Lisa Jewell, who by her very talent eschews comparisons, continues her masterclass in the art of parsing characters who are emotionally addictive in her new book, “Don’t Let Him In.”
Several notches above your usual riveting page-turner, Jewell’s host of gullible unsuspecting women settle into the subconscious, sparking an osmosis of sentiments that infuriate, frustrate, flummox, and full out make you want to cancel “him” with your bare hands.
Using the first-person narrative to allow readers to muck about in Nick/Al/Damian’s scheming and manipulative thoughts, we discover that he’s “developed the unique ability to see and understand within a second what sort of man a woman is looking for and [then] offers it to her.”
We have Nina, the wife of Paddy Swan, who died under questionable circumstances, shoved into the path of a train by what seems like a random perpetrator.
There’s Martha, hard working and looking decidedly older than her forty-eight years, a correlation that has everything to doing with meeting Alistair, or simply ‘Al.’ Martha thought he was the perfect man she’d never meet – and with whom she has baby, Nala.
And then there’s Amanda – but why go there when Jewell so expertly paints the sordid history of that particular relationship with a man named ‘Damian.’ Besides, Amanda was so yesterday, the narcissist’s early days when he was neither as slick or as savvy in making changes to his devious ongoing script of selfishness, lies, deceit, and stunning embezzlement schemes.
There are other women taken in by this egoist, but you get the idea.
The upheaval and chaos that Jewell stacks, one epic betrayal on top of the next in “Don’t Let Him In,” might, with an author less skilled, turn the reader off in disgust.
But the little touches of details Jewell tucks into each woman’s life, “a soft but ominous tick-tick in the background of everything,” makes us feel that if we stay with the characters, mentally and emotionally, and support them and whisper little pieces of advice, coupled with loud warnings of, “Don’t Let Him In! Don’t Let Him In,” we might be able to terminate the destruction.
At the risk of having readers race through to the last couple of chapters, the implosion and comeuppance that befalls Nick/Al/Damian, who is unrepenting and cocky to the last word, “I suppose you’d like to hear from me, directly, about how it felt to walk into that place…” is whip-neck deliciously satisfying.
Intriguingly, “Don’t Let Him In,” leaves you wondering in the darkness of night about some of your old relationships and the truth of where he or she was when they didn’t come home some nights. Alas for Jewell’s cast of characters, recognizing who was in front of them was not who the charming silver fox purported to be.
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Cece is the feature cover writer for several prestigious publications both in print and online, and an informed, connected and enthusiastic book blogger at cecescott.com. Her first book, “The Love Story,” was published in 2019.
All three of her books, which includes “Nunzio Tumino: A Pocketful of Dreams: An Immigrant’s Journey,” and “Helping People One Hand At A Time” are available at Amazon.ca : cece m scott
Cece is also working on a book of Daily Reflections titled:
“My Body Parts Are On Recall But There’s Still Lots of Gas in my Tank: Reflections of Humour, Hope, and Hutzpah for Autoimmune Warriors.”
Available for purchase, Spring of 2026.