British author and master of the domestic thriller Lisa Jewell recently stepped away from her typical writing output to pen a novel for Marvel that featured superheroine Jessica Jones. In the Afterword to her latest book, she expresses how eager she was to return to her standard style of fiction, even though BREAKING THE DARK was terrific.

This brief departure turns out to have benefited all of us as DON’T LET HIM IN not only is one of the finest thrillers of 2025 thus far, it may be the best novel that Jewell has ever written. Additionally, the villain is so dark and sociopathic that it will cause many nightmares for those reading about his treacherous deeds. This book demands to be read in one sitting. It’s like the feline equivalent of catnip as I simply could not resist it.

"DON’T LET HIM IN not only is one of the finest thrillers of 2025 thus far, it may be the best novel that Jewell has ever written.... [It is] an outstanding read that just begs for proper streaming series treatment..."

Nina Swann and her daughter, Ash, are still dealing with the unexpected death of husband and father Paddy, a popular and successful restaurateur in London. They receive condolences from many people, including Nick Radcliffe, who neither of them is familiar with but who claims to have been a good friend of Paddy. They do not think much of this as they continue to be shocked and traumatized by the way they lost Paddy, who was shoved to his death by a complete stranger in front of a passing train.

Nick continues to communicate with the family, which eventually turns into in-person meetings with Nina, who is immediately smitten by his dashing mannerisms. He claims to live in Tooting and has never been married, though he was engaged once in his 20s to a woman who later passed away. Ash, a young adult at this time, is not at all impressed by Nick, and her instincts tell her that something is off with him. This will cause her to go behind her mother’s back to investigate him --- to find out what he is about and if he really was a friend of her late father.

This story would have been enough for Jewell to transform it into a solid mystery/thriller. However, she ups the ante considerably by introducing both concurrent and prior storylines about other women who have a mysterious, dashing and diabolical man in their lives. The only difference is that, in each of these episodes, the male character has a different name --- Nick, Justin, Alistair, etc. Readers will find their heads spinning as they turn the pages, shocked by the lengths to which this individual goes in order to keep these lies alive for his own nefarious benefit.

Martha joins Nina and Ash as women being conned by this heartless male fiend. In Martha’s world, her husband, Alistair, works a job that finds him traveling extensively. That, along with a made-up story about caring for an elderly mother with dementia, has been enough to keep her and their children --- including a newborn --- satisfied in his periodic absences. However, Martha is no fool, and she starts to have feelings similar to Ash when it comes to Alistair. She begins to follow up on her suspicions and finds that her situation is about to intersect with the Swanns.

I wish I could delve into all of the other storylines, but I do not want to spoil any of the enjoyment that readers will experience as they uncover each contrived existence that this antagonist creates to keep his long con going. As with most sociopaths, it is difficult to identify an impetus for his behavior as he seems incapable of caring about or identifying why he does what he does to those closest to him.

DON’T LET HIM IN is an outstanding read that just begs for proper streaming series treatment as both the heroines and the villain of this tale are larger-than-life figures who demand to be savored.