Inside Waterstones Book Launch Event: Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

This week CY and I attended the book launch event for Lisa Jewell's latest thriller, Don't Let Him In. I have to admit this one ticked a lot of firsts for me: it was my first book launch event, I came away with my first signed book, and this will be my first Lisa Jewell read. As an aspiring writer, I found the event very inspiring and felt I got a lot of value from Lisa's discussion about her characters and her writing process. It was also just an entertaining way to spend a Thursday evening.

The Event

The event was held at St James' church in Piccadilly, which made for a stunning venue with the talks being held in front of the stained glass windows. It was run in partnership with Waterstones and tickets cost £22 per person, which included a hardback copy of the book, complimentary wine and popcorn, and entry into the raffle giveaway.

The event consisted of Lisa being interviewed by true-crime podcast host Hannah Maguire and fellow thriller author Sabine Durrant about the inspiration for her novels, her journey from a romance author to a thriller writer, and her writing process. At the end of the event there was also an opportunity to have our books signed, which was made a really nice experience by how lovely and friendly Lisa was.

The Book

Don't Let Him In is the story of Nick, a conman who charms women into falling in love with him and convinces them to give him money. Lisa talked about how she was inspired by real-life Tinder Swindler stories, such as that of Mary Thompson who documented her shocking revelation that her husband was a bigamist and a con-man with several families in her book The Bigamist.

When delving into the question of whether Nick is a sociopath or a psychopath with Hannah, Lisa discussed how she usually presents her "bad" characters with redeeming qualities which leave the reader unable to hate them entirely by the end of the book. However, Nick's failure to show any redeeming characteristics, except perhaps his love of animals and babies, left the ladies with no choice but to conclude that he might be a genuine psychopath and Lisa announced that her readers are free to hate Nick. She also mentioned her friend who had finished the book feeling so frustrated with the women in the book that she wanted to throw it across the room. This was particularly interesting because it prompted Lisa to explain that we are seeing these women through Nick's perspective and that this should be remembered when reading his account of the women in his life.

She also described how at the end of her novels she usually wants to throw the reader off and there is always a series of twists that leaves the reader reeling. However, in this book the ending does not have her signature twists, but was borne of her desire to give the characters what they deserved.

The Author

During the event Lisa revealed quite a bit about her life and journey as an author that I found really interesting, particularly as she is one of the most successful writers from the UK.

In particular I loved her retelling of how becoming an author was a fluke for her. She described how, after losing her job as a secretary, she was asked what she wanted to do by her friends whilst they were very drunk on holiday. She told them she wanted to write a book, which she caveated with the many reasons why she couldn't do so. But her friend challenged her to write 3 chapters and offered to buy her a meal if she did. When she succeeded her friend also encouraged her to send those chapters to an agent, and this is how it all began. She started off writing romance, but she often managed to sneak a lot of dark stuff into those novels and she eventually transitioned into thriller writing.

Whilst chatting with Sabine Durrant, she also talked a bit about her writing process. I could relate to her discussion of how she works to deadlines by getting most of the work done at the last minute, and how this creates a lot of stress for her but also seems to be how she manages to do her best writing. I felt validated to learn that she is also a fellow pantser who plots on the page as she writes, which is quite the feat for a crime thriller writer.

It was also inspiring to hear about Lisa's struggle when commissioned by Marvel to write a book about character Jessica Jones, during which she initially compromised the quality of her writing to add Marvelesque characteristics to the book. However, she managed to turn it around by reminding herself that she was chosen to write this book because of her own writing style, and so instead she asked herself what her readers love about her books and focussed on bringing those out. I felt that this was a poignant reminder for all of us aspiring authors to stay true to our own authentic voice and style, and to write the book that you want to write as opposed to the book that you feel is expected.

She also revealed that her current favourite of her own books is of course her most recent one, but that aside from this she loves The House We Grew Up In. As for her characters, she revealed she has written a sequel for Jane from Don't Let Him In and that she would love to write a standalone book for Henry Lamb from The Family Upstairs.

All of this discussion of her books and those that inspired her made me excited to dip my toes into the world of Lisa Jewell and get started on some of the following:

• None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

• The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

• Under Your Skin by Sabine Durrant

• The Bigamist by Mary Thompson

• The Psychopath by Mary Thompson

And of course I have chosen Don't Let Him In as July's pick for the Shame Shelf Book Club, so be sure to join us and check out our review once we have finished it!

Have you read any Lisa Jewell books? Tell us your recommendations in the comments below!