3.25 stars. I liked Lisa Jewell's last release, but DON'T LET HIM IN had me perpetually shaking my head. The story follows a narcissistic con-man/psychopath hellbent on destroying the lives of many women through his lies, violence and manipulations. I've seen this story play out in many mediums before, but this book had me more frustrated than captivated. Jewell does demonstrate how easy it is for a hot man to swindle you over and over again, but I can't help but feel that these women's intelligence was grossly underestimated. Like, I know the point is that these kinds of men exist and take advantage of sad and broken women, it just made me so angry to see it happen repetitively. The red flags were all there, you're really telling me you would let this shit play out as much as you did? I have trauma too, but the minute my gut is telling me that hottie is a baddie, it's prolly true. IS THE DICK REALLY THAT GOOD? (GUESS SO?!)

Like AMERICAN PSYCHO, it's intriguing to follow the mind of a crazy person, because sometimes their internal dialogue is scarier than the reality. In this case, both the reality and psyche are equally fucked. Like, ew, thank goodness for these daughters because you men are resting on your looks and it shows...you're not getting a DOLLAR from me because I’m forever side-eyeing you sexy moochers that have a battalion of excuses and sob stories. But I get Jewell's point that there are many things we let slide when we love someone because love is blinding like that. This is why you trust no one, especially silver foxes that promise you the world.

Jewell is clearly a talented writer, but I read this in chunks because I was so frustrated by the dumb excuses and gullible characters that weren't using their brains, and the reveals were predictable, convenient and honestly far fetched. Moral of the story: work on your self-esteem so these fuckers can't prey on you. Woof. This dude is the worst and it's scary to think there are thousands of men just like him out in the real world right now. Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another banger from Lisa Jewell!!! Felt like I was watching a Netflix documentary. Had me gripped from the beginning, even though I was confused because so many characters had been introduced right off the bat, it made me want to keep reading to figure out who everyone was.
And the ending was very satisfying!!! Even though the twists were predictable it didn't deter me from reading or getting bored of the story. Definitely recommend for thriller fans!

Thank you to Atria Books for the NetGalley ARC!!

I can nearly always count on Lisa Jewell for a good time, and Don’t Let Him In continues that trend. With her trademark propulsive storytelling and intriguing character development, Jewell weaves an addictive story about gaslighting, manipulation, and redemption that had me hooked from the very beginning.

I’m not going to summarize the plot here, because it’s pretty complex – and besides, it would be more fun to go into this one with no idea of where it’s headed. It’s a little confusing at first, as Jewell introduces a large cast of characters and sets up the connections among them, but once things get going, they don’t stop. What I love about Jewell’s books is that they’re not always super twisty; often, it’s patently obvious what’s happening very early on – which is the case with Don’t Let Him In. The good stuff is in the way she plots her books and the vibrant, richly-detailed characters she creates. She makes it so delicious and fun to watch how everything plays out.

I would classify Don’t Let Him In as a domestic drama with the pacing and propulsion of a thriller. It’s very much focused on family dynamics and how people cope with loss, grief, and trauma. I do perhaps wish the villain at the center of the story would have had a few more shades of gray to him, just a bit more complexity to his character – but ultimately his horribleness served as a catalyst for a lot of growth and empowerment for many of the women in his life (or should I say lives?). Don’t Let Him In was thought-provoking and satisfying and, sadly, all too believable in today’s world. Thank you to Atria Books for the early reading opportunity.

I was so excited to get this book as I have read others from this author and liked them. However, this one fell flat for me. There wasn’t really any depth to the characters and the plot is a con man going after widowers. The beginning was and ending were ok but the middle just took forever. Nothing really interesting happened and I found myself bored while reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster publisher for my advance readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

WILD. From start to finish, this will definitely keep you on your toes. Lisa does a great job of dropping details that will come back later. I will admit though that the first 40% of this definitely felt hard to follow timeline wise... Once you understand the pattern though, it all comes together. It also felt a bit slow until the last half. There were a few details that I wish had planned out more, not sure the purpose of a few characters, honestly.

The font thing definitely needs fixed, I understand wanting to separate each character's chapters but the MMC's is TOO tiny. Names at the beginning of the chapters would have sufficed. Also, ugh!! Why was Jane not involved! She could have been a scorned ex of Nick's or something. I am not sure what her purpose was.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. The suspense never let up, and just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist hit. Lisa Jewell masterfully blends tension and unpredictability, making this a standout thriller. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Lisa Jewell has done it again! The queen of twisty, “popcorn thrillers” is back with another great novel! This time, the main character will make you want to throw your kindle! I’m serious, I don’t know if I have ever read a more frustrating point of view. I loved to HATE him!

Two storylines intersecting come together at the end with some twists, and have your jaw dropping. Just when I thought I had an idea of where the plot was going, the twist happened and I was left gasping! It’s been a while since I enjoyed a thriller so much.

Thank you Lisa Jewell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this novel- out June 24th!

I picked up Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell with high hopes, but I struggled with the back-and-forth timelines and multiple character perspectives. I found it hard to keep track of what was happening, and eventually I put it down before finishing. It just didn’t hook me the way her other books have. That said, I’ve seen plenty of readers really enjoy it so it might just be a “not for me, for now” kind of read. I may circle back to it later with a fresh mindset.

Another crazy page turner from Lisa Jewell! This one alternates between three perspectives. Martha is married to a husband who is always going on work trips and becoming totally unreachable. Ash is a young adult woman living at home who becomes suspicious of a new guy her mom starts dating. And the final perspective, starting 4 years in the past, is from the perspective of a guy who pretty quickly reveals himself to be what is now sometimes called “a dark empath.”

I’ll say no more about the plot, but if you’re a thriller reader you can probably guess where this one was going, though maybe I’d say this was more of a psychological suspense than a thriller. It was perhaps less twisty than some of Lisa Jewell’s books - but still with some good surprises and jaw dropping moments! It also was a gripping and creepy book I couldn’t put down and read in the span of a 24 hour period.

OMG!!! I don't think I have ever had an aversion to a character as much as I did towards "HIM", Nick/Al/Justin/whatever he calls himself. I could not put this book down because I wanted to find out how they were going to make him pay....and that epilogue!! boom!!! I did not see that one coming!

Loved the book! Congrats Lisa Jewell
and thanks for this ARC, Netgalley and Atria Books

So many layers to peel away!! Like a great episode of Dateline, things are not what they seem. What made this especially entertaining to me was all the different stories of deception in the past. I loved that by the end we got to see just how deeply the MMC's deceptions went and the justification that gave the mostly main female character.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for an ARC of this entertaining suspense thriller

First, thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

With Lisa Jewell as the author, you know that the book is unputdownable! I was completely invested in the story almost immediately. I found myself hating the MMC, and then he would do something that seemed like he wasn’t a total POS and I would get sucked back in. Ultimately, he was a total POS. LOL

This book kind of hit home for me, as I’ve been lied to and manipulated by someone I fell for, although not to this extreme. I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out how these women would take care of the situation. They were nicer than I would’ve been.

This one is definitely worth the read!

It's Lisa Jewell. That is the review.

Joking, but I could leave it at that without really needing to say anything else. Jewell has, time and time again, proven herself to be a master of mystery and suspense and Don't Let Him In proves no differently. This story is intense, pulse-quickening, and I torn through it at light speed. The characters are so well thought out, especially our villain of the story—he's the guy that you love to hate (or hate to love). The absolute perfect summer thriller. Fans of Jewell will not be disappointed and if you haven't read Jewell yet, well I am not quite sure what you are waiting for.

I could not put this book down. I loved the story.

This book is hard to describe. There were layers upon layers of stories. There was is a man with multiple names, who marries a woman, sucks all her money and life out of her and then moves onto the next woman to con.

Its such a realistic story. Not much happens - there isn't any action, no twists or turns. And yet I was very invested in it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book. Publication date is June 24, 2025.

I was really excited to receive this book but it fell short for me. I didn’t feel like it kept me in suspense or that the characters had a lot of depth to them. This isn’t the first book by this author so this one just didn’t fit the mark for me.

This story was intense, and the mmc got away with more than I would have put up with. The multiple POVs through me off a bit, but the story was intriguing. Lots of twists and turns, which is to be expected from this author.


Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read this early.

DON’T LET HIM IN, from the very first page, hooks you. More of a crime oriented story, this author always does a great job balancing and creating nuanced stories. Blending timelines, POVs, and crafting an engaging narrative, this author created a very bingeable book.

The way Jewell handles a variety of storylines, timelines, and POVs goes to show how powerful her writing is. It would be easy for all of this to hurt the narrative. And it didn’t. Instead, as readers we got so many different viewpoints that enhanced the story and added to the sense of foreboding and dread I had, in a good way! It was like watching a thriller unfold.

I will say that because this is more of a crime book where we know immediately what the characters is up to and doing (think The Family Upstairs), there wasn’t really a plot twist and, after a little bit, the story became repetitive.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! I think if you like more crime thrillers with a family aspect, multiple timelines, unreliable narrators, and multiple POVs, this is worth the read.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited to receive an ARC of Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell, especially since I’ve enjoyed her books in the past. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t it for me. The writing and pacing felt off, and the story didn’t pull me in or keep me engaged. I was really hoping to enjoy it, but it ultimately wasn’t the right fit.

As many of you know by now, @lisajewelluk is an auto-buy author for me, so I was excited to be approved to read this ARC (even if it only gave me a couple of weeks to do so!). If you’ve read any of her books, you know they are always really effed up. This one was as well, while also being pretty clear from the synopsis of what it’s about. I enjoyed the multiple POV and having the character of Al have the first person POV was an excellent choice. While this one was a bit more predictable, I did really like the little twist thrown in at the end. Overall, a fast paced thriller that is a perfect beach read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster publisher, and Lisa Jewell for providing an arc copy. I have read Lisa Jewell books and have recommended them to my friends so I was happy to read a copy. This book I found the storyline to be uninterested and rather boring. This was a con artist who tried to take advantage of a widow. I recently read their is No Ethan so maybe this is why I found this book not to be the best that Lisa Jewell had to offer.