Member Reviews
This book was so suspenseful! I absolutely loved it! It’s one of those books that you love and hate at the same time because the character is just so awful. This was a book I could not put down and it kept me on my toes from the first chapter.
Two words. Mind. Blown.
I was immediately sucked into this book within the first chapter. Lisa Jewell has perfected the writing of a perfect narcissist. This story follows three women and their families all connected by one man. Who is he really? The twists don’t coming all the way up till the very end. It was so good!
I’m so torn. For starters, I usually fly through Lisa Jewell’s books. This one felt like it was endlessly dragging and I kept wanting the twists to feel more… twisted, I suppose? I kept reading for a few reasons: 1) I was eager to see how this all played out, and 2) Because I received an advance copy and feel that it deserves a fair review. Overall, I think this was a fine read. Not worth writing home about, but still interesting and unique. I would have liked to see stronger women in the book, and I did like the main protagonist, but I felt so frustrated with the endless back and forth from some of the women.
This book infuriated me but I loved it!
I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell's books and she has done it again. This book grabs you from the start and keeps you engaged until the last page.
Can you image being married to a man, having kids and an entire life with him all while he has this same "gig" going on with other women. How can one person keep up with so many lies.
Don't let him in is the perfect title for this book. I highly recommend reading this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.
Lisa is embracing the darker side of psychological thrillers and I AM HERE FOR IT. This was such a GOOD read — in just one sitting, I might add. There were so many twists and turns!
I want to thank NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for the eARC!
A kaleidoscopic thriller on 3 women who eventually find a connection to each other after what they thought was true love. This loopy novel will have you become Sherlock Holmes and have you question everything a man has ever told you. The real piece of advice here is simply ‘Don’t Let Him In’.
❗️Single Mum Trope
❗️Cheating Trope
❗️Mulit-POV
❗️Mental Health Awareness
I’ve been loving Lisa Jewell’s writing! This one hooked me from the beginning and her writing always gets me excited. Like all of her novels this one was written well and is easy to follow. This one in particular was predictable, but doesn’t make it a bad thing and works for this type of plot imo.
The only thing is that there is a specific plot hole that makes everything kind of unrealistic and I couldn’t stand that the females were just so naive. But I will say the characters were diverse! I would recommend to read anything written by Lisa Jewell because she is a phenomenal writer.
A phenomenal new read by Lisa Jewell. I loved trying to piece together how the different relationships were kept afloat by the main male character. Nina’s daughter was an excellent character too, I constantly went back and forth as to whether I believed her or not. Such a fantastic thriller!
Loved loved loved! One of those rare books that you don’t want to end - but of course you are racing through to see what happened - as soon as I was done I was already wanting to reread it.
The plot and pacing are top notch, and this book really highlights how masterful the author is at creating complex characters and relationships.
Already know this is going to be one of my fav books of the year.
Lisa Jewell is the queen of the good-but-forgettable popcorn thriller(ish… not really thriller… mystery?… no, that’s not it… novel… popcorn novel). And I’ll always read them, so I was glad to get this ARC from NetGalley.
They typically take a while to piece together and have some level of batshit crazy thrown into the mix. And you’ll get a present day timeline and a past timeline and for a while you’ll have no idea how they relate to each other or much of what’s going on… not until she’s good and ready to tell you.
But this one seemed extremely basic. A con-man? OK, that’s all? Things were confusing for a bit but then they become clearer… so of course I was just second-guessing that there must be some other big twist or something… nope. Dudes are lying to chicks left-and-right. That’s it, that’s the plot.
It was fine-but-forgettable, as always. Nothing groundbreaking here, sadly.
A gripping, edge-of-your-seat, page turner that left me wanting more! Lisa Jewell, you’ve done it again!
Once again Lisa Jewell didn't disappoint. This book kept me engaged and wanting to read. I quickly found myself getting tied up in the story and wanting to keep reading & keep hearing more as the story unraveled. There were a lot of characters to keep track, some different timelines and different points of view the story was told from. For me this wasn't a bad thing but I guess some people that aspect of it could be confusing. I felt like it was a good thing for the story. It added to the plot and helped me understand the characters and the storyline and kept me more engaged in the story. I felt like it may have helped keep some suspense in the book as well. Overall the ending was predictable in some ways, but still didn't play out exactly the way I would have expected and I really enjoyed reading the book.
Firstly thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced readers copy. All thoughts are my own.
3.5 stars
The first 20-30% of the book I was confused. Now, I realize that was the point and most of the times I enjoy the confusion ( it is part of the joy of thrillers) - but this one didn't work for me. I had figured out what Jewell was trying to do about 45% into the book, and unfortunately it was not a trope I enjoy.
One thing I personally do not like is insufferable (unsufferable?) MC's and this MC was the WORST. ALSO, I HATE reading about weak female characters (I get it... It was necessary to the story)
I also felt that 60% of the book was unnecessary and it was underdeveloped in other parts (ie, I want to know more about the women and not about the man... would've gone up a whole star if I would have gotten more back story on the women.)
I genuinely feel like the author had good intentions but IMO spent way too much time in parts I didn't think necessary.
Also, another thing i cannot stand in books is unrealism. When people get away with things in books that would 10000% get them arrested IRL- I puke.
I love Jewell's writing, but this one just wasn't for me.
Pick up if you enjoy
Insufferable MC
Weak women
Con Story
Engaging and entertaining - exactly what we expect from Jewell. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.
I really enjoyed this book - I kept wanting to pick it up and finally just sat and finished. It was propulsive with an unreliable narrator which I love . The premise felt real and I could see this happening . I only dropped a star because the end was a bit easily guessable for me , but it didn’t really decrease my enjoyment at all. Read this!! Thanks NetGalley for the arc!
It is early in the year and I found a 5 star book! This one is amazing in every way! It is the story of Nina and her daughter Ash. Nina's husband which is Ash's father was pushed onto the train tracks and killed. There is also Martha and Al, with a new baby to take care of. Martha has two teenage sons from a previous marriage. Her husband, Al seems to disappear and becomes unreachable. They are always short on money and their relationship is currently not the best.
The two storylines begin to intertwine as Nina begins to date a guy named Nick. Her daughter become suspicious that Nick might not be who he says he is. Ash investigates his background and finds out the truth. Will her mom believe her? Is Nick a toxic man with narcissistic behavior?
The Epilogue is the best!!!
Jaw Dropping, Perfectly Told, and Well Done! This will be in my top 5 this year! 5 Stars!
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 6/24/25.
I’m having a tough time reviewing this book, as my feelings are stuck solidly between three and four stars. And the things I liked about it are, strangely, also the things that I thought didn’t work that well.
This story is complicated in its telling. There are several POVs, different timelines, lots of different names thrown around, and the reader doesn’t get much help in making sense of it. It was fun to play detective and try to put the pieces together, but also kind of frustrating. In the end it makes sense, as I assumed it would, but I don’t really like the feeling of not knowing what’s going on. So I liked that aspect, but I also didn’t like it.
But if you can stick it out through the confusion, you’ll have a good time. The POV switches kept it interesting, and made it very easy to binge read. And truly what I want most in a thriller is a binegable book with an interesting plot, and this book does deliver that, so for that reason I’m rounding my 3.5 stars up to 4.
about a serial con artist and the many, many women he’s ruined in his wake, this was twisted & crisp. no notes, lisa has officially become one of my favorite thriller authors—none of this is true was in my top ten of 2024.
This book was gripping. I loved all the different characters and trying to figure out how the villain will get his reckoning. Lisa has done it again!
It's an excellent thriller about relationships gone wrong. This was a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The title gives this all away... you really do NOT want to let him in! Lisa Jewell tells the story wonderfully, all the different plot lines are carefully woven throughout. You will often wonder while reading the book, but never really know the truth!