Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell #DontLetHimIn @lisajewelluk @PenguinUKBooks #BookReview

 

He’s the perfect man.

He says he loves you.

You think he might even be made for you.

Before long he’s moved into your house – and into your heart.

And then he leaves for days at a time. You don’t know where he’s gone or who he’s with.

And you realise - if you looked back - you’d say to yourself:

DON’T LET HIM IN.

Don’t miss the new read-in-one-sitting Lisa Jewell novel; a cautionary story that could happen to you…

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell is published on 3 July 2025 by Century Books / Penguin. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I picked this one up and saw that my physical proof copy had just over 450 pages .... that's a hefty one I think .... this will keep me going for a week or so.  Oh no, not at all. I absolutely gulped this one down, the pages flew by so quickly, I made myself dizzy. What a thrilling, devilish story, populated with characters who are often difficult to like or sympathise and with a narrative that twists and turns like the biggest, scariest rollercoaster. 

Paddy Swann was a successful and well liked local restaurateur who was tragically killed when a recently diagnosed mentally ill man pushed him onto the tracks, in front of a train. Paddy's wife Nina is devastated, not only is her husband dead, but she's no in charge of the business. Their daughter Ash, herself mentally unstable cannot come to terms with the death of her father. When an old friend of Paddy's gets in touch, and then begins to see more of Nina, Ash is uncomfortable. This feels like more than another man in her dad's place. Nick Radcliffe is handsome, smart, intelligent  ..... but Ash is convinced that he's dodgy. 

Martha is a woman in her early fifties. Balancing the demands of two teenage children, a toddler and her florist shop is not easy. She and her husband Al haven't been together for that long, they are happy, but there's always financial pressure on them. Al's job takes him away from home for days on end, sometimes he doesn't keep in touch as he should. Martha doesn't like to question, but .... 

And so we have the basic plot .....  but it is really really isn't basic at all!  There are multiple narratives, there are a lot of characters. Readers will questions themselves as they read, you think you've got it all worked out and then Jewell throws a curveball that spins you totally off course. 

Multi layered and really complex in places,  with characters who cry out to be loved but who are often difficult to even like. This one really is unputdownable. It is tense and sharp, deliciously complicated and incredibly well paced. Highly recommended. 

Lisa Jewell's first novel, Ralph’s Party, was published in 1999 and was the best-selling
debut novel of the year. 

Since then she has published another twenty-three novels, most lately a number of dark psychological thrillers, including Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and None of This is True. 

Lisa is a number one New York Times and Sunday Times author who has sold over ten million books worldwide and been published in more than thirty languages. 

She lives in north London with her husband, two daughters, Daisy, a Romanian rescue dog, and a mad orange cat called Ivy. 

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