I feel rather awkward giving this 3 stars when I see so many folks have enjoyed this novel. However, calling this a thriller is misleading, and i'm wondering if we all read the same book.

I wasn’t expecting this to be a story of revenge, but at its core, it is. It’s about a man with a colossal ego not being able to come to terms that he was spoken down to in the early 1990s when he worked for a restauranteur. That the entire novel hinges on this fact (which we don't learn until deep into the story) isn't a twist as perhaps Jewell intended it to be. It's an annoyance. It feels like thin plot that a man should be such a petty bitch.

This book is Dirty John. It's Tinder Swindler. For me, this story just missed the window of opportunity to hit that zeitgeist when we all clamored for such tales. But this isn't the have nots taking away from the haves (which in 2025, we love), it's a lazy man who thinks he's deserving of more than he is and truly, doing very little to cover up and get away with it. He has one M.O. and his tricks are all the same. We don't see him zig and zag or ever truly feel the heat. Quite the opposite, he's quick on his feet and always has an answer. It's rinse, lather, repeat with these women and the monotony? It's killer.

Even for the most heinous of characters, you need something to cling to in order to keep reading. However, you do not feel empathy for Nick/Al as you read "Don't Let Him In," and make no mistake about it, it's very much HIS story (though some may argue it's shared with Ash and Martha). There is nothing in his background that has caused him to turn out this way - no real reason for the reader to connect to him and feel any sense of empathy. He is simply just a bad seed; a core issue of the novel. At the end of reading this, all I could surmise is that I'd spent a few hundred pages just tracking a sociopath/narcissist, the conclusion of the novel and confrontation suddenly feeling rushed.

Thanks to the lovely folks at Atria and NetGalley for this ARC.

Nina Swann and her family are devastated when her husband Paddy is murdered. Ash, Nina and Paddy's daughter is having a hard time moving on from her father's tragic death when a man named Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of Paddy's gets in touch with Nina. Ash is suspious from the start and gets Paddy's old flame Jane to help her dig up information on Nick. Soon Ash finds out that Nick is not who he say's he is and that everything about him is a lie, Martha Grey has been together with Al for four years and now she is seeing signs that he is keeping secrets from her. She put a tracker in his car after he goes away and has no contact with her for days on end. Martha is then outside Nina's house wanting to confront the other women. Ash and Jane start to untangle the web of Nick's lies and with the help of both Nina and Martha they decied to take him down. This was a fast paced read that will have you hooked from the very first chapter. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Atria Books for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel.

🚪 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 :
-domestic suspense
-red flags 🚩
-con artists
-multiple timelines & POVs
-unlikable characters
-super short chapters

🚪 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 :
Let me preface this by saying I absolutely love Lisa Jewell. She has written some of my favorites (Then She Was Gone, The Truth About Melody Browne, None of This is True) so it truly pains me to say that unfortunately this one was a miss for me.

I was able to figure out what was going on about 20% in, but the book started with an authors note promising “nothing is as it seems in this kaleidoscopic thriller” so I kept waiting for some reveal to knock my socks off… but it never came. There was a lot of flipping between timelines & POVs, so much build up.. but it ended up just being about a huge narcissist gaslighting, manipulating & taking advantage of gullible women.

Luckily the short chapters made for an easy-to-binge read, but I was left feeling underwhelmed. Although this wasn’t my favorite, you can bet that I’ll continue to read whatever Lisa Jewell puts out.

Thank you to @netgalley & @atriabooks for the opportunity to read this arc!

Lisa Jewell does it again. I’ve read most of her books and loved them all. This one was wild with lots of twists and turns. It was way more convoluted than I could have imagined. I really enjoyed it. The narration was great! Thanks to NetGalley, Lisa Jewell and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review ✨

✨Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

Listen, I’m a huge Lisa Jewell fan. Her books are some of my absolute favorite, but unfortunately this one fell very flat for me.

The beginning had me a bit confused with the multiple storylines. Although they all come together in the end, the storyline DRAGGED. At 450 pages, this book could have been told in 300.

My other issue? This was NOT suspenseful or shocking. I enjoy Lisa Jewel’s writing, so I kept reading but I didn’t find it to be thrilling and the twists were not your typical Lisa Jewell twists.

Overall, I was very underwhelmed and pretty disappointed.

Still love & will continue to read Lisa Jewel’s books. This one was just not it for me!

3⭐️

✨Don’t Let Him In hits shelves 06.24.25
-Huge thank you to Atria for the review copy!

3.5 ⭐️ This book was entertaining enough but not a thriller IMO. There were no twist and turns, no “I did not see that coming” moments, and it was pretty straight forward for a book categorized as a thriller. Did I feel suspense while reading it, yeah a bit towards the end when it started picking up in pace and I started feeling nervous for some of the female characters. I don’t know if that had to do with the authors writing or the fact that I knew I was reading what was supposed to be a thriller so my body was on high alert expecting the unexpected. The more I got towards the end I kept telling myself, ok maybe she’s gonna drop a bomb at the end and leave me 🤯, but it never happened. She did however write a great villain, a despicable vile psychopath of a man, who made me want to keep turning the page so I could try and figure him out. He was fuc*ing terrible! A Grade A manipulator who used these women, married them, impregnated them, took their money, left them in debt and then abandoned them (and his children!) when they no longer served his purpose. Then there’s the women themselves, who you can’t help but be infuriated by at times. You want to pull them out of the page and say “get a fuc*king grip for christ sake!”. Especially poor Martha, like are you serious? You know it’s all bullshit you feel it deep down, you know the way he’s acting the things he’s doing aren’t ok, why do you keep giving him the benefit of the doubt?! Especially when he’s so damn sketchy. But it was because she loved him…and I guess it’s not too much their fault, this is what he does, he’s a pro and they fall right into his web. He showers them with the love and affection they need and it makes them see or believe something that really isn’t there. Even I as a reader sometimes felt, I don’t know, sympathy? Like maybe he does care and he can change and do better. Then I snapped out of it and continued shaking my head at what a piece of sh*t he was, a complete and utter narcissistic sociopath. There were moments when I questioned a couple of characters and their reliability, but I think that was the intention. The fates of the some of the women and other characters in the story were sad and unfortunate, but I’m glad that for the most part, the other ones made it through. I do wish the ending had given us a little more than it did, it was little anticlimactic, but it was still satisfying. Again, not a thrilling story, nothing mind blowing, no twist no turns…but still very entertaining. Overall it was a good story of a sick despicable calculating man and the women he used, manipulated, and conned to better his status in life. He did a lot of other vile stuff, but I won’t spoil that in my review.


Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Jewell, and Atria Books for the advance readers copy of Don’t Let Him In.

Lisa Jewell is a master of thrillers, as many as I read, I still just adore this author. She is an auto buy for me at this point. I think that you should go in knowing as little as possible, that way you can be just as surprised and shocked as I was. I think that makes the story even better.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early e-arc.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, Lisa Jewell made it very easy to hate Nick and also feel compassion for all the women he continually wrongs. I was always looking forward to coming back to this story and following Ash as she builds her case against nick!

Lisa Jewell's books are always such a roller coaster ride, in the best way! I love her book and this was no exception.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this book was good but it was not a favorite. It seemed like it took awhile for the plot to come into focus and did not keep my attention. I found myself not reaching for it so it took awhile to read. Perhaps I would have connected more had I read it more consistently.

Brimming with secrets and deception, this domestic thriller had me tense from start to finish—in the most thrilling way.

At first, the shifting timelines and multiple POVs can be a bit tricky to follow. But stick with it—Jewell’s signature short chapters make for an engaging read, and soon, everything falls into place.

While Jewell remains the undisputed queen of slow-burning suspense, I found this one a bit slower than expected. That said, her talent for crafting irresistibly twisted characters is as sharp as ever—this time, focusing on a completely unhinged narcissist and sociopath.

Though this one takes a slightly different approach for Jewell, its themes of control are just as unsettling as her darker plots, making it feel eerily realistic.

For the best experience, dive into this one with as little information as possible

LJ doesn't disappoint. Another book that I was immediately sucked into. I actually figured out the twist, for once in my life, but it didn't take away from the story. So well written, as always.

Don’t Let Him In features a man anyone would love to hate. He’s fake. Smug. Conniving. Murderous. Greedy. He’s the antagonist, but almost seems like the main character.

The women in the story don’t arouse enough emotion to feel hate or love. Not even a warm friendly feeling. They are the people whose story you hear and wonder how they didn’t see the red flags. Either loneliness is a powerful motivator to ignore said red flags, or PT Barnum was right about a sucker being born every minute. I’m not saying they deserved what happened. I’m saying I would have liked a protagonist that I could feel some empathy for as she struggles through the mystery. There is hope though, because eventually the women figure out things.

I say figure out, but there really is no mystery here. There are some mild thrills. There is curiosity in wondering how this will play out. Unfortunately, this book features a most despised technique: the constant use of flashback. I always wonder, if that much flashback is necessary, why not just start at that point to begin the story? I persevered, however, to reach the end.

The last half is better than the first, but the ending hurt the positive feeling I gained after wading through that first part.

I wanted to love this one, but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. The book was a little bit confusing with all the different timelines and point of views. It took a little bit for me to understand what was going on. I did love the short chapters and it was interesting to see what was going to happen. Overall, I would still recommend.



Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC!

Lisa Jewell had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, and I was left craving more! This book turned out to be an absolute page-turner. Readers really need to stay sharp and keep their eyes peeled, because Jewell weaves such an intricate web of suspense that keeps flipping the script. Packed with secrets, lies, mind games, and jaw-dropping twists, this gripping and brilliantly written thriller keeps the tension running high every step of the way!

Nick Radcliffe oozes charm and sophistication, with a smile so disarming it could melt the iciest heart. He has a knack for making people feel at ease, slipping seamlessly into Nina Swann’s life just when she needs comfort the most after her husband’s passing. But to Ash, Nina’s sharp-eyed adult daughter, Nick’s smooth exterior rings alarm bells—he seems just a little too perfect, like he’s hiding something beneath the surface.
Nina, Martha, and Ash find themselves walking a razor’s edge, each step drawing them nearer to a truth more disturbing than they ever dared to imagine. Though they believe their bond is unshakable, a sinister undercurrent threatens to unravel it, creeping in unnoticed. A haunting warning lingers in the background like a broken record: don’t let him in. As they teeter on the brink of a devastating revelation, the past claws its way back—relentless and unforgiving—ready to explode into the present and turn their world upside down. With tension thick in the air, they brace themselves for the reckoning ahead.

This book was masterfully crafted! Jewell’s writing pulled me in from the very first line and held me captive until the very last page. I simply couldn’t tear myself away—I read straight through the night until my eyes were burning and I physically couldn’t keep going. And brace yourself, because you’re about to meet one of the most loathsome villains out there. His deeply rooted misogyny had my blood simmering—I lost count of how many times I wanted to reach into the pages and shake him. The gaslighting, the cold, calculated manipulation—it was infuriating. He’s the textbook definition of an evil, cunning psychopath. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how all the characters’ perspectives would weave together—and the payoff was absolutely worth it! These characters are going to stick with me for a long time. Lisa Jewell did a brilliant job peeling back their backstories layer by layer, blurring the lines between truth and lies while cleverly scattering clues along the way. It was a gripping, tightly paced psychological thriller that kept me guessing and completely hooked from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This novel follows a large cast of characters and for the first 50% of the book I was more confused than anything. I was not hooked from the beginning as a lot of time was spent building the back story to all these characters. The second half of the story, where the bulk of the mystery/thriller aspect took place, was much more captivating and interesting to read. The second half of the book I would probably rate something closer to a 3.5 star but the slow beginning brought it down for me. I also found the story repetitive, as the same sequence of events would be told sometimes from 3 POVs which slowed the flow of the story. Jewell’s writing style is easy to read and I would consider reading some of her backlog.

Lisa Jewell is a go-to author for me, and if her writing was not so compelling and insightful, Don't Let Him In would have been DNF for me. Her main characters are a young woman, Aisling, whose father has died in a tragic accident, and the man who comes into her mother's life shortly after. Aisling has a history of instability, so here is your unreliable narrator. Nick, the new man, is the other main voice of this story, and he's telling you exactly what horrible nonsense he's up to. There is an endless carousel of women that he's screwing over (literally and figuratively), and somehow that's the whole plot. Aside from all of these women being idiots (sorry, I have no sympathy here--who wouldn't ask questions if their spouse disappeared for a week and came home without their wedding ring???), nothing happens except the death of your faith in humanity and intelligence.

Good, but not my favorite Lisa Jewell book. It was a little hard to get into and keep track of because of all the different characters and points of view. I do love this con trope though.

A classic Lisa Jewell book that had me all of the place trying to piece things together. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but I feel like that is pretty necessary and just comes with the scam artist trope! I enjoyed this, and it was a wild ride! Definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for my ebook ARC!! I was so excited I was approved for a huge name like Lisa Jewell!!

"Restauranteur Paddy Swann was the life of the party until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving his twenty-something daughter Ash and wife Nina devastated. Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, the two women receive a surprise in the mail: a note and package from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, and a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina closer together—much to Ash’s dismay.

Martha is a small-town florist with dreams of expansion. She lives with her second husband Al, her baby, and two sons from her prior marriage. But they never seem to have any money, and with his constant traveling for work, she feels like a single parent—especially when an emergency makes her realize something needs to change.

But Nick and Al may not be who they say they are, leading these three women on a shocking collision course, wishing they had heeded a warning: Don’t let him in." (Description from the publisher)

It's been a while since I have had the pleasure of reading such a twisty thriller and "Don't Let Him In" quite easily took me down an unforgettable path! This book is told from alternating timelines and perspectives, carefully giving out clues bit by tantalizing bit. As the full picture comes in to view, the reader realizes that it is even worse than they could have guessed!

I appreciated the addition of the perspective of Ash, Nina's daughter. As an unreliable narrator, her perspective added depth to the story and just the right amount of doubt.

As with all of the books that I have read by Lisa Jewell, this one kept me hooked until the very last page. This is a must-read for old and new fans alike.