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Lisa Jewell’s Don’t Let Him In is the literary version of yelling “Girl, no!” at your book every five minutes. Nick Radcliffe is polished, persuasive, and apparently made of Teflon—because every red flag bounces right off him while the women around him melt like butter on a July sidewalk.
We’ve got Nina, a grieving widow who lets this charmer right through the front door (and basically into her life without a second thought). Her daughter Ash sniffs trouble and plays Nancy Drew, but even she takes her sweet time. Then there’s Martha, who’s basically living in a “My Husband Has a Secret Life” docuseries. Add in a few more characters and you’ve got yourself a very full, very confusing cast.
Still, like a car crash you can’t look away from, I kept reading. Jewell knows how to bait the hook. I just wish she’d given her female characters more backbone—and her readers fewer plot threads to untangle.
If you enjoy shouting advice at fictional women and feeling slightly gross by the end, this one’s for you. Just maybe don’t listen to it on audio unless you have a spreadsheet to keep track of who’s who.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a comp. Opinions are my own.