Book Review: Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

Title: Don't Let Him In

Author: Lisa Jewell

Published: Jun 2025, 361 pages

Buy it on Amazon here

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Book Type: Slow burn psychological thriller - lower on the shock value, more on creepy vibes

Recommended for: Mystery and suspense readers, thriller lovers, anyone wanting to experiment with psychological thrillers that don't give you heart attacks (but might give you anxiety, so.)

Book Blurb:

Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

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.

My Thoughts:

I’m still in my thriller era and binge reading crazy mysteries, so when I saw this Lisa Jewell mystery highlighted on the library shelf, I basically picked it up without reading the blurb because popular authors are popular for a reason, right? This one was entertaining with lovely, respectable writing, and I enjoyed reading this while I was able to take out a chunk of time and get through it all together. This is important, because if you read it in fragments and with gaps and have a fragile memory like mine, it may feel a bit frustrating due to the multiple POVs spanning different years. The frequency of the switches takes time to get used to, and in the beginning made it really hard to connect, feeling like nothing serious or mysterious is actually happening even though you’re already half way through the book. 

It starts very well, someone dying and another unrelated mysterious man appearing out of nowhere, seemingly perfect, saying all the right things, knowing exactly what you want and bringing those to you. As a reader, you instantly know something is amiss, heightened by the mistrust one character develops and starts to investigate. The story then reads slow, going back and forth in different timelines and POVs, unrolling the weird history and sequence of events that seem widely unrelated but come together in the end. The “shock” or the mystery itself is not as alarming- it’s actually quite obvious right from the beginning, the story unfolding slowly with additions to the initial crime, adding depth and intensity gradually. 

I definitely felt it was a slow burn kind of story, peppered with moments where I felt frustration from the absolute ridiculous manner the women/victims allowed this person into their lives and let him upend it, but I realized that was the point. These things happen, women become vulnerable and someone with enough brains and proclivity for selfishness can ruin it all with no remorse. The idea of a perfect husband and perfect life is so sought-after that nothing else seems to matter, red flags are missed, and women end up diminishing themselves to get that perfectly curated life. Despite the slowness and the frustrations, the book reads very well, I have to applaud the writing style. It is immaculate! It is what takes a normal story to a bestseller level - it makes you keep reading despite what you feel about the story, even making one feel sorry/pity for the criminal. And THAT, I attribute solely to good, strong writing. 

The ending was indeed satisfying, the meaning clear, and the story felt well-rounded. The characters also were well-developed, from the now dead Paddy Swan, his wife Nina, their daughter Ash, the mysterious too-perfect Nick Radcliffe, and even the series of other women in Nick/whatever-his-name-is’ life. The things people do may feel frustrating, especially when Nick shows all the red flags but I suppose it is what it is. As mentioned before, it is a reflection of reality and the way vulnerable people (and even not so much, as in the case of Martha), can be easily swayed with mere promises and appearances. The themes of hidden identities, trust and deception shine all through this book. 

I would definitely recommend this one to fans of good writing, thrillers and psychological suspense! 

PS - Check out my review of The Family Upstairs, the first Lisa Jewell mystery I read.

Book Review: You'll Never Know by Caleb Stephens

Author: Caleb Stephens
Published: Nov 2025
Pages: 345
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Find it on Amazon here. 

Blurb: 

They took his wife. They took his unborn child. He only has hours to find them … or they’re dead.

Grant Wilson has never been happier. He has a wife he loves, a home in the country, and a brand-new baby on the way. But all of that shatters when two masked men abduct his wife, Avery, in broad daylight.

The instructions Grant receives are If he wants Avery back, he must solve a series of riddles that arrive one after another—and the clock is ticking.

With every piece of the puzzle more outrageous and complex than the last, Grant knows he’s playing a dangerous game. But he’s determined to do whatever it takes to save Avery’s life … even if it kills him.

My Thoughts

You’ll Never Know is one of those books you want to read because its name keeps popping up everywhere and you just have to find out what it is. When it came up as an option for our book club’s pick for the month, I couldn’t resist! It’s a fast-paced, totally packed thriller but it wasn’t what I had expected. 

I would probably summarize it as a gripping, twisted story maybe held back by average writing, but also impossible to put down! 

Let me explain:
The story and plot is unique, complex, and well ideated but it did end up making me feel a lot of sadness with all the tragedy in it. At some point it felt like the extent of tragedies for different characters were overkill - but at the same time I have to appreciate the intricacies with which the story has been narrated, divided into different POVs, travelling back and forth in the past and present without confusing the reader too much. The descriptions, however, seemed to drag on here and there, making me gloss over entire paragraphs and speed-read to “get to the point”. That was one of the top irritants but not enough to make me abandon the book, because of the storyline. 

It is unique! We start with a happy couple expecting their first child when the wife Avery is kidnapped at gunpoint and the husband Grant is sent on a wild goose chase to get her back. BUT things start to not make sense very quickly, indicating there’s more to every action. The multiple POVs with each passing chapter, and even going back and forth in THREE different timelines, it feels like you have the first half the book overloaded with information you don’t know what to do with, and then it starts coming together in the second half. Become get this - the biggest twist, and what a reader would consider an “ending” happens in the middle of the story, and when you have half the book left you’ll be like, whoa what? 

Another big theme it is based on is tragedy. It’s certainly not for everyone, especially if things may be triggering for some. Deep loss, coming full circle, grief and acceptance are also themes the story is based on, other than morality, isolation, helplessness and guilt. This isn’t a comfortable read - it kind of sits heavy with you, knowing how the story of vastly different characters intertwined. How one small act or decision can set in motion a series of events that can permanently alter the course of life for multiple people. Then there’s also the message about how childhood experiences can affect behaviour and your entire life, basically. Other strong themes or ideas portrayed in the book are about desperation, control and power (you never really know who’s pulling the ropes), trust and betrayal (NO ONE can be trusted, no one is who they seem to be), and parenthood. 

Is there a crime one can commit and still be forgiven? Does an eye for an eye work where killing people is involved? What’s the justification for an act or crime? The story raises all these questions and makes the reader ponder - I wasn’t sure if they got my empathy or judgment. I’m still thinking about it, lol. 
The major twists and identity reveals start happening around the middle of the book, and the rest of the story explains how the first half happened. It’s very interesting from the perspective of narration. I haven’t really come across many books in this format, so kudos to the author for being imaginative, I suppose! 

Overall, I would say it’s maybe not the most polished book but worth reading for the thrill and experience, and I would recommend it as a one-time read for anyone looking to enjoy a book in the thriller/mystery/suspense genre.