Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (2025): A Review

Title: Don’t Let Him In

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publication Year: 2025

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (fun rating)

Pages: 361

Duration: 12 hrs 15 mins

Source: audiobook @storytel.tr

Genre: mystery, thriller

Awards: Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense (2026), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery/Thriller (2025), She Reads Best of Award Nominee for Audiobook (2025)

There are books with unlikeable characters… and then there are books where you actively, passionately wish fictional death upon them. Don’t Let Him In is very much in the second category.

The “him” in the title is so repulsive that I’m convinced the only appropriate justice would be every woman he abused or killed taking a turn. Individually. Repeatedly. Let’s just say: maximum consequences. Anything less feels disappointingly mild. And this is coming from a pacifist.

I hated every single relationship in this book so much that I kept reading purely to make sure he got what he deserved. He does get some kind of comeuppance, but let’s just say it did not fully meet my internal justice standards.

Plot-wise, it’s not hard to guess what’s going on — but that’s not really the point, and honestly, I don’t care that much about being “shocked” in thrillers. Knowing the general direction doesn’t ruin it for me; what matters is how the author drags me there. And on that front, it was solid: tense, fast, and rage-inducing in exactly the right way.

So, as a thriller and a fun (if mildly blood-pressure-raising) read, it does its job. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Am I still mad on behalf of every woman in this book? Also yes.