What if Lisa Jewell really said, “What if one man collects wives like Sephora points?” and then wrote a whole thriller about it. Don’t Let Him In introduces us to Nick Radcliffe… or Peter… or James… or whatever name he’s using on Tuesdays. There are a lot of women in this book, which feels appropriate considering our guy is basically a one-man bridal registry. Trying to keep track of his wives is like trying to remember all the Kardashians, except instead of sponsored makeup lines they have drained bank accounts and emotional trauma. Charming!
Enter Ash, our gloriously prickly heroine, whose mother has fallen for Nick (ugh). Ash takes one look at him and basically says, “Nope. Absolutely not. That man smells like red flags and bad cologne.” While Mother Dearest is floating in love-seaweed bliss, Ash does what any self-respecting daughter does: she snoops. And we love her for it. The structure alternates between Ash unraveling Nick’s tangled dating (marrying) resume and Nick narrating from inside his own delusional bubble where he is the protagonist of a romance novel he wrote himself. Spoiler: he’s not cute, he’s creepy.
By the time the twists start rolling in, you’ll be clutching your coffee like it’s holy water. Jewell keeps the tension tight, the surprises popping, and the story nimble enough that you don’t drown in the sea of wives—though Nick certainly tried. It’s smart, addictive, and deliciously unsettling. The takeaway is simple: If a man seems too good to be true, with a name so boring you can’t remember it two minutes later, run. Lock your doors. Block him on everything. And, in Jewell’s words (and my own, louder): Don’t. Let. Him. In.
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