Lisa Jewell's psychological thriller, DON'T LET HIM IN, is about one man and many women. So many women. Through most of the novel, readers know him by many different names all depending on the woman he is with. We first learn of him after Nina Swann's husband is murdered and she receives a sympathy note from a Nick Radcliffe. Gradually, he worms his way into her life. Ash, Nina's daughter, finds him too charming and he makes her uneasy. She is worried for her mother so she seeks help from an unlikely source, her father's old girlfriend who is very resourceful. Together, they slowly begin to piece together the history of a true monster.
The story is intense and is told in multiple time periods and within each one is a cleverly crafted picture of manipulation and deceit. There is a large cast of female characters, all intelligent and initially independent. While some of them do have suspicions about him after he becomes part of their lives, it doesn't seem to raise enough red flags until it is too late. Regardless of what his actual name is, he is such an enigma that it really doesn't matter. What is significant is the question of how and why he became the monster he is. Can anyone put an end to the damage he leaves in his wake?
Skillfully crafted and propulsive, this is the perfect book for those who love a great psychological thriller! Highly recommended.
A MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ from People, USA TODAY, theSkimm, E! News, Forbes, New York Post, CrimeReads, and many more!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.
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