Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

 

Title: Don't Let Him

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: June 24, 2025

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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Hands down, my favorite book by this author!

Nina Swann has lost her husband, Paddy Swann, after he was pushed onto the railroad tracks—a devastating event for the family and for his restaurants.

Nina and her grown daughter, Ash, are grieving when an unexpected package arrives. Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, has sent them a lighter that once belonged to Paddy, along with a heartfelt note. Not long after, Nina begins dating Nick, who quickly immerses himself in their lives. Ash is uneasy about this man and starts her own investigation into who Nick really is.

In another town, Martha, the owner of a local florist shop, is worried about her husband, Alistair, who keeps disappearing on her and the family. What is he hiding?

Don’t Let Him In was perfectly unfolded. Every character had a clear reason to exist and a purpose. I was engaged until the very last word.

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

Title: The Lost Ticket 

Author: Freya Sampson

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: August 30, 2022

Strangers aboard a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the author of The Last Chance Library.

When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.

Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.

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Heartwarming!

Libby Nicholls has recently moved to London. At twenty-nine, she is currently living with her sister, her sister’s husband, and their young son, Hector. Libby’s boyfriend of eight years has ended their relationship. Worse still, she was living with him and working for him, so now she has lost both her home and her job.

One day, she takes the 88 bus—and that’s where she meets Frank. Frank is an eighty-two-year-old retired actor who had a highly successful career. He tells Libby he has been riding the 88 bus for the last fifty years, searching for the girl he met on the same bus long ago. She had given him her phone number on a ticket stub, but he lost it. They had planned to meet at the National Gallery, but the meeting never happened. Frank wants to find her again. He believes he owes her a debt of gratitude: she inspired him to follow his heart and pursue the acting career that gave him a fulfilled life.

After meeting Frank, Libby is determined to help him find this mysterious woman. Serendipitously, she also meets Dylan, a young man who works as Frank’s caregiver.

The Lost Ticket is utterly charming, filled with endearing and unforgettable characters. The novel offers many quiet life lessons and ends on a beautifully bittersweet note.

A journey well worth taking!

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs