This book sucked me in because I find people with multiple families fascinating, but unfortunately it didn't deliver on its promise. The more I thought about the book after I finished the more I disliked it, which is saying something because I was yelling out loud at the characters by the end.

There was no real suspense, just waiting for the characters to put the pieces together and then getting frustrated when they had information but weren't sharing it with the appropriate people. And then they kept talking about how they "had a plan" to take the con man down. And then the big plan turned out to be confronting him with no police presence next to the ocean for some reason, allowing him to "die" in the water.

The two big twists (him being behind the father's death and him writing the letters to the daughter) were not a surprise. Disappointing.

“Don’t Let Him In” is the newest suspense/thriller from Lisa Jewell. This is the story of a very bad man. He finds women who are looking for love. They don’t have to be extremely wealthy, but they do have to have some money. He love bombs them and oftentimes marries and starts families with them. All the while, he bleeds them dry and then abandons them. I found absolutely no redeemable qualities in this character. The novel spans several years and follows the lives and interactions with this scam artist. Will his newest victim fall for his games or, with the help of her daughter, figure him out and expose him?

This was a departure from Jewell’s normal thrillers. I really didn’t like the character of “Nick” and questioned how no one could see through his actions. I gave this book 3 stars - it was not suspenseful or a thriller in my opinion just the tale of a very flawed man conning women who wanted to be loved. Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like waiting in line for a roller coaster you've never ridden and then it exceeding your expectations! I have not disliked a character in so long. Lisa Jewell was able to nail the antagonist. They were so unlikeable and never once did I have sympathy for them! So much happened in this book and at the beginning it was hard to keep track of all of the different perspectives. Once I got about 1/3 way into the novel, I was able to easily tell who was speaking when. The biggest let down of this book for me was since there were so many characters, it was difficult to have them all fully fleshed out. I wanted more from so many of the characters, and I was just not able to get. I realize the character depth was not important to the overall story, but I just wanted to know more! I didn't feel like this was a typical thriller in a sense, I felt like it was more drama. I liked how the end came together and there were multiple things that happened that I didn't expect. The end of the novel was my favorite part!

SPOILER FREE
The only other Lisa Jewell thriller I’ve read was “None of This Is True,” and immediately after reading that, I put her down on my list of authors to watch.
I know it’s cliche to say “I don’t know what this author puts in their books,” but I don’t know what Lisa Jewell puts in her books. Again, another cliche—but I couldn’t put it down. I read it in one day.
The story follows a young woman who is grieving the loss of her father and grows suspicious of her mother's new boyfriend. As she picks as threads, more and more information comes to light and leads her down different paths, meeting a variety of people from different pasts to piece together the truth.

The pacing was great; I loved how complex some of the characters were. I feel like this is less of a “giant twist/shock factor at the end” type of book, as I was able to predict where the story was heading, but that didn’t make me enjoy the story or the reading process any less.
One thing I loved about None of This Is True was the fact that the podcast drove the story forward. As a reader, you knew there would always be a next episode for you to find out more information, and it just keep pushing the story forward in a really satisfying way. I feel like Don’t Let Him in was missing that external factor that drove the reveals, but still a great book! Will definitely be reading anything else Lisa puts out! Thanks to Netgally for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Side note: Once you’ve read the book, you’ll love the cover! It subtly portrays what the book is about in a creative way.

3.75 ⭐️
This was my first Lisa Jewell read and a fun time but some parts did drag a bit. I really enjoyed that this was written in alternating POVs to give us the full picture of what happened and what was going on. The pace was slow so it took me a minute to fully get into this. Once all the twists and reveals started to unfold, I couldn't put the book down! I would be curious to see how this book translates to audiobook format since it has so many characters! Overall a fun thriller read that I recommend everyone give a shot!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for my e-ARC!

Don’t Let Him In sticks close to what you’d expect from a Lisa Jewell novel, it’s twisty, thrilling, and kept me invested. This one did start off a bit slow and took me some time to get really into it, but it was a fast paced roller coaster once it picked up. There’s different POVs and multi-timeline so I absolutely loved that aspect.

The main antagonist in this one was absolutely foul lol, I hated him SO much. UGH! However, he made for an awesome aspect of the story, of course.

Fans of Lisa Jewell won’t be disappointed by this one and I’d highly recommend picking it up!

Thank you Atria Books for my copy of this!

After finishing Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell, I found myself wondering, where do I go from here? I want to read it again for the first time! As with all of Jewell’s psychological thrillers, I flew through this book, and I found myself reading the last part even more quickly in order to get to the conclusion.

This story introduces a character that is one of Jewell’s most despicable, repugnant creations. I was sucked into the head of a narrator who was a sociopath, pathological liar and womanizer, and those were the least of his sins. While it may seem unbelievable that he could get away with so much, it was frighteningly realistic in a way that made my skin crawl.

While there was a bit of jumping around in time that I found confusing at first, it wasn’t long before I had all of the players figured out and was able to keep it all straight.

Jewell deftly told the story from multiple points-of-view, each with a distinct voice, and she kept me guessing about how all of the pieces fit together—-but they did, and in such a satisfying way.

Lisa Jewell is the queen of the domestic psychological thriller, and I definitely recommend you add this to your summer reading list,

Thank you to Atria Books for providing an egalley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Traditional format 📕 (digital). Publication date: June 2025.

Restauranteur Paddy Swann is pushed to his death in front of a commuter train. Shortly after his death a parcel arrived for the widow and her family from an old friend Nick Radcliffe. As the story unfolds, there is much more to Nick than meets the eye!

Fans of Lisa Jewell’s work will definitely enjoy this book. I think it’s my favourite of hers to date. The character development of Nick was amazing and I could not hate a man more by the end of this book.

I would say although it had lots of twists and turns the pace was a little on the slower side for me but overall I really enjoyed this book and give it a 4/5!

Thank you to Atria Books for a e-copy ARC in exchange for a review.

In true Lisa Jewell fashion, this book is a wild ride! Told in alternating POV, the first quarter of the book can easily be confusing, but stick with it! I loved how the three women’s stories came together, along with quite a few other scenarios. The male main character is so unbelievably sly but at the same time I could see this happening in real life. This book is a page turner and while it wasn’t my favorite of hers, I would still easily recommend to thriller fans

3.75 ⭐️

This was a fun read, but I did find myself wondering at times "how is there still so much book left?" There are a lot of characters, so I'd imagine this wouldn't be the best on audio. Still, I love a domestic suspense, and the ending was satisfying.

Overall? Worth a read if you like the genre! It didn't grip me like I wanted it to, but I enjoyed it enough. I had a hard time getting started, but the quick chapters and style of writing pulled me through. I'm not a fan of the "kaleidescopic" story structure - but that's good for me to know going forward! I personally found it hard to follow all the different characters and they blended together a bit for me.

At the same time, that structure does enable the layers upon layers of deception, messy relationships, and keeps things mysterious as it shifts between characters. And Jewell is really good at building up, then peeling back, those layers at a good pace. I didn't find this one super twisty and the different timelines were more confusing than they were tension-building. (Again, I think that could just be me!)

Still, Don’t Let Him In is a solid psychological thriller with a disturbingly realistic antagonist and a satisfying (if slightly drawn-out) ending. If that sounds good, then pick it up! If you like multiple POVs, different timelines, and piecing together a bigger story, then I think you'll more than like it. I can see this book really clicking with the right reader.

Don’t let him in by Lisa Jewel (Releasing Jun 23 2025)
This is my first of her books & she knew exactly how to keep me locked in. From the beginning this is a very gripping, exciting & twisty thriller about multiple women & their families all connected by simple things; love, loss and the yearning for finally getting the life they deserve. Then there is Nick and Al who are living life through a kaleidoscope, except they might not be who they really say they are.
If you enjoy complex family dynamics, secrets, and the unraveling of seemingly ordinary lives then this book is for you! It includes multiple POV’s, which I always love since there’s always two sides to every story 😙
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Solid 4 for this one.
🌶️Spice- Fade To black
💬Language-Moderate
💟Format-Kindle ARC
🖤Genre- Psychological Thriller
⚠️TW- Violence, Domestic & emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, stalking, infidelity, suicide.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lisa Jewell did it again, this book had me hooked from start to finish. The short chapters, multiple POVs, and slow-building tension made it impossible to put down. I don’t want to spoil anything because this is one of those thrillers that’s best going in blind, but when I realized what was really happening, my mind was blown. Jewell has a way of peeling back layers of deception that keeps you glued to the pages. The epilogue left me thinking, and I need my friends to read this ASAP so we can talk about it. I’m definitely diving into more of her books!

I saved this for a long-haul flight because I knew Lisa Jewell would keep me interested, and she sure did!!!! At the beginning of this book, you're following multiple perspectives who it's pretty clear are all linked to the same man somehow, but the way it's done is soooo compelling, and every reveal is satisfying.

I loved every moment of this, honestly, it was exactly what you want from our girl Lisa!!!

I loved this one! Disturbingly realistic. It’s scary how this could actually be a real life story and that gives it a bigger creepy factor. A little long in my opinion but overall a great read.

This was another great thriller from Lisa Jewell. It was fast paced and intense with a great story and interesting characters. It definitely kept me guessing and I liked the way she wrapped everything up. If you are a fan, you won't be disappointed and if you are new to Lisa Jewell this make you want to read her other books. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

A twisted and disturbing tale of lies, deception and trust. Three women are connecting to a man who no one really knows. Lisa Jewell used multiple POVs and past/present timelines to add to the suspense of this novel as the reader tries to unravel the connection between Ash, Nina and Martha. The short chapters kept the pace quick in this novel and I found myself as the reader racing to the conclusion to discover the truth. I did not anticipate some of the twists and turns, which is always fun for a suspense read!

This novel is told from three POVs and the ARC does not have the chapters clearly labeled, which is my biggest pet peeve as a reader. I found it confusing at the start of each chapter to know who the chapter was about. As I got further into the novel this confusion improved as POV and tone of voice became easier to identify but the first 20% I was annoyed with the author and publisher for not taking the time to format this novel better.

Thank you Atria Books for the ARC!

Lisa Jewell does nothing better than to keep her readers on their toes. Another dark mystery of untrustworthy characters and gas lighting. But man did it keep this reader interested!!!! My only complaint with this story was the amount of people and names that I had to remember. That was a lot. But in order to weave the characters and plot seamlessly, there was a need for all of these characters. My biggest takeaway from this book..........Trust No One!!!!!!! Another great mystery thriller by Lisa Jewell.

Um hello what a complete PSYCHO this man is. I’m flabbergasted !!!

I felt like this one was a tiny bit too long...it meandered a bit. But overall it's a master class on gaslighting, manipulation, and red flags. I couldn't stop reading. Lisa Jewell is the queen of thrillers.

This was a well written, engaging thriller with short chapters that made it easy to read quickly. This is something I’ve come to expect from this author.

This book switched between timelines quite frequently as well as 1st and 3rd person POV. This took a bit for me to get into and wrap my head around. I probably would have enjoyed this book more if this aspect wasn’t so jarring for the first portion of it.

Even though I was invested in the outcome of the story, I didn’t find it all that unpredictable or unputdownable. Sadly this just wasn’t one of my favorites by this author.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the gifted copy of the book.