seems like the most perfect companion. Kind, thoughtful, sensitive, ambitious. But when recently widowed Nina starts dating Nick, her adult daughter is a bit skeptical of how “perfect” he appears to be and starts digging.
Though a very well written and thought out twisty story, I did find it challenging to follow with so many characters, multiple identities, and a few different timelines. However it was worth powering through, and if you’re a fan of Lisa Jewell, you should definitely check out Don’t Let Him In! Pub 6/24/25.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

My first Lisa Jewell book. This didn’t blow my mind but was a good thriller. There were a lot of characters and going back and forward in time. I got a bit bored in the middle of the book because you can see what is going to happen and I just wanted to see how things come to the end.

Recommend to thriller readers. This was a fun entertaining book but won’t blow your mind away with the plot.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Nick Radcliffe 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.”

Thank you @Atriabooks for providing this book for review consideration via @netgalley. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #bookreview #DontLetHimIn

Well this book made my blood boil and my face cringe. In the best way possible.

A father passes away suddenly leaving his daughter and wife behind, along with his 3 restaurants. When a new man walks into her mom’s life and starts shooting out new plans and ideas for her to invests.
All the while another women is at home raising 3 kids, with an absent husband, and starts to get curious as to where and why he is always gone.

This story is told in 3 different POVs, it’s very gripping.
I couldn’t put it down, and was dying to find out how it ended.

I'm not entirely convinced that Lisa Jewell didn't give us Don't Let Him In just to keep us collectively asking ourselves one question: Do I actually know ANYBODY? This book will have you second, third, and fourth guessing everything that you're told, and had me pouring through every suspense-laden page, looking for clues.

I loved the pacing here. I'm not a fan of books being super fast-paced, and the way the tension built through this book was exactly what I wanted. I'm also a big fan of characters I can yell at, and Jewell, as always, did a masterful job at making even the "good" characters questionable and sometimes outright unlikeable.

Who I Would Recommend This Book To:
If you like your thrillers more on the suspenseful/true crime-esque side, this one is for you! Also snag it if you vibe with unlikable characters like I do.

Who I Would Not Recommend This Book To:
If you're not a fan of multiple timelines and multiple perspectives, this one may not be for you. I'd also proceed with caution if you hate slow burn reads.

Overall, this was an enjoyable one for me and one I'll recommend. For someone who's intrigued by true crime coverage around deception and double lives, Don't Let Him In is a fascinating take and an entertaining read.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for this complimentary copy.))

Absolutely my favorite Lisa Jewell book yet!! SO dang good! The beginning was a little tricky to follow (it’s three perspectives, two timelines) but the way it all comes together it’s a twisty delight. I had so much fun reading this one and I was literally so stressed out! So good, so much fun, SUCH a crazy story!! Thrilling in the way that it had me on the edge of my seat several times just being stressed lol.

I will be requesting the audio version on Libby when it comes out, it was just that good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Fabulous

This was one of the best books I have read all year. The story is about a British con man who marries or dates women, steals money from them, then moves on. It is not the first book written with this plot, but it is beautifully executed. The women are not all naive or just stupid. The man really believes that he is deserves everything he takes. He is not at all a character that induces sympathy and I canceled other plans so I could continue to read, waiting for him to get his just rewards.

Highly recommended. I expect this will be a chart-topper.

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
4 stars

Admittedly, I’m just an all-around fan of Lisa Jewell. Are all her novels five star reads? No. Can they be predictable? Yes. But they are excellently paced, plot-driven and enjoyable to read. She writes wonderful characters and when I say wonderful I don’t necessarily mean like-able. I mean you feel what the author intends for you to feel ( I think,) whether it be disgust, admiration etc….

There are many characters and two primary timelines that we follow. There are Nina and Ash who are grieving the loss of their husband/father, Paddy Swann who was brutally murdered when a mentally ill man pushed him in front of a subway train. Nina receives a package and short note from Nick Radcliffe, a former colleague of Paddy’s from back in the nineties. Nick just learned of Paddy’s passing and sent a small memento of Paddy’s that he had. Nina and Nick exchange emails for a while and eventually they start dating. Ash isn’t exactly a fan of Nick’s, she feels that something is “off” with him and begins really paying attention to the things he’s saying and doing.

Then there is Martha. She’s married to Al, owns a florist shop and is raising three children in her fifties. Al has a demanding hospitality career that requires him to travel a lot, oftentimes with no notice. He is never reachable while traveling, his phone is always off and despite him always being away working he never has money to contribute to the finances. Martha is doing it all, alone. Martha begins questioning her marriage to Al and what the hell he’s doing and where he’s going all the time.

As the other characters are introduced and everyone’s stories begin to intertwine, you are left on a wild, thrilling ride. Some characters you hate, some you love, some you just want to shake around and ask “what the hell are you doing?” There were predictable moments and the end left me literally shaking my head and saying “NO! Whaaaat?!!”

Overall a fantastic read. It kept me engaged, it was executed well and the ended really angered me. ( a good thing! )

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’ve been on the hunt for a solid, all-around thriller and this one absolutely delivered. Every time I had to put the book down, I felt like a little kid begging for just five more minutes. It was packed with twists and turns that kept me guessing the entire time.

The suspense had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, and I loved every second of it. The antagonist was one of the most infuriating characters I’ve read in awhile, in the best way. And the emotion from all the characters felt so real that it was like I actually knew them.

Such a gripping, intense read. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a thriller you won’t want to put down.