This was Lisa Jewell at her finest. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I couldn’t put this down. I loved the multiple POV and the story of a crazy con artist.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Lisa Jewell for an ARC of Don’t Let Him In. 2025 is definitely going to be a year of good books. There is a reason why Lisa is a queen of thrillers and let me tell you this right here is it. At the beginning I was a bit confused and knew I would’ve been all over if listening to it on audio because I was going back and forth trying to figure out what I was missing. Stay in there - it will all make sense and 100% worth it. The suspense to figure out what was going on was overwhelming and keeps you hooked to the book. Nina and Ash have lost their husband/father to unnecessary death - Paddy was pushed into an oncoming train. After Paddy’s funeral, Nina receives a package in the mail from a man named Nick. It is a lighter that Paddy used to use a long time ago when they were work colleagues. This opens a relationship with Nina and Nick and Ash is not to thrilled about it. Martha is a florist and would love to expand her business. She lives with her two sons from a previous marriage and her daughter with her new husband Al. They are struggling due to never seeming to make ends meet. Al is constantly traveling for work and never home which leaves Martha like a single parent. Nick and Al may not be who they say they are - they might be keeping some secrets or leading the women astray - but some advice the woman should’ve listened to at first: don’t let him in.

The first 40% of this book had me doubting if I wanted to finish it; it felt slow moving and like nothing of note was happening. The last 60% was a much wilder ride and flew by. After finishing the book, I see why the start was a slower roll - the author was laying the groundwork for the second half of our story. It was so interesting seeing all the individual characters and storylines start piecing together into a full picture of our MMC. Although, is there ever such a thing as a COMPLETE picture of our protagonist from “Don’t Let Him In”?

If you find the beginning a bit slow, hang in there because it’s worth it in the end!

Many thanks to Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: June 24, 2025

This book had me hooked from page one! I truly could not put it down. The characterization was excellent and there were just enough plot twists to keep you guessing the whole time. Really great writing!

I’m a fan of Lisa Jewell so my expectations were high for this book. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations. The plot moved slowly in parts and I didn’t have a great connection with the characters. I appreciate rooting for someone, even if it is the villain. The twists seemed predictable and not as shocking as they should have been.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc
my first comment about this book is that it felt so so long, and being an e-arc i don't actually know how many pages it was. there were some parts i felt like it dragged but it does get better. even despite the slower parts, this book gave me irl anxiety so it did its job as a mystery

I was so excited about this one! Lisa Jewell does so well with a mystery, it’s always very enjoyable and hard to quit reading. This book was no exception. I genuinely had no clue what it was about, just requested because of the author. Let me just say her latest book doesn’t disappoint. This is a complex story about a man and who he really is. That’s all I can say without ruining the whole plot. I did find it confusing at first, but it makes sense and things connect eventually. Genuinely a mind f**k of a book in the best way possible. It’s a combination of a mystery about who the chapters refer to you vs who really is the bad guy. I was in awe and couldn’t put this book down once I began. Just prepared to be up all night with this book! Thank you to the publisher for sharing a review copy.

I loved this book! Lately I have been feeling as though many new psychological thrillers have been very formulaic. However, I didn’t find Don’t Let Him In to be that. The book is told from the point of view of many different characters and I was left guessing how all the story lines would end up intertwining.

The novel begins after Paddy Swann, a beloved restauranteur, is killed when he was pushed in front of a train. He leaves behind a widow, Nina, and a daughter, Ash. Nina is ready to move on with charming Nick Radcliffe but Ash is unsure of her mother’s new man.

Then we meet Martha. A small business owner who is running her shop and caring for a new baby. Her husband, Al, has been around less and less lately.

Lisa Jewell fits all the pieces together by the end of the novel with many twists and turns.

I am obsessed with Lisa Jewell’s books and I wanted to love this one as I’ve loved her other books, but this one fell flat for me overall.
Normally I read her books so quickly but this one didn’t engage me. The story itself is entertaining enough, but I found it to be predictable. There was not a twist that happened that I didn’t see coming except for the epilogue and that wasn’t anything earth shattering, but did actually probably save the book from getting lower than 3 stars. It gave me a satisfying ending.

My biggest problem with the book was there are far too many chapters with the MMC’s POV, if some of those could have been pared down I think it wouldn’t have felt as slow to me.
It just felt longer than it needed to be.

I think it would make a great movie though.

I think if you enjoy domestic suspense and have enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s novels in the past, you’ll probably still enjoy this book. It currently has 4 stars on goodreads so I’m in the minority on my opinion of the book.
It’s an average domestic thriller, I didn’t hate it but I didn’t really like it or love it, it was just okay.

Thank you so much to netgalley and Atria books for the copy of this eARC!

Thanks to Negalley for my ARC! I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan. I will never forget listening to None of This is True because it had me so utterly gripped. This one just didn’t do it for me like some of her other books have, though. I kept waiting on a big shocking twist, but it never came. It was interesting, but she definitely has better books.

This story had so many twists that I didn't want to put it down. It begins with the death of Paddy Swann when a crazed man pushes him in the path of an oncoming train. His family is grieving and going through the holidays without him when they receive a note from an old friend of Paddy. This friend, Nick, continues correspondence with Paddy's widow Nina, and it makes their daughter Ash uncomfortable.

This story introduces other women with loving but frustrating marriages and relationships and makes the reader wonder if their partners are really who they say they are.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ebook ARC of this book. I love a book that begins with a lot of characters and different points of view. A book that begins with many different, seemingly, unconnected stories. A book with different timelines. A book that keeps the reader on their toes as they try to figure out who’s who and how they each fit into each other’s worlds. And what even are the stories? What is going on!? I Love the way this book begins. Don’t worry. It’s not too confusing. Just enough to keep you reading in order to connect all those dots. And all things do come together pretty quickly. And then this fun, tense, thrilling ride begins.
I do not want to say much about the storyline of this book, and I advise you not read any synopsis of it because I feel they give too much away. It’s best to go into this one blind. Suffice it to say about a year before the main story begins a man is murdered by being pushed on to the tracks of the subway as a train approaches. Leaving his wife and young adult daughter devastated. We also meet Martha, who is living a happy life with her husband and baby daughter. Soon, Nina receives a message from an old friend of her husbands, who has just heard of his death. Enjoy this ride! I did very much.

I don’t often give ARCs bad reviews as I am super picky about the ones I request and accept as I don’t want to be that person that has to rate an author’s work badly before it is even out, but this book was confusing to keep up with and bored me.

Another reviewer told me it ended up getting better for them, but I just couldn’t get into it. I ended up just stopping it. I think one of the biggest mistakes an author can make is not properly drawing in their readers from the beginning.

Thank you to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

ooo heck yes one of my favorite Lisa Jewell’s and I pretty much like all her books. Creepy and scarily realistic in how it could happen irl. We’ve got a conman to the extreme level and it’s a wild ride yall.

Thanks to netgalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

*Don't Let Him In* by Lisa Jewell is a thrilling, fast-paced psychological suspense that keeps readers on the edge of their seat. The story is full of twists and dark secrets, with well-developed characters and a gripping atmosphere that makes it hard to put down. Jewell excels at creating tension and building mystery, though some plot points feel a bit predictable. Still, the suspense is high, and the pacing never lags. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers, this one delivers a tense, satisfying ride.

📚 ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

Don't Let Him In By Lisa Jewell
Publication Date: June 24, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

Lisa Jewell is always a good idea -- and with Don't Let Them In, she returns with nail-biting suspense in a wildly fun domestic thriller. This book gives off massive Dear John vibes and kept me enamored with its characters from start to finish.

This was one of those reads where I figured out what was happening pretty quickly, but I had no idea just how wild this story would become! I raced through the pages and stayed up WAY past my bedtime to finish this one, because I just had to know how it all was going to end. This is a read-in-one-sitting kind-of book, so settle into your favorite cozy reading corner and get comfortable.

This story features multiple POVs and it takes a little bit to get into the groove of all the characters. But as I caught on to details within each story and started to piece things together, I found the flow of the book to be a fast page-turner. What was particularly fascinating about this read was, despite the fact I knew what was going on, I was still on the edge of my seat as I read. There's something so compelling about knowing how diabolical someone is, and just watching and waiting for their house of cards to fall down!

I loved the way this book's layers peeled away gradually and exposed the dark manipulation of the male character. I also really enjoyed the character of Ash, whose intuition and quiet resilience was a highlight of the book for me.

If you're a fan of domestic thrillers or popcorn thrillers that are fast reads, and which will entirely captivate you, you're definitely going to want to add Don't Let Him In to your TBR list. This is a character-forward read that is so much fun ... And reminds me again about why I love Lisa Jewell's books so very much.

#DontLetHimIn #LisaJewell #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARCs #thrillerreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

I wanted to love this one, I really did. The beginning is very frustrating as a dozen of characters are named in indefinite POVs/ timelines. Once the story becomes more clear, the mystery fades and it’s a lot of hateful domestic abuse. This one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I've only read one other Lisa Jewell book, "None Of This is True", and loved it! Received an ARC of "Don't Let Him In" and was pleasantly surprised by how different it was while also scratching the same itch. Going into this book, I would say it is better to discover how everything is connected rather than waiting for any big twists. Which in a world of thriller authors trying to out do the other, was a warm welcome.

Also, if you're looking to be angry at a man, this is the book for you!

Thank you for this ARC @atriabooks and @netgalley ❤️

I have to start by saying I’m a HUGE Lisa Jewell fan. I’ve read so many of her books, and unfortunately, this one lands as my least favorite 😬

I can talk and talk about my frustrations here, but in order to prevent spoilers I’ll keep it simple:

* Not sure this one should be called a thriller... there was really nothing thrilling about it. A super slow and repetitive story that I struggled to finish.
* I kept waiting for something to make me gasp or turn the pages faster, no luck.
* There were so many characters introduced at once I couldn’t see straight.
* I like unlikeable characters, but almost everyone here had me beyond frustrated.
* It feels like Jewell rushed this one. I didn’t get any of her usual cleverness and suspense.

Perhaps my expectations were set too high, but after reading so many of her books I think those expectations were appropriate. Such a bummer, but we can’t win them all.

Be ready to follow multiple timelines with multiple characters!

Current timeline: Nina’s husband was killed in a tragic, seemingly random attack. He leaves behind his wife to manage his restaurants, his daughter, Ash, who is numb in her grief and just skirting by. And also his son who is moving on from the loss of his father. But Nina is moving on with Nick, a former associate of her husband. But Ash is suspicious of Nick, who is he really?

Previous timeline: Martha and Al are swooning for one another. Martha divorced when two kids and running her business on her own. She’s smitten with Al who keeps coming over for the weekend, but is so unpredictable with his restaurant trainings.

Current timeline: Martha and Al are now married and have a newborn baby at home with Martha’s two older children. She runs her flower business, while her husband still works the restaurant business and dodges his family life for days at a time. Starting to see unhappiness creep in from Martha with her husband gone so often.

Previous timeline: Jonathan and Tara are unhappy. Tara is about to be a grandmother and her husband keeps just disappearing days on end.

Previous timeline: Insert new couple. Amanda. And her husband, Damian, just arrived back from the dead.

There’s more women now.

Bottom line: don’t date men. That’s what I’ve learned and been scarred with. lol

Thanks @NetGalley and @Simon&Schuster for the advanced digital copy