NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

We will be buddy reading Don't Let Him In starting on the pub date of June 24th. Everyone is welcome to join. Please use spoiler tags as needed.



From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell, 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.

Really looking forward to this one

Me too!

EEE!! I'll be jumping in here to see what you guys think!!

I will start this after I finished my current read.
I always look forward to hers because they sound so good, but I have rated most of them 3 stars.

Vicki Willis wrote: "I will start this after I finished my current read.
I always look forward to hers because they sound so good, but I have rated most of them 3 stars."

Ditto Vicki! I haven't loved a Lisa Jewell book yet but I do keep trying! They're never awful, well some of them are, lol, but most are just mediocre.

Anyone started this yet or about to start? I have about an hour left in my current book then will be moving onto this so just wanted to check if anyone is due to start or whether we should delay a couple of days?

I'm planning to start tonight, but can put it off for a couple days if you need to. I have another book going right now too, so I'll probably be reading slowly.

I'm conscious of our different time zones (I'm in Scotland) but I'm going to start tonight too (in a few hours that is)

I will start when I finish my current ebook

Started reading this one last night and up to chapter 11.

Thoughts so far....

(view spoiler)[

Started off well, although I think this is one of those books where I am going to struggle to keep all the characters straight in my head.

First thought was the strange way that Paddy died, being pushed in front of a train? It seems to be painted as a random attack however it seems a bit strange to think of someone randomly pushing people in front of trains.

Ash seems like a good character, really feel her pain seeing her mum with someone so soon after her dad died and especially someone who seems to 'fit' more with her mum than her dad did.

The first 10 chapters have moved pretty quickly in terms of the timeline and keen to see where this is going

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

That's me through into chapter 53.

(view spoiler)[

I have really mixed feelings about this. I am enjoying the story however also feel like it's just plodding along. It's getting slightly more interesting with the murder, hiding the body etc. but I don't feel like its building the tension the way I wanted it too.

I am not sure what I am waiting to happen here - I can only hope for a real twist or something that I am missing

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Kevin wrote: "Started reading this one last night and up to chapter 11.

Thoughts so far..."

(view spoiler)[ It does seem strange that he died by being pushed in front of a train as a random act, especially when there was someone basically waiting in the wings to take his place and 'payback' his family. I wonder if we'll find that it wasn't so random.

Always a little sketchy when a man (or woman) is too good to be true...

It's interesting having the perspective of the bad guy. He makes it very clear that he is not a good guy and is up to no good, but I'm curious what his ultimate plans are. It seems he set this whole thing in motion years ago. (hide spoiler)]

And done.

(view spoiler)[

Overall I wouldn't say I enjoyed it greatly nor did I think it was rubbish. Probably the definition of a 3 star read however the ending was pretty good.

After the showdown I was anticipating it being left open in terms of what happened to him so to see it ended that way was pretty satisfying.

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Kevin wrote: "And done...."

I honestly (view spoiler)[ thought they were going to kill him.
because he'd used so many fake names - who would miss him? No one really followed all his name changes except them.

but I found it satisfying that he wasn't taken back and he was turned in - caught in the end.

I loved Ash - I loved how much she pushed to know what was going on! (hide spoiler)]

I'm just starting chapter 34 (view spoiler)[ Wow...this guy really has a warped view of himself and relationships. Super creepy guy. (hide spoiler)]

I have been slow at eyeball reading this week because my niece is visiting so I've been busy with that. I am at ch 11. So far it is mainly introducing characters.
(view spoiler)[I agree with you guys that Paddy's death is probably no random act. Our "bad guy" is a serial player of women. I am kind of wondering what his end game is since his women don't appear to be especially rich or anything. Seems like a lot of work to have multiple lives to navigate if it's not for money. And they seem to be reasonably but not exceptionally attractive. Hmmmm... (hide spoiler)]
I should have some reading time tomorrow though because my niece went to spend the night somewhere else.

I expect I'll still be reading for a couple days, Katrisa.

I just finished part 2.
(view spoiler)[So far the MC (Al, Nick, etc. Damian?) seems to be a real piece of work. He is going after women and ruining them and moving on. (Actually Krisitie he is reminding me a douche-ier version of the dad in Run for the Hills). Ash is suspicious and getting some evidence - good for her! (hide spoiler)]

I am at ch 32
(view spoiler)[ It is sad how he is preying on these basically middle class women and draining their finances. Why did he have a baby with Martha? Did he want her tied down? Seems wore to bring a kid into his scheming. I wonder what he is up to trying to get both Martha and Nina to invest in the same property. I hope Ash's digging gets somewhere. (hide spoiler)]

I'm up to chapter 43 (view spoiler)[ This guy makes me nauseous. These women keep giving him so many chances; it's maddening! I'm so glad that Ash is onto him. I hope she doesn't fall for his life coach crap. (hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I just finished part 2.
[spoilers removed]"

Yes! lol (view spoiler)[ I was thinking how both of the books I'm reading the men abandon their families and start new families. But at least the dad in Run for the Hills doesn't do it for the money or financial destroy the women or even get a new wife before moving on. Still, weird how both books have that similar theme. (hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I am at ch 32
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I got the feeling he wanted Nina to go invest in the property with him, but when she didn't seem interested he decided to try with Martha. She was basically his backup plan. He seems like he's always looking for the next big thing, but can't actual afford any of it and has no real business sense.

I also wondered why he wanted to have a baby with Martha. I think he just wanted her to have that extra tie to him.

I feel bad for these women. It seems like they are lonely and he gives them attention and comes across as a great loving guy most of the time, but it's all fake. They definitely give him too much leeway. I'd be beside myself if my husband took off for days and kept his phone off. He might be able to worm his way out of it once if he was as slippery as this guy, but it certainly wouldn't happen a second time. To me, that is completely unacceptable and would be a deal breaker for anyone I was dating. He is definitely working on Nina while she's vulnerable though. (hide spoiler)]

I am starting this one.

Kevin wrote: "That's me through into chapter 53...."

I'm through 53 now and (view spoiler)[ I agree that it is plodding along a little. I think it's the bad guy parts because they feel a bit repetitive somehow. Just him being a jerk and using women while feeling high and mighty and pretty much being disgusted by them or longing for them. We get tidbits thrown in here and there that are interesting, but his parts lag a little for me.

It was interesting to see why he hated Ash's dad or least his interpretation of those events. Also to find out that he's basically a male prostitute. He just wastes all his money though and then he scams these women and wastes their money on other women. He has no financial responsibility and seems to not be able to differentiate between his work and home life. He seems to think that his wives owe him money because he acts good for them and gives them what they want, as if he's paid to be their husband.

He's really kind of an older deranged gigolo. (hide spoiler)]

I plan to finish today.

I'm through chapter 60 (view spoiler)[ They're all figuring it out now. I can't wait to find out how they handle it. I thought it was interesting that Martha was at Ash & Nina's house while Ash was at Martha's flower shop. They certainly would have had a lot to say if they had bumped into each other! (hide spoiler)]

I am through ch 54
(view spoiler)[I agree with you both that it is plodding a bit. Getting Nick(et al)'s point of view makes it so that we are not guessing about much so far. It was hardly surprising that he eventually killed someone (and I am guessing that he had something to do with Paddy's death). But I am waiting for something twisty to happen. It is a lot to keep having to read about just how much of a P.O.S. Nick is over and over. I wonder what exactly Ash did with her boss/crush that prompted her mental breakdown. (hide spoiler)]

I finished, but haven't written out my final thoughts yet. I'm going with 3.5★. I think I put together most everything before it was revealed except for one to maybe two things. I mostly enjoyed the reading of it, though (view spoiler)[ *Nick's parts started to drag in the middle. (hide spoiler)] Otherwise, I thought it was a pretty fun and easy read.

3.5★ - my Don't Let Him In review

I am finished and I agree 3.5 stars.
(view spoiler)[Well this one wasn't as twisty as it could have been since we were in "Nick's" head for a lot of the time. I was surprised that it was him who had written the letters to Ash pretending to be that married guy she had a crush on. I loved the ambush that they set up for him! It was very satisfying to see him unable to talk himself out of a situation. I also liked that wife #1 didn't end up giving in at the end and actually had him arrested. I will say though, that I didn't like that the book diagnosed Ash with Borderline Personality Disorder. It's like Jewell didn't look into what that is at all! My daughter has BPD and Ash doesn't read like that AT ALL! I know Ash had a break down - but BPD is more than just a mental breakdown. Nothing else about her reads like BPD. It was just something the book mentioned only once, but I caught it because that disorder has been the bane of my existence for the last 10 years so I was like "Nope! Not even close!" But that is just a pet peeve for me. (hide spoiler)]

Kristie wrote: "3.5★ - my Don't Let Him In review"
Nice review Kristie!

Katrisa wrote: "I am finished and I agree 3.5 stars.
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I also loved that his original wife turned him in at the end. He had her waiting in the wings for him and assumed she would just go along with whatever and not question him. It was interesting that both she and Martha had the thought that he really loved them more than the others towards the end.

I agree about the BPD diagnosis. I just wrote it off in my head as a therapist giving her a diagnosis because they needed one for her hospitalization. It didn't fit her though. Also, she didn't really even have a breakdown. She was getting letters and was told to meet him there. The letters just weren't from him. Completely understandable how people would think she was stalking him and having a breakdown, but that wasn't the reality. (hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "Kristie wrote: "3.5★ - my Don't Let Him In review"
Nice review Kristie!"

Thanks, Katrisa!

Finished this over the weekend and was wondering what everyone's theories were about (view spoiler)[ how did Nick/Al/Damein get to the Algarve from going into the water? Did he swim there? Did he have a hideway boat? Just curious (hide spoiler)]

I was wondering that myself, S. (view spoiler)[ The water was too dangerous for his sons, but he somehow got away without ever being seen. I had to suspend my disbelief for that part.

I thought he was hiding his money when he pulled over on the way there though. (hide spoiler)]

Yes that required a bit of suspension of disbelief, didn't it.

I finished this one while on my trip.
I pretty much agree with everyone.
(view spoiler)[ it did drag for me too though I liked to be in his head.
There were some leftover questions that weren't answered (the ending with the water, Martha and the baby)
It did seem like a VERY long game for him to have created Ash's situation with her teacher.
I also had issue with the BPD diagnosis -that was sloppy writing.

I did like the empowering of the women characters and enjoyed the first wife turning him in. (hide spoiler)]