This had some really good parts and some really not good parts. I usually love me a con artist thriller, but this one was just okay for me. Overall, it was just SO confusing because there were so many characters (literally so many!!!), overlapping timelines, and moving parts. It was honestly hard to keep up with it all most of the time, BUT I did like how it all came together in the end. This is less of a mystery and more waiting for the characters to catch up to what the reader already knows. Not my favorite by Lisa Jewell, but I’m still glad I read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Press for the advanced reader's copy of Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell.

This is a great dark, twisty thriller that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. It's everything I want in a psychological suspense novel.
An unsettling atmosphere that weaves together past and present timelines, She definitely did a great job slowly revealing secrets that kept me guessing up until the very end.

Don't Let Him In is a compelling read that proves why Lisa Jewell is one of the best in the genre. If you love psychological thrillers with sharp writing and a truly chilling plot, this one is a must-read.

Nina is still reeling after her beloved husband’s unexpected death. She receives a condolence card from one of his old friends named Nick. Before she knows it, Nick and her have begun dating and she is swept off her feet again. Nina’s daughter, Ash, has been home since her father died. She thinks something is off with Nick and she will stop at nothing to uncover what is really going on.

Lisa Jewell does it again! This one kind of reminded of Dirty John as the reader gets to know how sleazy Nick truly is. The chapters that were written from Nick’s POV were truly icky and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Martha to put it all together. I loved the ending and how Jewell just adds in that extra little punch at the end.

"Don't Let Him In" by Lisa Jewell is a compelling and suspenseful thriller that truly delivers on its promise of intrigue and unexpected twists. This book, centered around three women whose lives become entangled by one enigmatic man, kept me thoroughly engrossed from start to finish.

Lisa Jewell masterfully weaves together the narratives of Nina, Ash, and Martha, creating a complex web of suspicion and revelation. I found myself completely drawn into Nina's initial intrigue with Nick Radcliffe and her daughter Ash's growing unease. Martha's perspective, with her husband's mysterious absences, added another layer of tension that kept me on edge. The way their individual stories slowly converge to uncover a shocking truth is expertly handled, building suspense effectively throughout.

What truly made this a 4-star read for me was the gripping plot and the well-developed characters. Even with multiple perspectives, each woman felt distinct and believable, and their motivations were clear. The suspense was palpable, and while some thrillers can become predictable, "Don't Let Him In" managed to surprise me with its twists and turns. Jewell has a knack for creating an unsettling atmosphere and for revealing secrets at just the right moment, making it incredibly difficult to put the book down.

While there were moments where the pace felt a touch deliberate, it ultimately served to build the necessary tension for the impactful reveals. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers with intricate plots, compelling characters, and a good dose of suspense that keeps you guessing until the very end, "Don't Let Him In" is definitely a book you'll want to pick up.

The male main character ability to be unhinged and manipulative to the extend was done really well. Lisa’s ability to take you on a rollercoaster ride through words is amazing. I had to personally make a flow chart to keep up with the plot but it was worth it.

I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I LOVED None of This Is True, and have been beyond excited for this one! Don't Let Him In has a catchy hook, I was fully invested - on the edge of my seat. But, slowly felt myself leaning back into my seat you could say - things just dragged on. I also didn't get the whole little bit with the daughter - felt like that chapter didn't really get closure? Buuuuut that ending was soooo satisfying!

Lisa Jewell loves a good domestic thriller and this had multiple POVs, twists, turns and lots of suspense. The characters were well crafted and layered and felt very real. The MMC is an absolutely dog - you will hate him! I enjoyed seeing how the women’s stories lined up and watching them survive through horrible manipulation. There is a true crime feel to this one that I really liked.

I really enjoyed it! thanks!! Lisa Jewell never disappoints. She is an auto-read for me. The only negative thing I would say is that there were A LOT more characters to keep up with than I'm used to. LOL
I DID like the way all of the storylines fit in with each other at the end.

I need at least 10 romcom books to wash off all the stress Ive felt while reading this book 😂

The moment I knew this was a full cast narration, I immediately went the audiobook route. BUT I had to rewind chapters multiple times because there were multiple POVs with different timelines and it does get confusing so I just switched to the physical book to familiarize myself with the characters. Then I went back to the audiobook for binge reading purposes. 😂

Okay so there’s a lot of characters because our male lead cant keep it in his pants 😂 Let me give a brief description of each so it’ll help you follow the story better.
Nina - recently widowed, husband was a very rich man, current woman our male lead is trying to date
Ash - Nina’s daughter
Amanda - first wife, has 2 sons
Martha - wife that our male lead actually likes, has a flower business
Tara - wife that was slowly waking up to how evil our male lead is, also has money
Emma - Tara’s daughter

Idk how people date multiple people at a time. How can you keep up 😂 it sounds exhausting 😂

Anyhoo, there are multiple wives and children because this book my friends is about romance scams. I’ve watched a bunch of documentaries about these scams and I was really invested in the story. Can you believe romance scamming is a million dollar industry?! It’s crazy!

And now we talk about the evil of all the evils. Best villain of the year goes to the villain of this book. And we get to hear his POV which honestly made me want to throw my book multiple times because I literally can’t stand him. BUT kudos to Lisa Jewell because the way she wrote this character was definitely effective!

Overall, it did take me awhile to make any progress with the book because I had to keep repeating parts to understand the story and timeline but once I was able to follow it, friends, I binged this like crazy! Definitely recommend!! Just trust the process when you start reading it 😂

Thanks so much @atriabooks for sending me a copy!! Thank you @simon.audio for the free audiobook!

💭 Have you read this?? What did you think?? Have you watched any docu about romance scams?

This was probably one of my favorite Lisa Jewell books yet. The characters are interesting, and it really makes you want to keep reading. I think everyone knows a guy like Nick - there's a lot of qualities he has that made me think of people in my life, and you would simply never expect the outcome that we had here. And obviously, most of us don't really know true Nicks, just a lot of the same behaviors and caginess. And a lot of what Nick was doing was frustrating to me as a reader - but having a character who is able to annoy the reader in such a way just shows, to me, that they're really well written. There were a couple of twists I was not expecting, but I did start to have my suspicions towards the end. Really solid read overall and look forward to recommending it to friends!

✨ The Vibes ✨
Lisa Jewell takes on a the scammer subgenre

📖 Read if…
✨You’re a fan of Dirty John
✨You like crime novels that focus more on emotions rather than plot
✨You don’t like scary books

Don’t Let Him In is a difficult book to explain. Seriously – I had a hard time deciphering the plot even after reading the synopsis three times. The story is a bit complex, especially at the start when you’re trying to figure out how all of the different characters and perspectives fit together, but essentially the book follows Ash, a young woman who becomes suspicious of her widowed mother’s new boyfriend.

Over the course of the story, Lisa Jewell experiments with the timeline of the story in a way that gives unique insight into the motivation behind characters’ actions. In scam stories, it’s easy to feel frustrated with characters when they make an incredibly silly mistake, but the way Jewell weaves the story together makes it easy to understand how someone could fall for a con artist’s lies. This, along with Ash’s determination to help her mother, adds a lot of emotion to the story, an element that feels new for Jewell’s traditionally plot-driven thrillers.

Additionally, Don’t Let Him In feels different from Jewell’s other work in other ways, mainly that it’s more of a slow burn focused on relationships rather than a twisty mystery. That’s not a bad thing and it actually really worked for me, but I can see how other readers might be caught off guard, especially if they are expecting the fast-paced twists of None Of This Is True. However, I’d tell anyone on the fence to stick it out and see the book to the end because it’s 100% worth it.

Don’t Let Him In is out tomorrow. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wouldn't call this a psychological thriller, as it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, but it did have an element of suspense. There are a lot of characters, and it can be a bit confusing at the beginning. I'm not sure how I feel about this book. There were parts that I enjoyed, but overall, it felt slow and annoying. However, I did want to know how it would end.

Twists turns and more turns and then a whammy of a plot twist at the very end. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if/how/when Nick would get caught. I loved how the web of lies came together and found the whole plot so intriguing! Loved it!

3.5/5 rounded to 4 stars
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book felt very slow to me in the beginning. I felt like not much was happening at first. However, I enjoyed the last quarter of the book, which made reading it worth it. Additionally, the writing is great, and Lisa Jewell is an author I will continue to read anything she writes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5, but I’m rounding up because Lisa Jewell still knows how to keep me turning pages)

Don't Let Him In is one of those thrillers that sneaks up on you. It starts quietly, almost gently, with Nina—grieving, vulnerable, and trying to rebuild her life after loss. Then enters Nick Radcliffe, the charming stranger who seems too perfect to be real. (Spoiler: he kind of is.)

What I appreciated most was how Jewell layered the suspense. It’s not just about what Nick might be hiding—it’s about how grief, trust, and intuition all collide when someone new enters your life at your most fragile. Nina’s daughter, Ash, is the voice of reason throughout, and honestly, I found myself rooting for her more than anyone. She’s sharp, skeptical, and exactly the kind of character you want in a story like this.

The pacing is classic Jewell—slow burn at first, then suddenly you’re 200 pages in and can’t put it down. The dual timelines and shifting perspectives kept things interesting, though I did have to pause a couple of times to reorient myself.

Is it her most mind-blowing twist? No. But it’s a solid, emotionally grounded thriller with just enough tension to keep you guessing. If you like your mysteries with a psychological edge and characters who feel real (flaws and all), this one’s worth picking up.

I'm unsure whether I loved this book or hated it. I certainly despised the main male character more than I have hated a character in a very long time. Lisa Jewell is the queen of page-turners and this one certainly kept me up at night. There are A LOT of characters in this one so I was glad I was reading it and not listening as I think it would have been pretty confusing on audio. It's worth the read if you enjoy short chapters, horrible villains, and cat-and-mouse games.
Thanks to @atriabooks and @netgalley for giving me a sneak peek at Lisa Jewell's newest release.

And this book RIGHT HERE is the type of thing that reinforces my opinions on meeting and dating people now! This is a very twisty suspense revolving around a toxic, manipulative, horrible human being who pretends to be practically perfect, all to snare unsuspecting women to open the hearts and wallets to him. Makes you want to google everyone new who walks into your life. This is a fast-paced read, perfect for a weekend beach read.

Lisa Jewell continues to remind me why I keep picking up her books. Each have been unique page turners. This one had me hooked and when I thought I had it all straight, there was another twist.
A story of every married woman’s worst nightmare. I enjoyed the pacing and multiple POVs and how everything pieced together by the end. There was a lot to keep up with but I didn’t struggle to follow with Jewell’s writing style.

Unfortunately this one fell flat. It felt too straightforward and dumbed down. It was too simple and long and had way too many people that all felt the same in the end.

Love Lisa Jewell but this has to be at the bottom of my rankings for her books. The alternating POVs and back and forth between timelines really made it hard to follow.