Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.
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This was amazing. I have no notes.

Okay, I will offer some notes because this is a book review. Lisa Jewell is a treasure. I just started seriously reading her books in the last year, and the continually keep me on the edge of my seat. This one was interesting because it was obvious who the bad guy was the entire time...and wow, was he ever bad! But I still spent the majority of my day today racing through this book (start to finish...this is one of those thrillers that you will want to read in one sitting) so that I could see what happened in the end.

The ending left me completely satisfied. Just when I think I can't enjoy one of Jewell's books as much as the last one, she writes another masterpiece and proves me wrong. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Don’t Let Him In is a fast-paced domestic thriller told through multiple POVs and timelines. With short chapters and a gripping plot, it’s a quick weekend read perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell-style suspense. The story unravels the mystery of the charming but suspicious Nick Radcliffe, as Ash digs into his unsettling past. While the twists are somewhat predictable for seasoned thriller readers, it still delivers an entertaining and bingeable ride—though the ending could’ve packed more punch.

I was so excited to read a Lisa Jewell book. I have heard such good things about her and was incredibly disappointed that I could not get into this book. I will have to try another one by her for sure. I made it about 50% before deciding not to finish it.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Lisa Jewell for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "Don't Let Him In"!

Nina Swann’s husband has just been killed, and her 26-year-old daughter, Ash, has returned home to figure her life out. Nina is contacted by one of her husband’s old acquaintances, and he quickly sweeps her off of her feet. Ash finds this man - wealthy, smooth-talking, and attractive - to be too good to be true and is immediately suspicious. But can she get to the bottom of the mystery (if there even is one) in time to save her mom from danger?

Lisa Jewell writes great thrillers. Her books are engaging, fun and easy to read, and full of twists. This book did engage me right away, and Ash and Nina’s characters were well developed, interesting, and realistic. Some of the other characters were not as well drawn though, and the plot wasn’t my favorite. It has been touted as being kaleidoscopic, and while that is a perfect description it made things pretty confusing, especially at the beginning. I don’t mind when I have to focus and decipher timelines in order to make sense of things (like in Mad Honey), but only if there is a reason for it and in this case it doesn’t seem to really add anything to the book. Instead of a standard thriller with lots of twists and turns, this was more of a psychological thriller where the reader knows what is happening early on but learns more about the villain as the book progresses. And while I can’t say anything about the end without spoiling it, it stretched credibility just a touch too far for my taste.

Read this if: you are a fan of Lisa Jewell and/or you enjoy psychological thrillers.

Skip this if: you prefer thrillers with straightforward plot arcs.

Lisa Jewel is the author who got me started in this genre, so I was very excited to get this ARC from NetGalley. This left me feeling…underwhelmed. I guess I was hoping for more of a twist, or jaw-dropping scene that just never came. It was entertaining, but not one that will stick with me.

At first I was afraid that this book was going to simply align with the podcast/show Dear John. But the more I read, the more twists and turns that occurred, the more I appreciated the complexities of the story. I read this one really fast, and I was really rooting for the good guys but also along for all the thrills of the twists.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ARC!

Within just a few pages, I found myself already frustrated with the characters, but in a way that made me want to keep reading. The beginning of this was a bit confusing and with the multiple points of view, but it became much easier to follow as the story progressed.

The plot was unique and took some unexpected turns, even though parts of it felt predictable. Despite my frustrations with certain characters, I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed the short chapters and the alternating perspectives, they kept the story more exciting.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is tomorrow June 24, 2025.

This is the perfect book to read if you’re in the mood to hate men! This was my first Lisa Jewell book and I can see why she is such a prominent author in this space. At times I found myself laughing at the ridiculous and outrageous things the male main character would say in his inner dialogue but more often than not I found myself genuinely creeped out by him and his behavior. The characters in this story felt so real and complicated. Ash was such a great character to propel the story forward and I very much enjoyed her journey and development throughout this book. The pacing was just right and the story was so immersive. Each chapter left me wanting to continue on to the next. While this was my first Lisa Jewell book, it will definitely not be my last.


*Many thanks for Netgalley and Atria Books for the eGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for this early digital copy of “Don’t let him in”. I want to preface this by saying I consider myself a fan of Lisa Jewell’s novels. “None of this is true” was one of my favorite audiobooks of 2023. This story did not do it for me unfortunately. It took forever to find its footing, it was not the page turner I had hoped for. It felt like reading a version of Groundhog’s day, nothing eventful occurred until way too late in the game.

Book Review 📚
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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 368
Genre: Suspense Thrillers, Domestic
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THOUGHTS:

This was an okay read, not my favorite by Lisa Jewell, almost DNF this one!

@atriabooks @atriathrillers

BLURB:

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.


#bookreview #bookstagram

I so desperately wanted to like this book. I love a conman plot, but this one fell flat to me. It was the same sob story over and over again and the ending felt too rushed.

It’s no doubt that Lisa Jewell has a knack for writing a story that will completely suck you in. I started Don’t Let Him In on Saturday morning and don’t think I moved until I was finished. I just couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Following the death of her father Paddy, Ash moves home to be closer to her mom. A man from Paddy’s past ends up in their lives, and it seems like Ash is the only one who hasn’t fallen under Nick’s spell. And Nick, well, he has a past of his own.

The MMC here is absolutely repulsive. Truly, think of the most vile things a man and do and he has done it. I was so mad for all of the women who came into his life and was just waiting for it all to catch up with him. I will say I was a bit let down by how long it took the stories to converge and I kept waiting for one final big twist that never came. Still, if you’re looking for an intriguing slow burn thriller definitely check out Don’t Let Him In.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a review copy.

Nina Swann and her daughter Ash are still reeling from the death of their husband and father Paddy when Nina receives a package from Nick Radcliffe. Nick used to work with Paddy and heard of his death and wanted to give Nina a lighter that used to belong to Paddy. Nina and Nick become close, but Ash is skeptical. Martha owns a flower shop with her husband Alistair, and if it wasn’t for Al’s frequent and prolonged absences, Martha would say their life is perfect. But the three women are bound to intersect and when they do, things get crazy!

Differing perspectives, back and forth in time, and all kinds of names to keep straight. I really liked this, but was confused some of the time of when and who we were. This is a book that you will need to really focus on to keep everything and everyone straight, but it’s well worth it. Lisa Jewell never disappoints and this is another good one. The chapters are shorter and the action is constant so it’s easy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available June 24, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel.

I will say that I do appear to be an outlier in my review, as this book has so many high reviews on goodreads! Ultimately, this one was just ok for me. I did find the POVs to be a bit confusing at first, although I was able to figure out the pattern within the first quarter of the book. Also, I had an idea as to how everything came together pretty quickly, and ended up being right. As such, the twist/reveal at the end didn’t seem as impactful to me. I did enjoy Ainsling’s and Jane’s characters, however. In this book there are several characters you want to give a pep talk to or downright hate altogether! To me, this book was just missing something to really shock me. I may recommend it depending on the reader, or would encourage possible readers to read a variety of reviews to decide for themselves!

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It wasn’t a nail biter, but I still couldn’t put it down. The short chapters made it easy to read “just one more chapter”. The beginning of the book was a little confusing with the multiple POVs, but it didn’t take long to catch on. There was suspense and murder, but it didn’t feel like a typical thriller. Overall I found it entertaining, but don’t go into this one expecting jaw dropping, pulse pounding thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy.

3.75/5 ⭐️
Man…. The MMC made me want to suffocate myself with a pillow (which I did for my aggravated screams when the women were not taking the clues for what they were). He is the worst character but done so well!
I will admit, I did see most of the twists coming, but that didn’t take anything away from the story. The ending had me raging; I was like WHAT?! After all that? This can’t be it?! The epilogue was my absolute favorite.
I did fly through this book, I love Jewell’s writing style! Some parts felt a little repetitive or like they were dragging on but that’s also kind of the point? A never-ending loop of madness.

ARC - 4/5⭐️ Lisa Jewell is amazing at what she does. Don’t Let Him In is an exciting, page turning thriller. This was so well written, I especially loved the alternating time periods from present day to four years ago and the switch between characters. The suspense was giving what I needed it to give. I couldn’t put this down! As soon as I started to put the pieces together I was like OHHH 😮. The twists and turns and secret identities kept this book fast paced, which I really enjoyed!

Another great novel by Lisa Jewell! Highly recommend 🙌🏻 thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC 🩷

Having loved None of This is True I was ecstatic to get an ARC of Lisa Jewell’s newest novel. The first quarter was thrilling and her writing is amazing as always, but there were so many characters. By 50% in I was skimming to get to the end. I do think it is an important story to tell and it is a worthwhile read. Thank you to Netgalley for the book in exchange for a review!

What a twisty tale with a great character to hate!! The only thing that kept this from being the perfect read was that it took too long to get anywhere. It felt like the author had the idea of what she wanted to present to the reader but couldn't find a more concise way to do it. But the end result was a lot of characters, a lot of overlapping timelines, and at least for me, some continuing confusion. Thankfully I am not a writer, because I am not sure how better to have presented the story, but I wish there had been a bit less to grapple with.

After an untimely death, Nick Radcliffe sends his sincerest condolences to his late friend’s wife. Nina is touched by Nick’s kind words and intrigued by his heartfelt bid for connection. Nina’s daughter Ash isn’t quite so taken in by this smooth operator’s dazzling smile. Ash is extremely suspicious and annoyed by his presence, staying fiercely loyal to her father’s memory and resistant to this newcomers’ slick charm. Is the bile in her belly just jealousy, a rising resentment, or is Nick truly the cad she imagines he is? She is determined to dig up his past and find out.

I highly recommend this novel to fans of mystery, suspense, and thrillers.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Don’t Let Him In for my unbiased evaluation.  5 stars