This book is one of the worst I've picked up in a long time. So much so that I gave up at about 5%. I generally don't write reviews when I've stopped reading so early, but reading around this one online I found out that the author has admitted to using AI to write the book. That in itself is enough to make me want to give the book 0 stars. The only reason I'm giving 1 star on NetGalley is because I can't give 0.

As it is, the writing is awful anyway. There's no speech marks used throughout and several other punctuation marks missing. Sentences are poorly constructed, and there was a lot of repetition even in the first few pages. Turns out AI can't write novels - Who knew?

Thanks to NetGalley and Swift Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but at the beginning its build up and I found it hard to get into and understand the storyline it’s crime based here is the blurb

The new novel from Sunday Times-bestselling author James Frey. AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER.

Behind every great fortune, lies a great crime - Honoré de Balzac

New Bethlehem, Connecticut. Picture-perfect lawns, manicured hedges, multi-million dollar homes. But beneath the designer yoga gear and country club memberships lies a darker reality.

In this world of excess, Devon and Belle have it all – beauty, money, status. But they want something more. Something dangerous. Something that makes them feel alive. Their solution? A party – a meticulously curated gathering of New Bethlehem's elite, from a desperate ex-NFL quarterback to a hockey coach with a penchant for married women, and a ruthless Wall Street 'closer' who wields his wealth like a weapon.

One night. Multiple betrayals. And a murder that will shatter New Bethlehem's carefully constructed facade.

sometimes the rich have it all. but often the rich can be just as bad as each other. so bring them all together, put all those egos and secrets and lies together and you might just have an icky situation. thats a whole lot of one up-man ship all fighting for the number one role. it might even lead to murder?
this is messy and juicy and very complicated characters indeed. the drama. the money. the snobbery. it was all just o delicious in how much it was pouring from the characters.
and when all these attend a party together...haha madness. but a fun one to read instead of envy for once.

James Frey's inimitable shocking style of writing continues.
A group of friends have a high end adult sleepover. The ensuing story describes the outcome of the party and the entangled lives of the participants, including death and intrigue.

This book was such fun. New Bethlehem is a wealthy suburb in Connecticut, with a cast of young gorgeous couples who are mostly cheating on each other. Devon and Belle are the queens of the trophy wives, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes and they organise a swinging party which causes fallout amongst all of them. It's a clever plot, and there are some horrible parts, but in the main, it is lighthearted and enjoyable. Great for the beach.

I neither loved nor hated this book. It was recommended to me by a friend who loved it so I thought I would give it a go! It was probably too American’ for me and a lot of the frames of reference I was unfamiliar with. The concept is a good one and I really wanted to find out what happened and was pleased with the conclusion. I felt little empathy with the characters so perhaps didn’t root for them as much as I could have. It’s worth reading but not one of my favourites.

I’ve long been a fan of James Frey’s work having read A Million Little Pieces some years ago (& recommended to many people) so I was delighted to read his latest, and it didn’t disappoint. His style can.sometimes be a little confusing (little punctuation) but I soon got in to the swing and devoured this piece. The characters were well rounded &, where meant, quite loathsome. The identity of the victim kept me guessing & I liked the twist at the end of which was hinted at but I didn’t really see coming.

I liked the premise for this book, but for me the reality didn’t match up. There is a lot of background about ultra rich privilege and abuse, there is a lot about the aftermath of a swingers party in terms of the relationships that occur as a consequence. All of this is presented in an unusual style, and ultimately is okay. Then there is a tiny part of the book that is about the murder and who done it. I expected the reverse in terms of content. So for me not nearly as exciting or entertaining as I thought it was going to be. Thank you to Swift Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Wow, sex-filled, scandalous, and glamorous thriller with a focus on the New Bethlehem elite. It's giving Jackie Collins but with zilch romance but ALL the scandal. I kept wanting more of this, i've never read a James Frey so had no idea what I was in for. This isn't for the faint hearted (or for prudes) but it's the perfect escapism and beach read !!!

Next to Heaven could just as easily be titled "Rich People Behaving Badly". The writing style might not be for everyone, but I personally loved it and flew through it. There are a lot of characters introduced throughout, but their backgrounds were so detailed and varied that I didn’t have trouble keeping track of them.
The crime element is definitely secondary—it’s clear this is more of a social critique—but I do wish it had been introduced a bit earlier. The culprit was also a bit obvious, but the story was still very enjoyable.
That said, I don’t think I’ll be picking up another book about the ultra-rich anytime soon—their decadent behaviour is exhausting (and a little nauseating). 😆

Having read A Million Little Pieces by this author and it being up there as one of the most memorable books I have ever read, I was really looking forward to this one.

It did not disappoint!

Set in a small town in Connecticut, several families and about to be tested during to the brutal murder if one of their own. Very few of the characters are likeable or even tolerable, all being spoilt, rich, egotistical, nasty and selfish humans. The first part of the book sets a great back story to each important character. The murder happens and the second half is given over to the solving of the murder and arresting the murderer. You think you have it pegged and know who the killer is but do you really …

Was I Heaven-adjacent or just stuck in hell with this one?

Think 'The White Lotus' meets 'Clue', but all the suspects are so meh you need a colour-coded cheat sheet, and the corpse is so laissez-faire they nearly forget to RSVP to their murder. The writing style tries so hard to be clever, it talks in circles - by page 200, I felt like I was circling the drain of despair. And spoiler - there's no scratch-the-code coupon to redeem this ride at the end. I am guilty of less-than-angelic thoughts.

Forget Colonel Mustard with the candlestick... James Frey, guilty as charged.
Perhaps I'm just more of a Monopoly girl.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

When I was in my last year of university in 2012, I did a module in American studies called Reading in Popular culture.
It was my favourite module of my entire degree, and there was a portion of the course on Oprah’s Book Club.
And of course, James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces.
Fact or fiction, I truly don’t care. I loved the book and think about it often.
I don’t think except My Friend Leonard (the sequel to A Million Little Pieces) I’ve read anything by James Frey since then, so I was intrigued to see his name on my Netgalley a few weeks ago.
I loved the sound of this book. A murder mystery, Stepfor-wives esque setting in a town of opulence.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting and the characters were so well-realised and I loved the Greek Chorus of gossip. The partner switching was such a good device, though I did find myself struggling to keep track of everyone.

The only thing I didn’t think this book needed was the murder plot. I was intrigued enough by all the characters and maybe because I’m not a big thriller fan I just didn’t feel it was fleshed out enough to be necessary.

A fantastic return to form for James Frey. I’m intrigued to know what he does next.

Devon and Belle have wealth and privilege but the lives they lead give them everything with ease and now they are looking for something more. They attempt to throw the party to end all parties, full of debauchery, drugs, and it will turn out, death.

I found the writing style highly innovative but it didn't work for me personally. There were no quotations around the speech and lengthy, pages-long paragraphs were followed by line-long ones. I'm sure there are many readers who will find the literary merit here but I wasn't one of them and it only served to alienate me from the story.

The party that was mentioned in the official synopsis did not take centre stage, as I had presumed and instead much of the first half was spent lengthily introducing the couples who would attend and their various back-stories. I cared little and felt I was just waiting for the story to start. Once it did, I was hooked, but overall this just didn't work for me, unfortunately.

I really enjoyed the blurb of Next to Heaven and I was excited to request it! However, people who have read my reviews before might be able to see where this is going…

Belle and Devon are part of the wealthy elite, they have everything they could ever want but they are bored. When the chance comes to host an exclusive party, they begin to plan the guest list – but what dark secrets are hiding in their neighbourhood?

I was expecting from the blurb of this book that the party would be a major event and there would be some kind of murder that takes place in it. Imagine my surprise when the party came and went without very much drama (in fact a lot of the drama we specifically are kept in the dark about until much later), and the dead body does not appear until 73% of the way through the book! At this point, quite honestly, I was over it, and fully ready to murder all of the characters myself!

The book jumps perspective between the four couples in the book and starts off with chapters telling us their backstories, their family histories and their relationship stories. It’s all told in a very detached fashion, which although gave me a lot of information about each person (too much, really), didn’t really let me empathise with them at all. All of the characters are also written very similarly, and I found myself actually having to write down the pairings (both married and affairs) with helpful descriptors about them so I could actually work out what was going on. It’s very rare than I find myself having to do this for books.

The writing style is also odd - it felt repetitive at times and sometimes employed techniques which were drawn out and overly long. Three of my Kindle pages were given over to ‘someone told someone a secret, they promised not to tell anyone’ ‘they then told this other person the secret, they promised not to tell anyone’, and so on, all copy paste in terms of wording. I understand the message that was trying to be conveyed but I think it went a little too far past the joke.

Overall Next to Heaven wasn’t quite as I hoped – unlikeable characters, a drawn out plot and not at all what I was expecting from the blurb. Thank you to NetGalley & Swift Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Some people seem to have everything but life is never perfect! And people always want more. After a wife swapping party, two women try to change their lives with devastating effect. Loved the way this was plotted and unfolded with the guilt being hinted at to various people until the final outcome. Good, enjoyable read.

Next to Heaven by James Frey offers a captivating dive into the world of wealth, secrets, and the dark undercurrents of privilege. Set in New Bethlehem, Connecticut, a town that exudes perfection from its pristine lawns to its million-dollar homes, the novel explores the lives of its affluent residents, particularly Devon and Belle, two women who seemingly have it all but crave something more. Their search for excitement leads them to organize a party that attracts the town’s elite—each one hiding their own vices and flaws.

The story unfolds as a night of betrayal turns deadly, with a murder that threatens to unravel the tightly woven fabric of New Bethlehem’s high society. The character-driven plot focuses on Devon and Belle, whose wealth and status disguise their deeper desires and vulnerabilities. Their actions, intertwined with those of other influential characters in the story, set off a chain of events that highlight the darker side of affluence and power.

Frey’s writing captures the excesses and hidden struggles of his characters, making for an engaging read that keeps you turning pages. The twists and character complexities add to the intrigue, and the narrative shines a light on the emptiness that can accompany such privilege. This book is a compelling look at the lengths some will go to escape the suffocating grip of their perfect lives.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A riveting read about a town in America with a darker side. I loved this book, full of lies & secrets, twists & turns , just my cup of tea. I loved the characters, good & bad, I loved the secrets. Brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Completely in tune with modern America where nothing seems to be ever enough. From the pace of the story to the intriguing revelations of the characters this is the utmost contemporary conception of what it is to be unsatisfied in this present age. Riveting

Next to Heaven is a murder mystery set in the wealthy American suburb of New Bethlehem, where all isn’t quite what it seems.

One of the local couples hosts a party at their house, and things in the town take a dark turn after that, with secrets and tragedies coming to light.

I enjoyed how the author brought the characters to life through their backstories. Some of the characters were very unpleasant and self-involved. I felt the book lacked in the pace and depth that I had thought it would have. This was the first book I’d read by the author, but it wasn’t what I’d expected, although there were some unexpected twists.

With thanks to NetGalley and Swift Press for the ARC.