Don’t Let Him In! Why don’t some women listen to their gut feelings or see the red flags in their relationships? It seems the need to beloved and believe in someone is stronger than constant requests for money or disappearing for days on end.

Thanks to some bad vibes from her mother’s new boyfriend, and some in depth detective work by one of the daughters, these women are shocked to discover the truth about who the men are and wish they had never let them in.!!
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for the gifted eARC! Add this one to your TBR!!

I have been such a huge fan of Lisa Jewell since "NONE OF THIS IS REAL," and this book did not dissapoint. Even though at times I had to think about the timeline, I enjoyed the "work" and the concentration. The timelines were impeccably woven throughout the story, making suspenseful splashes along the way. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for letting me read this one early!

This isn’t my first Lisa Jewell book and I’m sure it won’t be my last. This is, however, the first thriller I read instead of listened to. Personally, I find thrillers to be most engaging as audiobooks but it’s hard to put headphones on with a toddler and newborn in the room therefore, I opted to read this one the semi-old fashioned way 😂

I liked this book but was disappointed in the lack of twists. I feel like the beginning or even the synopsis basically laid out the entire plot. There was no guessing or really anything unexpected. I kept waiting for it and it didn’t really show up.

The story is definitely twisted and the different POVs were interesting and made the story more engaging.

I think this would probably be better enjoyed as an audiobook. The right narrator would really bring those first person chapters to life and add much needed suspense.

Overall, not a bad story. I was waiting for something wild to happen and it never did.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grateful to Atria, who provided copies to attendees at the #bookhuddle retreat in Victoria, Canada.

A year after her father has passed, Ash Swann's mother Nina is starting to date again, but something about Nick seems too good to be true and the things he says don't quite add up.

This thriller was a page turner and very gripping. It's also incredibly relatable - I'm sure many people have been in a relationship with someone who has told them things that don't quite add up and makes you question your version of reality.

3.5 rounded up

Ash's father has died in a tragic way, and she's mourning not only the unexpected loss, but being back home again indefinitely. She's learning to cope until her mother begins dating a man that sets her on edge. Everything about Nick seems perfect, and somehow everything about that is wrong. Ash decides to start digging into his past to see if he's really who he seems to be, or if she's reading too much into him.

*****

I'm a huge Lisa Jewell fan and was so excited to get this as an ARC read. I was expecting a psychological thriller and was a little surprised that this was more in line with a domestic suspense. If I didn't love the authors work so much, I'm not sure I would have carried on with the read, as the first 65% is extremely repetitive. Without giving anything away, we get a dive into who Nick is now, how his wife perceives him, and his past starting about 4 years previously. We're constantly flashed back to the past as that time catches up with the current day, and we continuously see how Nick uses the same excuses, examples and manipulation to con women over and over again. Unfortunately that sets the pace at an absolute crawl, and it took me a few days to finally get to the point where I had the patience to get through it.

From that point onward we get a rush of characters realizing what we've known all along, and more information from Nick that makes clear what's occurred in the recent past before it's blatantly laid out for us. Then the conclusion is set up with twists that are expected, and ends off satisfying enough, albeit not surprising. Overall it's a decent novel once you get through the lions share of the book, but it isn't one of my faves from the author.

*****

Thank you to Atria Books for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Phew, give me a sec while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

Okay. I’m not going to summarize the plot here because I feel like anything past what’s revealed in the blurb might give a twist away. What I am going to say is: this book is terrifying. Terrifying! Why? Because it’s actually plausible. Multiple times I had to pause and reflect on if it could actually happen. And my verdict? Yup. There absolutely could be someone as twisted as this villain.

For me, this type of psychological/domestic thriller is scarier than anything, because they’re realistic. I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through, and was left with the worst lingering creepy feeling. It’s perfectly twisty and chilling and everything I’ve come to know and love about Lisa Jewell.

This was an amazing book! The mystery definitely kept me in suspense, and the three POVs were a delight as they had very different voices. Although the main “twist” was obvious, Lisa Jewell still managed to keep me on my toes.

After her husband is tragically killed when a mentally ill man pushes him into the path of an approaching train, Nina receives a condolence gift in the mail from a man named Nick Radcliffe, who says he was a friend of her husband’s. Nick soon starts coming around and eventually he and Nina start dating. Nina’s adult daughter Ash is immediately suspicious of Nick. Something about him just seems too good to be true, and since her mother won’t listen to her, Ash decides to do some digging into Nick’s past on her own.

In a neighboring town, Martha is feeling a little suspicious towards the man in her life as well. Martha is a florist who is juggling running her business and raising an infant daughter, alongside Alistair, her usually devoted husband. Lately, however, Alistair has been more absent than he has been present. He always has a plausible excuse, usually something work related, but the longer his behavior goes on, the less Martha trusts him and suspects something more is going on.

What I always love about Lisa Jewell’s thrillers is watching how seemingly unrelated threads slowly start to weave themselves together as the plot moves along. In the case of Don’t Let Him In, I was captivated watching to see how the lives of Nina and Martha would slowly start to become connected even though the two women have never met one another, if the men in their lives were as suspicious as they seemed to be, and I was eager to see what Ash would uncover as she started digging into Nick’s past. What I knew I could count on with Lisa Jewell was that it would be a creepy and twisty ride and I was not disappointed!

𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝑰𝒏 | 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘐𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥.

Told in multiple PoVs and timelines, this is a compelling story. The different perspectives of the women affected and the experiences that they had, lead us to one “perfect” man.

I knew straight away what the “twist” was going to be and the direction the story was headed. There have been many a true crime docs very similar to what you will see here.

I think the book could have been shortened a little, but I completely understand why it was as long as it was. On the other hand, it proves to me that the author wasn’t in a hurry or rushed to write the ending. Things were allowed to play out naturally.

This book is chilling in the sense that it highlights the fact that there are people who exist that have no moral compass. That these people purposefully use others for their own personal gain. No matter the stakes or how far they need to go to keep their fake worlds alive.

4.5 stars uprated to 5 stars.

This book was WILD!!

Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite thriller authors and she's back with another gripping, psychological thriller in Don't Let Him In, a realistic story of trust, vulnerability, and the quiet, insidious ways that charming yet dangerous men worm their way into women’s lives… and bank accounts. It almost feels ripped from the headlines, it's so relevant and so current. Definite Dirty John vibes.

Here's the thing I love about Jewell: she often writes characters- particularly male figures- who appear charming, stable, and even magnetic at first, but slowly reveal something much more sinister underneath (think The Family Upstairs, Invisible Girl).

This book in particular felt like such a social commentary on how women are taught to suppress their intuition and how easily red flags are rationalized when wrapped in a romance- shaped bow.

I loved how Jewell didn't paint her female leads as weak or naive or lead with the assumption that you have to be weak or naive to be taken in by a con man wearing a 'nice guy' shaped suit. For me, this book isn’t just a story about one bad man- it’s about the culture that lets him in, time and time again.

This book had me on the edge of my sear. It's got a bit of a slow start as Jewell slowly builds up the tension, unraveling the story from multiple characters POVs. I was wondering how all the different pieces were going to fit together, and while I could see where it was going, I was shocked and satisfied when it did.

Thought-provoking, chilling, and just twisty enough to keep you up past your bedtime. Trust me, you’ll want to let this book in.

Several women meet the perfect man. He’s a handsome, charming, smart, wealthy businessman. He’s also juggling most of these women simultaneously and is a walking red flag, a jack of no trades, a con artist, and if backed up against the wall, dangerous.

He charms women out of everything they own and moves on to the next victim. By the time most of these women find out what he's done to them, he is long gone, leaving them in heavy debt until he is finally discovered by someone who sees beyond his facade and starts doing some digging... 

I know this happens in real life, which I am sure is what inspired this book. Many men and women over time have played their cards with more than one person, getting whatever they wanted when just one partner was not enough. Usually just for sex because they are bored, but some play the field to get more out of it, such as fancy clothes, cars, a nice place to live, etc. This character went over and above, and sometimes when you get greedy, you slip up. 

There are several different POV's in this mystery psychological thriller, and the timeline goes back and forth over the years when this man started it all and the people it affected. The audiobook is an all-star cast. I appreciated hearing all the different voices for the characters. Of course, the velvet voice of Richard Armitage voices this playboy very well. I found it interesting to consider what might go through the mind of someone that dubious.

I enjoyed this story; it was a quick, addictive read. I am a fan of Lisa Jewell's books, but I still look at new books by authors with a fresh eye. I assumed I wouldn't be disappointed, and I was correct.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with smart protagonists, tension around every corner, and a twisty reveal, this one’s a solid pick. Just be ready to swallow a hefty dose of dark deception. Jewell’s strength lies in crafting real, relatable characters & she doesn’t disappoint with this one!

I was really excited to read this book. I have heard WONDERFUL things about Lisa Jewelle.
Sadly, I really struggled with this book. Not for the reasons that the man, husband, father, lover, is a narcissist, scammer, and real dink. It is because there are so many characters to remember who is who.
There is a lot of back and forth between present day, past, and characters. It is not well described at the start of the chapter. I strongly suggest a notebook to keep track of who is who and make family trees to each. I do not do well with a bunch of different people and references in books.
I normally get through a book in a couple days if not a day, depending on how busy I am. This one took me a month to complete. I almost DNF this book so many times, but yet I felt I needed to know how it ended as this was my first book by this author.

For me I have to give this one 2 stars.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick 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. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

This book was a bit difficult for me to get into at first and I would definitely have appreciated it if there was a distinction of whose POV we were following at the beginning of each chapter. Plot wise: this book felt heavily inspired by the Dirty John case a few years back but in a good way! However, I was a bit confused by the twist in this one and wish more had been elaborated on. Overall, this was a decent read.

*thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lisa Jewell is my absolute go-to for thrillers! I’ve loved what I’ve read by her so far, and this book is not different! Fast-paced, entertaining, and addicting!

The format was a hit for me! I ate up the different timelines and alternating pov’s of the various women and the man himself. Getting inside the head of the bad guy is always just so amusing for me. This book had so much momentum, it was hard for me to put it down!

Nick/Al/whoever tf he is is sooooo infuriating but like I couldn’t look away?!? And following along with the uncovering of his web of lies was so thrilling I loved it!

read if you like: multiple povs and timelines, bingeable thriller, con-man, domestic thriller

rating: 4/5 ⭐️ but maybe more like 4.25

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell was a homerun! What an awesome plot! As always, Jewell ties up all loose ends by the conclusion. It didn't seem rushed and didn't end abruptly like some authors do when they reach a perceived page limit. The entire time I hoped someone would bring the scammer down! Jewell really has come into the craft of thriller writing in that she develops the story, leaves the reader with a sense of unsure-ness, and wraps it up in a nice little package with a bow on top! You really had to feel bad for the scammer's "wives". It makes you wonder how many real-life people actually do this! Loved it and it was a must read! Go get your copy today!!

This was a little bit of a letdown, because Lisa Jewell usually delivers creepy stories with shocks and twists. This just felt like I was listening to a true crime podcast where I already know how everything is going to turn out.

As always, I did enjoy her writing. It flows quick and smooth, and I'm always able to jump right back into it. Sadly though, I found that this story started to feel like it was dragging its feet.

We have 3 POV characters in this story, one of them being "Alistair". And I gotta say, he might be the worst person who's mind I've ever had the misfortune of being in. So on that account, I'd say - perfection. His absolute disdain for people was so fascinating, as were his justifications and rationalization for his treatment of people in his life. The scariest part? We've all met someone who's at least a little bit like him.

Everything else was just agressively fine. A couple reveals were great but not particularly shocking, and the multi pov/time switches were a little disorienting.


A lot of other reviews I've seen seem to really disparage the women who get roped up in this guy's lies, but I think, out of everything, that was the most painfully realistic part of the story. In this day and age, you'd like to think that we can track and trace everyone and save ourselves from stranger danger and online scammers. Sure, maybe. But you also might be vulnerable and lonely and need to hear that you're worth loving and boom here comes this guy. And sure, maybe he's too good to be true, and yeah okay he keeps disappearing on you, but you know him and you love him and you have a kid together! and you've got all these big plans, and you just don't want to admit to yourself that you could fall for this.
But honestly, any one of us could. And that's as scary as anything else in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

In true Lisa Jewel fashion, she leaves ever chapter (nearly!) on a little perfect cliffhanger, which leaves it impossible to set this book down. I read this in 24 hours, and it felt very much like “You” with questioning of who this woman had married. The ending sort of left me a little unsatisfied, but it was a very fast and entertaining read regardless!

After years of being the perfect husband and father, Alistar begins traveling more often for work on extended stays without updates to his wife, Martha. Martha begins questioning Al about his whereabouts and his lack of communication, but there is always a perfect excuse. Simultaneously, after her husband’s death, Nina comes into contact with Nick, an old friend and coworker of her late husband. Although their relationship is seemingly innocent, Nina’s daughter, Ash becomes increasingly skeptical of Nick. As Ash begins to dig into Nick’s past, she finds trust where it is least expected, but fears her past mental health episode will make it hard for her mother to believe what she discovers.

Don’t Let Him In is a slow burn thriller but is such a wild ride, and honestly, may be my favorite Lisa Jewell novel yet. Multilayered with dual timelines, there is so much going on, but chapter by chapter everything is placed together.

A young woman’s instincts go on high alert when her mother starts dating someone new shortly after her father dies and the new man in her mom’s life seems too good to be true. Despite her own mental health challenges, the young woman decides her mother’s well-being is more important and starts looking into the boyfriend. What she finds are more questions than answers and every reason to be worried. Thriller author Lisa Jewell is back with another winning novel about how far someone will go to manipulate people in her newest book Don’t Let Him In.

Aisling “Ash” Swann is devastated by the loss of her father. Paddy Swann was the owner of three incredibly successful restaurants in England and larger than life. Ash was his little girl, and ever since the bizarre incident of someone pushing Paddy onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train Ash has been lost. She, her mother, Nina, and Ash’s brother, Arlo, are doing what they can to cope and move forward.

The loss of Paddy looms large, but the condolences and kind words from friends and restaurant patrons is overwhelming. Then an unusual package that comes in the mail: a lighter sent from someone named Nick Radcliffe who says he worked with Paddy in the early years, before Paddy opened his own restaurants. The lighter, Nick says, once belonged to Paddy, and he thought the Swann family might like to have it back.

Nina responds to Nick to thank him for the lighter, and soon enough Nick has made himself quite comfortable with Nina—too comfortable for Ash’s liking. Nick is sweet and caring and attentive; he doesn’t have any obvious flaws. It’s almost like he’s too good to be true. Alarm bells ping in Ash’s head, but she’s not sure whether she should do anything about them. She had a public breakdown at university. Who would believe her? Yet Ash can’t seem to let it go, and she starts looking into Nick.

In another quaint village not far away, Martha has just about had it with her husband, Alistair. He’s the best husband a woman could ask for: he dotes on their daughter, Nala, and he’s taken Martha’s sons from her first marriage under his wing. He takes Martha out on lovely dates and has even helped her in her florist’s shop. When Alistair is there, he’s completely present.

The problem is when he’s not there. Alistair’s work in the hospitality industry takes him away for days at a time. Martha doesn’t mind that Alistair travels so much, although she does miss him terribly when he’s not there. It’s just that when he leaves for a work trip, Alistair drops out of existence. No amount of texting, calling, or any kind of pleading from her gets him to respond until he’s good and ready to do so. He keeps promising to do better, yet Martha is starting to lose her patience. She loves Alistair and knows their life together could be one of those love stories for the ages. Except Alistair would have to stay put long enough to make that happen.

Without knowing it, Ash and Martha have begun working their way toward one another. Neither they nor Nina, however, could ever imagine what they find. Now the question is, what do they do about it?

Author Lisa Jewell’s careful layering of this thriller will have readers flipping or swiping pages as fast as possible to find out what’s coming next. Unlike some in the genre, Jewell gives readers firsthand access to Nick’s mind. The result is as horrifying as it is fascinating, and Jewell’s expertise in building her characters will ring true even as it will shock readers.

Psychological manipulation and emotional abuse are nuanced matters. In the hands of a less experienced writer, the result would have come across as overdone or even caricaturish. Yet Jewell’s expertise shines to the level that at some points readers might, for a paragraph or two, find themselves feeling sorry for Nick—proving the mastery of Nick’s manipulations and Jewell’s handling of her craft.

Anyone who has watched a couple and wondered whether all that glitters actually is gold will want to read this one. Fans of the domestic thriller genre should absolutely put this on their TBR lists.