"A novel following three woman who have seemingly separate lives and the one man connecting them all"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
When charming Nick Radcliffe enters Nina’s life, her daughter Ash grows suspicious, uncovering unsettling secrets that connect them to Martha, a florist with a husband who keeps disappearing, leading all three women toward a chilling truth they never expected. - (Baker & Taylor)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A MOST ANTICIPATED 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. - (Simon and Schuster)
Chapter One: November ONE NOVEMBER
The house is spectacular. A huge white stucco villa on three floors plus attic rooms, and a direct view of the sea visible through tall windows that frame the vista at the back and the front. I imagine that a wall must have been taken down at some point to offer up that level of open-plan space in a Victorian house. Steel beams put in. Expensive stuff. Just to give the owners more light and space. I feel an uncharacteristic twitch of jealousy. It’s not like me to envy others. I rarely, in fact, give a thought to them. But this is a different case altogether. I turn off the van’s engine and sit, just for a moment, readying myself. Through the window, on the other side of the house, I see the shadows of movement and as I pull on a baseball cap and open the driver’s door, I hear the muted murmur of chatter. There are four cars parked outside and clearly the day is still going strong. I go to the side of the van and pull open the door. There it is, my last delivery of the day: an extra-large bouquet of white hydrangeas and roses, no expense spared, in a pink bag. On the envelope is the inscription “Nina Swann & Family.”
I walk toward the front door, peering in subtly as I pass the kitchen window. A small group sits around the table, a mix of younger and older people. They all have wine, are dressed somberly. There is music playing, candles are flickering. I see art and photography and graphics on the walls; I see a designer kitchen in midnight blue and pink, with flashes of brass and copper, big globe light bulbs hanging at irregular intervals from golden chains, plants on shelves. Through a door at the back of the kitchen, I see huge velvet sofas, a mixing desk, a Gorillaz poster.
It’s the home of a Gen X man who has made good decisions, made a success of his life, piled his building blocks one on top of the other with precision and care. But also, the home of a man who made one really bad mistake that his wife and his family are going to pay for, over and over again.
I keep moving past the window and then I put my finger to the doorbell.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Meet Nick Radcliffe: tall, handsome, successful—everything Nina needs, a year after her husband's unexpected death. She's been struggling, alongside her daughter Ash. But Nick has secrets, apparently. We learn this before Nina begins to suspect: the author gives the reader a broader perspective, letting us see Nick when he's not with Nina . . . when he's not the man he's pretending to be. Meanwhile, a florist and mother is dealing with her own list of revelations about the man she married and thought she could trust. Jewell is on a hot streak, with one brilliant thriller after another: The Night She Disappeared (2021), The Family Remains (2022), None of this is True (2023), even her Marvel Crime novel Breaking the Dark (2024). Her fans will be lining up to read this new novel (libraries should stock multiple copies), but it's also a perfect introduction for new readers to the author's brand of storytelling. As tantalizingly labyrinthine as her stories are, it's the way she anchors them in a recognizably real world, and populates them with abundantly human characters, that makes them so successful. In a genre full of top-flight authors, she ranks very near the absolute top.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Jewell has become a multi-time best-seller with her sensational thrillers. Copyright 2025 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
Three women's lives shockingly collide in the latest thriller from bestselling Jewell (None of This Is True) as they find that the men in their lives may not be who they say they are. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2025 Library Journal
Copyright 2025 Library Journal.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
A dangerous con man meets his match in this nasty thriller from bestseller Jewell (Breaking the Dark). For the past 30 years, Nick Radcliffe has assumed an array of identities to seduce, marry, and occasionally murder women of independent means across London. Now in his mid-50s, Nick has sunk his hooks into the recently widowed Nina Swann, who's inherited a successful restaurant chain. The only problem? Nina's daughter, Ash, doesn't trust Nick as far as she can throw him. Nick tries to dial up the charm in hopes that, by swindling Nina, he can secure a fortune for the one woman he truly loves: his current wife, Martha. Ash, however, is prepared to bring Nick's long con toppling down—even if it means finding his old victims herself. Jewell effortlessly toggles back and forth in time, illuminating the awful scope of Nick's deceptions while setting up a wicked and satisfying cat and mouse game between him and Ash. Readers who like their psychological suspense on the dark side will be delighted with the results. Agent: Jonny Geller, Curtis Brown UK. (June)
Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly.
