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.

I.... don't really know what I just read. The main male character is a huge walking red flag. The story intertwines several relationships- there were way too many characters, too many flashbacks, too much detail- I was constantly annoyed and at times confused as to whom I was reading about. I should have just pulled a DNF but I wanted to get to the bottom of things. The epilogue was the best part.

Let me start off by saying I LOVE Lisa Jewell. She writes such dark, intriguing thrillers and I eat them up. This one wasn’t one of my favorites, but I ended up loving the ending!

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it held my attention, and I was very interested in the story. On the other, the male character was not believable to me.

I went into this blind, and I was surprised to find that the story was actually very straightforward and not mysterious. It was all laid out, and more investigative than thrilling or twisty. And there were a lot of characters and timelines to keep track of.

What I really didn’t care for was the way the antagonist was written. He just came off pathetic and predictable. If that had been the point, then that would’ve been fine, but it wasn’t. The way he talked about being able to find out almost anything about a person through social media without a single ounce of awareness came off as bad writing.

So, I thought the overall story was intriguing, I just wish the one character had been written better. I’ve read books in the pov of a psychopath, and this just wasn’t on the same level. I also wanted a much more satisfying conclusion.

2.5 stars

Nick Ratcliffe enters Nina's life not long after her husband died tragically. He provided a ray of sunshine in her otherwise dark world. Nina's grown daughter, Ash, isn't as enamored of Nick. She is suspicious but can't get her mother to listen to her. Told in dual timelines, we learn more and more about the many lives of Nick. He inserts himself into the lives of women with expertise. This is a compulsively readable book and moves very quickly. I loved every minute of it. Another outstanding novel by Lisa Jewell!!!

huge thank you to Lisa Jewell, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an early copy of Don’t Let Him In. This was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 — I’ve been counting down the days since the moment it was announced. Even more special? Its release falls on my birthday, and I couldn’t wait to dive in as a kind of bookish birthday gift to myself.

I’ve read The Night She Disappeared and None of This Is True, both five-star favorites that absolutely blew me away. So while I tried to manage my expectations, I still went into Don’t Let Him In with that familiar Lisa Jewell excitement. I didn’t read the synopsis beforehand, but I’d seen it described as more of a suspenseful character study than a twisty thriller — which helped adjust my mindset before I started.

Let me start with what worked. Lisa Jewell’s signature style is absolutely present here: fluid, readable prose that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. Her ability to make even the simplest scenes utterly engaging is something I can’t explain — there’s just a certain magic in her syntax. I also loved the morally complex characters and layered perspectives — two hallmarks of her writing that I’ve come to expect and appreciate. She just knows how to write people in all their flawed, messy humanity.

Now onto what didn’t work for me personally.

This didn’t feel like a psychological thriller. There was very little mystery, and no real twist or reveal — we as readers are clued in from the very beginning. Instead, it read more like suspenseful literary fiction centered around a con artist. There are darker themes, yes, but I never felt that page-turning tension or dread. Rather than being a nail-biter, it felt more like we were watching a slow-motion train wreck unfold — and not in a fun, can't-look-away kind of way.

I also really struggle with the con artist trope, especially when the entire plot hinges on watching someone lie, manipulate, and get away with it for the majority of the book. I found the male lead deeply unlikeable — which I understand was the point — but for me, it just turned into frustration. I kept waiting for a twist, or a clever reversal, or something unexpected to break the tension, but it never came. Instead, we were just along for the ride, powerless to stop the inevitable damage, and that kind of narrative isn’t enjoyable for me.

That said — and this is important — if anyone else had written this same plot, I would’ve likely DNF’d it. But Lisa Jewell’s writing made it palatable, even enjoyable at times. That’s a testament to her craft. Despite my disappointment with the plot and tropes, I was never bored, never tempted to quit, and never annoyed at the prose itself. I still felt connected to the world and the characters, even if I didn’t love where the story went.

In the end, while this didn’t live up to the high bar set by her previous novels for me, I know it will still find its readers — especially those who enjoy slow-burn suspense and morally gray narratives. Personally, I just missed the mind games, twists, and psychological tension that made me fall in love with her earlier work.

I ate this book up. I was hooked from the beginning and had to know what was going to happen. I questioned every single character in this book! It was so different from any thriller books I’ve ever read in the best way! 4 stars!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was based upon a con artist who played the game so well that it left me flabbergasted. Martha and Nina’s stories had me drawn in, even with everything in between, and I was just waiting to know what was going to happen next. Ash’s investigation had me on the edge of my seat, hoping that the cat and mouse game would take a quick turn. The ending really did take me by surprise. It was an interesting read as I have only read one other book by Lisa Jewell.

I will say that I was lost on several accounts when it came to each chapter. At first, I wasn’t sure which story was going to be next. Although, each one had a different font to separate, I was aching for the headers to have names as well with the numbered chapters. It wasn’t my favorite read and it seemed redundant, but I enjoyed several parts nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to ARC read this.

This was a great twisty domestic thriller. The first half of the book is a bit slower but after the 50% mark, things really pick up and the twists and turns were well plotted and well written. Lisa Jewell does a great job creating a sense of unease and plotting out her twists so they do not feel unearned.