Shortly after the book begins, we are either dealing with one despicable man or possibly three of them. There’s the first person POV of a husband who's been married for four years to a woman with estranged adult children and it’s obvious he now despises her, but she hasn’t gotten the message yet. There’s newly widowed Nina (her restaurateur spouse was pushed off a rail platform into an oncoming train) and her sudden paramour, Nick, supposedly a friend of her late husband, who has gotten too friendly too quickly according to her adult daughter Ash. Then there’s florist Martha, married three years to Al, a former divorcee with a barely teen and a ten year old, who found herself pregnant in her mid-40s during her second marriage and now has baby Nala, while husband Al regularly disappears on sudden business trips and “forgets” to message her.

It’s very easy to quickly assume (within the first 40 pages) that the detestable narrator is also both Al and Nick and probably a few other names and this is going to be a miserable story of multiple naive middle-aged victimized women. If this depresses you immensely, stop here. If you have hope that someone will eventually wise up and deliver the appropriate justice to this jerk, keep reading with guarded hope, although you’ll swear none of these 21st century women know how to Google someone.

The plot seems to be influenced by the decade old real life “Dirty John” con man story (and Netflix series). Jewell lets us peer inside the mind of her narcissistic sociopathic character (the real Dirty John never truly revealed his motivations). All the more to despise him. The story proceeds with more twists (and women). It’s emotional and anger-inducing — Jewell has created the nastiest villain in a suspense thriller. But the book is also totally enthralling and you won’t be able to look away. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Sort of. The initially unnamed target of the cheating male narrator has unreal turquoise eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES/NO
There’s a Tesla (that nobody knows how to drive): YES Funny how Jonathan must pick up the key to Tesla on his way out, when there are literally no Tesla keys (it’s all controlled via a phone app). Oh, Martha, if you had access to the Tesla, you would always know where the car was without a separate tracker.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Can you say psychopath? Alistair goes by many names. Charming, he is able to "borrow" money from the many loves of his life. Unfortunately, he is never able to hold on to any money for long. This always necessitates finding a new woman, which he doesn't seem to have any problem doing. After playing this game for his whole life, it all starts to unravel when one of the daughters of his conquests becomes suspicious. What a great book. I could not put it down. This may be Lisa Jewell's best book yet. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the complimentary digital ARC. This opinion is my own and has not been coerced.

Lisa Jewell has done it again! I was beyond excited to get an advanced readers copy of “Don’t let him in”, I’ve slowly been working my way through all of Lisa Jewell’s books as she has become my favourite thriller author. This book did not disappoint, it had me engaged the whole time and wanting to pick up the book every second I wasn’t reading. I highly recommend her books to anyone wanting a fast past, captivating story that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time!

I overall enjoyed this book but felt like it was too long and not as cohesive as her other books. I feel like it could’ve been cut down by half, and did not need as many different stories in order to make the same point. The end was the best part and I felt like I was trekking to get there & wish it was a little more fast paced.

With Don’t Let Him In, Jewell once again proves her mastery of the psychological thriller genre, delivering a tightly woven, twist-filled narrative that will leave readers second-guessing everything until the very end. Fans of her previous work will find much to enjoy, and newcomers will quickly understand why she’s one of the genre’s best. Highly recommended for those who love a suspenseful, twisty read.

First off thanks to netgalley for providing me an ARC!
Spoilers in this review!
Ash's father, Paddy, has just died. Her father meant so much to her. Soon after, they got a couple things in the mail from a Nick saying he knew Paddy and sorry for the loss.
Her mother reached out and soon enough started dating. All of it seemed off to Ash but she had no proof.
The book flashes between current time, from Ash's point of view, then back in time from an unknown narrators POV.
Nick turns out to be a bad dude who has manipulated a lot of women. Overall, the book was insanely predictable and just not as good of a read. I found myself rushing through it. It was easy and interesting but not something I would recommend. Normally I love Jewel's work.

Wow! I have always loved Lisa Jewell’s books but this one is my new favorite of hers. This story is told in multiple timelines and with multiple intertwining characters but it’s never hard to keep it all straight because of the way Jewell writes. The male main character will make you want to SCREAM and the ending is just perfect. Will honestly be thinking about this book for a long time! LOVED IT

This was a great read full of twists and turns, and I finished it in one evening. With every twist in the story, the reader is constantly wondering what will happen next. One thing I found improbable was the main character's ability to maintain multiple identities in this day and age where valid Ids are needed for almost everything. Highly recommend!

Don’t Let Him In is written in different POVs. It can be tricky to follow and keep track, but as I kept reading, I was able to piece it together and it made more sense and enjoyed it more. The epilogue was great and really put everything together. It was a quick read and I would recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Don’t Let Him In publishes on June 24, 2025

This was great. We follow three timelines that all weave together to shocking end. I will say that it was hard to follow the different viewpoints but it was okay. The epilogue was the best part of the ending.

Started this book in the morning and finished it before bed! Could not stop because of the suspense and wanted to be sure that the guy was found out to be what he was! You can only find books like this once in awhile. Recommend.

I think this was a slid 4 Star book from Lisa Jewell, I definitely liked this one more than None of This Is True. This was told from multiple POV that at the beginning felt like we were jumping all over and I really didn’t’ know what was going on. Eventually, I started to piece things together and that’s when it started getting good and I had to know what happened next.

The character development was unique because we’re looking at so many different perspectives, but in reality, we weren’t. There were not any major twists or surprises, but it would be what I would say was a slow burn that I really enjoyed. It was a bit slow to start, but it picked up and there was some significant action. I liked it, but there were som really far-fetched ideas and concepts that I had to wrap my mind around. Overall, it was a solid thriller that I wanted to figure out the ending to.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for the eARC of Don’t Let Him In in exchange for an honest review. Publication date for Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell is 24 June 2025.

Please see attached instagram for my review! I could not put this book down, I finished it in a day. I had to know what happened next, Lisa Jewell writes so beautifully & always ties everything together perfectly, So many twists but never any plot holes. 5/5 would absolutely recommend.

a lisa jewell book?? say no more. this book was really good, i ate it up in two days. i will say this one wasn’t as dark as some of her others, but it had great plot twists, great character descriptions and development, and a story i couldn’t put down. i have never hated a main character more than in this book, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. can’t wait for it to come out!

This was interesting, but I knew where it was going right away and wasn't surprised by any of the "twists". Not really a thriller.

Absolutely remarkable! It was written perfectly and kept me totally enthralled the entire way through. Spoilers:

The man had SO MANY WIVES! And the author made each wife individual, they all stood out some way. And Nick was the one writing the daughter, what a twist! Such an amazing read! I loved it

The entire time I was reading this I just felt like I kept waiting for something to happen. Not very thrillerish and I didn’t like the writing style. Overall this just didn’t really work for me.

4.5!!
Imagine thinking you got everything you‘ve ever wanted in life and then this happens? Absolutely sick! This story had me completely hooked, I was genuinely scared while I read this!! The way this was written, the different povs and timelines were so captivating. I was on the edge of my seat needing to know how it all unfolded.
The revelations were disturbing and disgusting! Although I saw some of the twists coming I had the best time reading this! The ending was perfectly executed, which I‘m so grateful for! I was really scared there for a second that it would end differently.
Also I‘m absolutely in awe of Lisa Jewell. She‘s written so many thrillers, yet she still manages to deliver a completely fresh, original and compelling story every single time!
Big thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! I highly recommend this thriller!

4 & 1/2 stars rounded up to 5!

This was a wild ride and classic Lisa Jewell! So many twists and turns. The story sucked me in right away and was hard to put down.

This reminded me a lot of the Dirty John podcast and series. Just when you think this conman can’t get any worse, you find out another piece of his past. He’s so punchable! I liked the alternating narrators and perspectives in this novel as well.

A great read!

Thanks to NetGalley for an early preview of this book. I love all of Lisa Jewel’s books so far and this was a huge win for me!

One man, but so many different “men” to so many women. He was untouchable and good at being a con!

It is told from multiple points of views and time jumps, which I have to be honest, I was a little confused at first. It was a lot to keep up with. But, it got easier the more I read.

I loved how the story ended, I was nervous there wouldn’t be closure but she wrapped it up in a perfect nice little (I’m assuming) arrest!