Let’s just get this out of the way: James Frey probably should’ve published under a pseudonym. The amount of negativity surrounding Next to Heaven seems more tied to his past controversies than the content of this book. And while it’s clear Frey is leaning into that infamy in the marketing (maybe smart, maybe not), I’m not here to judge him. I’m here to talk about the book.

I listened to the audiobook, which I suspect was a better experience than reading the physical version. Frey’s prose is full of run-ons, unnecessary details, and high-society verbal chaos — the kind of “Connecticut rich people” stream-of-consciousness that might feel exhausting on the page but works surprisingly well in audio format. That said, I often wondered: what does this look like in print?

The book reminded me a lot of the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors — very bougie, very white, very bored-rich-people-problems. But unlike that show, which gives each character a thread of redemption or a relationship you care about, Next to Heaven doesn’t offer much depth beneath the glossy surface. The perspective jumps so frequently that no one character gets fully developed. They all blur together in a haze of private schools, property lines, and bad behavior.

Now, about the AI discourse: yes, Frey admitted to using AI. But let’s be real — almost every contemporary author is, whether they admit it or not. Whether it’s brainstorming, outlining, or drafting, AI is becoming a tool, not a replacement. Just like spellcheck or Grammarly, it doesn’t do the heavy lifting without direction. If you’ve ever used it, you’d know that a 300-page novel doesn’t write itself.

As for the complaint that the murder doesn’t happen until 73% in — this is not a murder mystery in the classic sense. It’s not Gone Girl or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s a character-driven, tongue-in-cheek mystery-thriller, and its tension comes more from the social dynamics of New Bethlehem than the whodunnit. If you’re looking for a fast-paced crime novel, this probably isn’t your book.

Bottom line: messy, flawed, but not without merit. And certainly more interesting when viewed on its own terms, rather than through the lens of literary gossip.

Next to Heaven by James Frey didn’t quite land for me. The setup had promise—rich people behaving badly, murder, secrets—but it never fully delivered. Thanks to Authors Equity for the ARC.

DNF %12

I gave this one a try to see what the fuss was about but whether it was written with AI or not, it wasn’t worth it..

Next to Heaven had a gripping premise that immediately caught my attention: dark, mysterious, and full of potential. I listened to this one as an audiobook, and while the concept was compelling, the execution didn’t quite land for me.

There were definitely interesting moments, but overall, the pacing felt uneven and the suspense never fully built in the way I hoped. I kept waiting for a big twist or emotional payoff, but it stayed pretty surface-level throughout. That said, it still had enough intrigue to keep me listening, and fans of moody, speculative thrillers might still enjoy the ride.

The audiobook narrator did a great job and brought a sense of atmosphere and tension that helped carry the story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

AI Issue aside, this book was far too long and repetitive. I don't know how many times I fell asleep reading this.

I picked this book up because, well, I'm a shameless sucker for murder mystery party stories and trashy rich people behaving badly thrillers. When I saw the "White Lotus" comparison, I was sold. But unfortunately, there's one huge difference between those works and "Next to Heaven":

"Next to Heaven" is, alas, dreadfully, painfully, boring.

Yeah, I'm talking "I almost fell asleep while gardening because I was listening to this book" boring.

Have you ever read a young child's first novel, where each character gets a full life story (sometimes complete with full rundowns of their height, weight, and hair color) before the action starts? Yeah, that's half the book. But once the action starts, it doesn't get much better. In an effort to be literary (to be clear, the overly extensive exposition was clearly an intentional style choice as well—just one that, personally, I find amateurish and uninteresting), the book is written in repetition, which I personally feel tends to be used as a shortcut to evoking a unique style that rarely works (a talented author would take the time to choose their words intentionally). And, further, the plot is utterly predictable. From almost the beginning, it's possible to anticipate everything that's going to happen, to the point where we're just going through the motions as the plot plays out in greater detail. Sometimes that level of predictability is fine—when a book is interesting to read—but when reading is this much of a chore, a bit of creativity would be much appreciated.

All that being said...the audiobook narrator is quite talented, and the audiobook ends with an interview with the author that was an interesting touch. I'm enjoying the trend toward including interviews with audiobooks these days!

Realistically, were this book by any other author, it would be a 1-star read for me. To me, it's just a cut-and-dry bad book. But I have to acknowledge my potential personal bias here: I hadn't realized that this book was by James Frey when I selected it (and if I had, I would not have chosen it). I find Frey's choice to take advantage of aspiring authors (https://nymag.com/arts/books/features/69474/) despicable and haven't read his work since the Full Fathom Five controversy. So, out of concern that my personal bias is negatively impacting my review, I am adding a star for the sake of balance.

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free audio ARC of this book! All opinions are, of course, my own.)

“Next to Heaven” is the best book I’ve listened to this year. It delivers all the summer suspense you could want—gripping, tense, and full of unexpected twists. While a few outcomes are predictable, many will catch you completely off guard. With every push and pull, twist and turn, this story keeps you hooked. You won’t be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for a review.

One of the worst books I’ve read so far in 2025. What was the point of this? All the characters are terrible.

This book took forever to even get to the murder part of this mystery and was hard to get through. I felt like it was a little all over the place and didn’t flow well
Not my favorite, but I appreciate the arc

I was given this as an audiobook, and honestly, I deserve five stars just for making it through. This book was painfully repetitive, and almost nothing of significance happened until around the 75% mark. By then, I was just finishing out of stubbornness.

I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. It felt like a complete waste of time, and I’m actually frustrated that I didn’t DNF it early on. Save yourself the hours that I wish I had.

Great fun story. A little unbelievable, would everyone fall in love in the way they were paired up at a key party? The fact that this book was partly written with AI did detract from the story.

If you’re into scandalous thrillers with social commentary and a touch of wild excess, Next to Heaven is a wickedly entertaining ride.

Next to Heaven is a razor-sharp, darkly funny thriller that peels back the glossy facade of suburban wealth to expose a world of privilege, betrayal, and murder. Set in the elite town of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, the story follows four affluent couples whose lives spiral into chaos after a spouse-swapping party ends in bloodshed.

Frey’s signature style—breathless prose, brand-name excess, and unfiltered emotion—amplifies the tension as secrets unravel and loyalties fracture. With echoes of Big Little Lies and The Ice Storm, this novel skewers the American dream with biting satire and a twisted sense of fun.

Thank you to AE Titles / S&S Audio | Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for this advanced audiobook!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook in exchange for my feedback.
I did not expect to like this book after feedback from BOTM members, but I was hooked early on.
The story centers around a group of acquaintances in an affluent town, New Bethlehem, CT. D,evon & her husband Billy decide to throw a swingers party with two other couples. The outcomes are not what anyone expected and create a drama similar to Desperate Housewives or a juicy Jackie Collins novel.
Great characters that you get to know, and an ending that I did not see coming. I used to devour Jackie Collins and similar books as a young adult, reading Next to Heaven had me reminiscing about my younger reading days.
Mr. Frey, please write a sequel!

I wanted to love this but I just did not care about these characters. I was interested in the story but as the plot progressed I found it more and more boring. I think if I had gone into this thinking it was more of a contemporary fiction book I would have enjoyed it more, but the rating would be the same. It was not like a thriller at all to me. I did not even care when they told me who died and by who. It was not the swinging aspect, that was honestly the only interesting part to me.

This is the literary equivalent of a late-night reality TV binge. Trashy, over-the-top, and absolutely addictive. Set in a world of wealth, decadence, and deception, it will throw you headfirst into a swirling mess of privilege, scandal, and murder. The drama relentless, and the characters both fascinating and repulsive . I had this as an ALC and the narrator Gina Gershon had the perfect slow, articulate, punchy voice to deliver this story perfectly. There is a lot of repeat of words which felt pointless but I could understand the reinforcement of it to emphasise emotional points.
Is it high art? No. Is it gripping? Absolutely.
Like reality TV, this book will not provide deep philosophical insights. But it will provide sheer entertainment of watching people’s lives unravel in spectacular fashion. And it does so perfectly.
If you’re after a thought-provoking literary masterpiece, this isn’t it. But if you want something fast, scandalous, and compulsively readable, despite moments of confusion and repetition, Next to Heaven delivers exactly what you’d expect.

Next to Heaven is a wild, messy, voyeuristic ride through the gold-plated rot of New Bethlehem, Connecticut—a town where wealth, status, and betrayal swirl into one long, champagne-soaked scream. James Frey builds a world of desperate housewives, power-hungry men, and designer-clad chaos, all culminating in a swingers’ party gone murderously wrong.

Let’s be clear: this is not a tightly plotted murder mystery. The actual murder doesn’t arrive until the final quarter, and by then you’ve sat through pages of staccato sentences, repetitive lists, and the kind of prose that reads like a fever dream. Frey’s style is polarizing—you’ll either be pulled in or pushed out. I was somewhere in the middle - but leaning toward the latter.

What saved the experience for me—completely—was Gina Gershon’s narration. She oozes the perfect blend of sultry detachment and razor-sharp edge, giving life to even the flattest scenes. Her voice is this book: indulgent, dangerous, a little unhinged. Without her, I’m not sure I would’ve made it to the end.

Is it deep? Occasionally. Is it over the top? Always. Is it entertaining? Often.

There are definitely frustrating bits: too many characters with too few distinctions, a pacing issue that makes the climax feel delayed, and enough repetition to make you question if maybe it's just you. But if you're in the mood for a voyeuristic, morally bankrupt joyride through suburban hell, Next to Heaven delivers.

The snippet originally had me thinking there would be multiple parties and unhinged debauchery. Instead it was more of one party as a catalyst for the whole plot line woven into their “normal” lives falling into catastrophe as a murder is thrown in the mix. I went back and forth between audio and ebook, and the repetition of phrases sequentially makes much more sense and a better flow narrated rather than written. In written format it’s clunky, but in the audio it’s the perfect emphasis. The narrator really did a superb job with the book as a whole.

I had guesses for the whodunit and the journey there was enjoyable. The characters were confusing initially, especially since they are all so layered and there are multiple POVs. The dynamics between all of the couples were explored well and realistic.

Great for lovers of unreliable narrators, vigilante justice, and a smidge of spice. Overall a quick and easy read, perfectly paired with a quiet summer night and a glass of wine.

Next to Heaven is a gripping, twist-filled ride that kept me guessing until the very last page. James Frey masterfully builds a cast of complex characters—each with secrets, each with a motive. Devon’s relationship with Billy McCallister is an agreement of sorts, one built on ambition, desire, and mutual gain. But as the stakes rise, you can’t help but wonder: will Devon get her happy ending, complete with billions to support her lifestyle? Just when you think you’ve figured it out, another layer unravels. If you enjoy sharp suspense and morally gray characters, this one delivers.

CLEVER, ROMANCE WITH MURDER - Audio Version
I've never read anything like this story. It was wild !! It starts out tame enough in the beginning . But then...
It starts out with Devon and Billie's part of the story. She dated a lot of important people, movies star, son of a billionaire, a tech founder to mention a few. But she needed to marry not for love but money. Her parents were ruthless in their demand that she do so to keep THEM In the style that they were accustomed to ! Billie turned out to be an abusive, violent but sexually and financially, EXTREMELY RICH man who just kept gathering more and more wealth and more and more enemies !
Belle and her man have their backstory next which is pretty interesting. Devon and Belle are best friends and each one of them HATE Billie with a passion.
Then more people are added and there stories which at first was kind of confusing to me but as I continued it flowed. With each person's story filled in so fully and well written I was twisting in turning when it came to "Who is gonna get murdered?" I was guessing right and left and I enjoyed that mystery. And when it finally happened, what things really ramped up and the ride got wild.
I kept thinking how does this author know so much about the exotic drugs, weapons and come up with 2 phones; one named Peace and the other one named, War. So clever !
There are several shocking turn of events that I never saw coming. I loved that and was thoroughly thrilled with the ending !! I smiled for quite a while after reading this book !
I had to do an UPDATE ON THE AMAZON REVIEW ABOUT THE AUDIO VERSION OF THIS BOOK:
And on the audio book, I suddenly realized how much the author used the F word ! But the narrator did a get job. And there was a surprise long interview with the author and the narrator. It was a surprisingly great interview although it became clear real quick how much the F words were actually a part of James Frey's speak patterns. Still, a great book though !

I liked the dramatics of this. It's definitely a rich suburban white lotus meme the real housewives kind of vibe. I did not like the repetitiveness a I thought it to be kind of weird and random in a way that you have a friend that just repeats themselves constantly, but also made me feel like I was maybe chatting/gossiping with a friend. I know there was a lot of drama on this book about it being written with AI and obviously all of the previous drama with this author and his older books, but I still wanted to give it a whirl, and I liked the premise of it. If you don't like rich bitch storyline type drama then this def isn't for you. But if you loveeeee the Real Housewives franchise on Bravo, (which the author said he was inspired by) it 100% is your book! Perfect dramatic summer read!