After devouring None of This is True in 2023 and Breaking the Dark in 2025, I was chomping at the bit for another thrilling novel by Lisa Jewell in 2025 and Don’t Let Him In did not disappoint. Jewell’s meticulous storytelling creates tension with every turn of the page in this latest thriller.
Nick Radcliffe 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. He’s just what Nina Swann needed in her life after her husband’s unexpected death. 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. Looking for answers, Martha plants a tracking device in his car.
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.
Lisa Jewell excels once again at giving us a gripping thriller that has us on edge throughout our reading experience. However, what stood out most in Don’t Let Him In was Jewell’s adeptness in character development. Each protagonist—Nina, Ash, and Martha—is crafted with depth and complexity that makes them feel remarkably real. This made it extremely easy to connect with these characters and the struggles they all face and feel for them as they uncover what is really going on.
As someone who can tend to struggle with following each character in a novel I was weary about how I would keep up with each of Don’t Let Him In‘s storylines. However, Jewell’s skillful narrative structure allows for seamless transitions between each character’s story without losing any momentum or clarity. The author’s writing style effortlessly captures each of the women’s unique voices, drawing me into their worlds while maintaining an overarching sense of suspense throughout the book.
Don’t Let Him In comes at you with breakneck speeds, but Jewell doesn’t sacrifice depth for pace. Instead, she crafts twists that are both unexpected yet entirely plausible. Jewell makes me question everything about who to trust and how to accept deception if faced with it in real life. The suspense, tension and lies had me turning each page as fast as possible to see where things were headed.
The conclusion of Don’t Let Him In stumbles slightly with a rather tidy ending. I was hoping for a bit more ambiguity; however such a minor hiccup does little damage to the engrossing chapters preceding the climax.
Don’t Let Him In is yet another fantastic thrilling novel by Lisa Jewell. The author has truly carved out a spot in my future readings of any upcoming novels. Jewell continues to prove herself as a master storyteller capable of conjuring up some thrilling mystery that will continue to suck me in. While, None of This is True might slightly edge Don’t Let Him In for me, this latest outing is still likely to be one of my favorite thrillers of 2025.
Don’t Let Him In hits bookstores everywhere on June 24, 2025 from Atria Books. The audiobook can be pre-ordered on Libro.fm!
