This book was an easy read, I enjoyed it however, I don’t see how it’s a “murder mystery” when you get about 70 or 80% into the book before there’s a murder. Wasn’t exactly what I was expecting

Requested this one before I knew how the author used AI. That's not for me and the writing was so repetitive and lacked authenticity. What a mess of a "book" and I will be passing on any future "writing" from the author.

I loved this book. It's everything I look for in a guilty pleasure read. Beautiful people making terrible choices! This is a perfect beach read. I loved the narration and thought they did a great job. Solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m typically a fan of James Frey. Even with the controversy around A Million Little Pieces, I adored that book. So I’m usually pretty excited for a new book of his to release. I was looking forward to Next to Heaven, but it really failed to meet my expectations. The book starts out immediately fatphobic, misogynistic, and just overall icky. It just got worst from there. The entire book is basically one big orgy, everyone cheating on everyone else, and all in the same friend group. It’s just (figuratively) incestuous, and I am not interested in all that nonsense.

I was interested in the murder mystery aspect of it, and I had a strong theory as to who died but not who killed them because everyone had a motive, but once I found out who actually died, there was no surprise to who did it, even though the story tried to point to different folks. It was absolutely obvious and completely predictable. Just so boring.

Honestly, I was just completely disappointed with this point and over it. I was happy when it was over

As for listening to the audiobook, that was a literal mess. I missed about 10 chapters because I guess the file was corrupted or something. I don’t know. But it made for a totally frustrating experience, especially because I listen while I drive so I had to go back after the fact to reread certain chapters. Just bad overall experience.

Next to Heaven by James Frey is a reality TV bored rich people complaining about their problems while behaving poorly. It's over the top, eyeroll inducing, chaotic messy and highly engaging.

I received an advanced listener copy from the publisher and chose to honor my commitment to listen. That being said, I didn't hate the book. Honestly I think it was pretty interesting and had a decent amount of snark that I personally enjoyed. I think there are solid bones and it really could have been a great book.

The biggest issue I had was there were a lot of repetition. I think it was supposed to be entertaining and snarky but after multiple times in the story and it got old fast. If you opt to read it, you'll see what I mean.

I think the narrator did an amazing job and so I'm going to rate this book 3 overall.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A dark, glitzy tale of privilege, betrayal, and murder behind manicured hedges. While I enjoyed the sharp ending, I found it hard to keep track of the many characters, which dulled some of the tension. A soapy, fast read for fans of messy rich-people drama.

Wow…this book was a trip. Next to Heaven starts off in this perfect rich town where everyone looks like they have their lives together, but of course they don’t. Devon and Belle are best friends who decide to throw this insane party, and let’s just say things go completely off the rails…cheating, secrets, and then murder on top of it all. Honestly, half the time I was like “what is WRONG with these people?” but I couldn’t stop reading. If you like messy, dramatic stories about rich people behaving badly, this is totally it.

I am normally a huge fan of James Frey and was thrilled to read his latest book. However, this book fell short. The characters while interesting and humorous got lost and confusing the longer the story went on and more characters were introduced. It was hard to keep tract of who was married to who and who did what. Was it entertaining? Yes! Would I recommend this book? No.

Next to Heaven by James Frey is a glossy, provocative satire about wealth, privilege, and moral decay in an elite Connecticut town. Following two glamorous best friends whose decadent party spirals into betrayal and murder, the novel blends over-the-top excess with biting social commentary. Frey’s punchy, indulgent prose captures the glittering surface and the rot beneath, making for a scandalous, fast-moving read. It’s outrageous, flashy, and unapologetically dramatic—perfect if you like your fiction dripping with luxury and danger.

Terrible. Horrible. Boring. Disjointed. I found out after requesting that the autor had “written” another title using AI and that also soured my opinion of this work.

Had to know what the hype was about this one - and while I have no idea if it were written by a human or AI - it was a WILD ride. The wealth and secrets and lies and....yikes...this one had a LOT going on! It was catchy though and I definitely had to keep reading to figure out what in the world was going to happen.

I went into this blind based solely on the cover. I can’t say I enjoyed it, it was just so messy and entitled. No one is likable, the buildup is so slow and the payout is short of OK. I think the thought going into this is that it would be really provocative/salacious and unhinged, but it really missed the mark. It took me forever to finish this, and after I did I went back and looked at reviews because it seemed to not have a bad rating. I did see some say that this was written via AI, and while I haven’t done my research, if that’s the case that’s pretty unethical to me. Regardless it just didn’t work for me. Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Authors Equity for the ALC of this book! This was Kyle and I’s next buddy read on audio and to be honest, we really ended up enjoying it.

Rich people behaving badly gets me invested every time. This is such a dysfunctional group of people. Everyone’s cheating on their spouses and things get even weirder after a couple of the friends host a swingers party.

It took a little while to get into (and the chapter about the town’s creation could have been skipped), but it ended up really holding our interest!

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.