Ahhh, James Frey. I read A Million Little Pieces when I was 10. Why did my parents let me read that book when I was 10? Unclear. But I remember the fallout of his lies. I remember the Oprah segments. Perhaps it’s when I began to fear lying… because if you lie, you have to confess your sins to Oprah on national television. All this to say, Frey’s reputation spans most of my literate life.

Look, he says he used AI to do research for this book. Not to write. He exchanged one platform for another. There are too many people playing telephone with ill-informed reviews. He’s got a reputation that makes everyone distrust him. He messed with big publishing in 2005, and in 2025, big publishing doesn’t exactly trust AI. So I get it.

Even if I don’t care he used AI, I was still wary of this novel. Would it be pretentious? Would it glorify the grotesque? The answer is yes to all. But that was the point.

The only thing I really remember about A Million Little Pieces is his unique writing style. It was the first time that I, as a 10 year old at the time, had read something that broke free of the standard grammatical handcuffs. I liked it. And I liked it in this book, too! I think it’s even better when it’s an audiobook, because he writes as though it’s spoken. The audiobook narrator, Gina Gershon, was phenomenal!

The storyline was messy and juicy. I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics. It read like reality TV.

So yes, it was a good storyline with messy characters through a unique writing style. It’s what I wanted. And yet, even still, James Frey still puts a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t know how to correct that automatic association.

So do I recommend this book? Ugh, yeah, I do. It was a good one. Unfortunately? Sorry.

I thought Next to Heaven started off promising - who doesn't love a good scandal in an affluent community? I thought the storyline was engaging and it kept me listening. I didn't care for really any of the characters and the writing was weird for me - it felt very simple, repetitive, and lacked any real details that allowed you to see the characters as human beings. I felt like I was reading a book about robots. I did listen to the conversation between the author and narrator hoping for some insight into his process. The author said he wrote the story in 57 days - I felt like that explained my feelings about the story - it felt rushed and not fully developed. However, it could be a great beach read.

I saw a lot of negative press surrounding this book when I started reading it, but alas, I was already committed, and decided I would try to listen to it as objectively as possible. It is very repetitive and there's a lot of backstory that just feels really fillerish. None of the characters are particularly likeable - a lot of bad and questionable things happen. In a way, the bad guys are served justice in the end, but overall this book was really underwhelming.

Edited to add - I did see that the publisher shared an edited, updated version of the book, but unfortunately I don't have time to listen to it at the moment! I appreciate that they listened to feedback and made some edits though.

A slow burn thriller that had a few too many characters. But also really liked the characters as I know Fairfield county well and the way John Frey got the descriptions of people in that area so well. It did end up a bit predictable. Still absolutely love the way John Frey writes but while good not one of his best.

A special thank you to NetGalley for my audiobook ARC.

I was not familiar with Frey, or his work prior to this review. However, the story synopsis was right up my alley. While reviewing it, I started seeing articles about how he fictionalized his own memoir, drama with Oprah (and her famous book club), and recently that he might or might not have used AI to write Next to Heaven. Whatever the case is, I know this to be true for me….I enjoyed it! This is the first book in a long time, that I have read (in this case, listened to) that did not feel censored, did not feel like it was shaped and molded by society’s view of morality, religious suffocation, but felt refreshing to read something (even if it was done with AI) that I felt was written in a manner much more humanly, than any other book out there.

From the very beginning, I enjoyed the wit, sarcasm, and sense of shock factor that I imagine is what Frey is known for.

Debauchery at its best!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook format.

Next to Heaven by James Frey, narrated by Gina Gershon

James Frey’s Next to Heaven is a fever dream of privilege, performance, and moral decay—a novel that struts through the manicured lawns of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, only to peel back the turf and reveal the rot beneath. It’s a murder mystery, yes, but one that arrives fashionably late, preferring to luxuriate in the decadence of its characters before letting the blood spill.

The story orbits around Devon and Belle, two women who have everything—beauty, wealth, status—and yet crave something more dangerous, more primal. Their solution? A party. Not just any party, but a curated bacchanal of the town’s elite: a disgraced NFL quarterback, a predatory hockey coach, a Wall Street shark with a God complex. One night. One murder. And a thousand cracks in the town’s porcelain façade.

Gina Gershon’s narration is a casting coup. Her voice drips with irony and allure, perfectly capturing the novel’s tone—equal parts satire and seduction. She doesn’t just read the characters; she performs them, slipping between drawls and clipped consonants like a socialite changing outfits. Gershon brings a theatricality that elevates the text, making even the most morally bankrupt characters feel magnetic.

Frey’s prose is lush, lurid, and unapologetically over-the-top. He leans into excess the way Gatsby leaned into green lights—obsessively, tragically. The novel riffs on The White Lotus and Big Little Lies, but with a sharper edge and a more nihilistic grin. It’s not subtle, but it’s not trying to be. It’s a mirror held up to a world that’s too busy admiring itself to notice the cracks.

For listeners who enjoy their thrillers soaked in scandal and their satire with a serrated edge, Next to Heaven is a guilty pleasure that dares you to feel clean afterward. Spoiler: you won’t. And that’s the point.

I liked this because it reminds me of home and all of the wacky drama that surrounds that lifestyle (minus the murders). There is SO MUCH petty drama, but I love it when the women STICK it to the men.

This book finished with good winning and the perks losing hard; which I loved. If you love petty, rich people, and drama, you have to listen to this!

This was a slow burn, stage set up was at least 50% of the book but it worked. I was intrigued throughout. Though I knew the outcome I was still impressed by the plot twist. Having Gina Gershon as the narrator worked well.

So this is why I don’t read what books are about and get a little surprise in the middle. So it starts by giving details about each couple and how they met fell in and out of love. These couples stay together because they love money more than anything else. My surprise was the murder that happened after the swingers party that occurred. So I thought at first this is about swingers then BAM a murder! It was entertaining listening to this book on a long drive.

I saw this as a BoTM pick from an unfamiliar author so I had to check it out! I had just finished watching the White Lotus TV series and this book gave me a bit of that feel. There was a lot of background building for the first 2/3 of the book where we got to know the characters (flaws and all!), knowing somebody was going to die, but not who yet. It also had a Desperate Housewives/reality show feel. I honestly think this may have played better as a movie than reading as a book. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which I did have a hard time with in the beginning. Overall, it was just okay. I didn't love or connect with many of the characters and the pacing was just too slow.

Thank you to Netgalley, James Frey and S&S Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Next To Heaven by James Frey and narrated by Gina Gershon was a audiobook.......I found very hard to get into, but the build up to the murder was very good and turned out to be fun to listen to. If you loved watching the series called White Lotus this is a audio-book or book for you, as it has the vibes of White Lotus. - which I loved watching.
Next To Heaven is the New Bethlehem, Connecticut. with picture-perfect lawns and manicured hedges. People who own these homes are very wealthy and they are multi-million dollar homes, so the best to live in! But beneath the designer yoga gear and country club memberships lies a darker reality and it is very dark. . . . . . .From the outside it looks perfect, but as you look closer it is full of dark secrets etc.
This audiobook is told in multiple POVs who were brilliant, the characters and very different from each other,
They varied from extraordinarily wealthy but morally bankrupt.

Next To Heaven was beautifully written by the author from start to finish, the cover was beautiful and a eye catcher, so glad it caught my eye.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and AE Titles / S&S Audio | Simon & Schuster Audio for my ARC.

I was all in for the rich people drama! I couldn’t stop listening. I absolutely loved the narration style.

Given the controversy surrounding Next to Heaven, I went in with no expectations, hoping to judge it on its own terms. The book is more of a conceptual art piece than a traditional novel—minimalist, repetitive, and focused on themes of death, the afterlife, and existential reflection. At times, it feels profound and meditative; at others, overly self-important and inaccessible.

Frey’s ambition is clear, but the execution can be hit-or-miss. The lack of narrative or emotional throughline makes it hard to stay engaged, though the visual layout and poetic fragments offer a unique reading experience. It’s a bold, polarizing work—neither great nor terrible—which lands it squarely at three stars for me.

I loved this!

Very Desperate Housewives. But make it the East Coast elite. And racier. Much racier! The writing is quirky and repetitive but I liked those aspects. Besties. Billionaires. A golden boy. Countless unraveling marriages. And lots of hot sex...with anyone but their respective others. Secrets. Lies. Murder. And a happily ever after...depending on who you ask.

•Fast paced
•Third person POV
•Large cast of characters
•Swinger party
•Murder mystery
•Small town
•Spicy

I did a mix of ebook as well as audio and must say that Gina Gershon hit this one out of the park with her performance. The writing can be a bit jumbled with its lack of quotations and unconventional style, but her audio narration is five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Audio, and Author's Equity for gratis copies in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars.

Even solid narration can't save a muddled, self-indulgent thriller. Gina Gershon's narration was the best that could be expected given the weak prose in this book. Gershon handled the stream-of-consciousness or listicle-style writing as well as anyone could. My full review of the book can be found below.

Many thanks to NetGalley and AE Titles / S&S Audio | Simon & Schuster Audio for the advance listener copy in exchange for an honest review.
***
"Next to Heaven" follows two wealthy Connecticut wives who decide to shake up their monotonous lives by organizing a spouse-swapping party among their circle of affluent friends. What begins as bored experimentation spirals into chaos when the evening takes a deadly turn.

I requested the ARC because the premise intrigued me. Unfortunately, the book fell flat from the beginning and I couldn't force myself to finish it, particularly when there are so many more accomplished novels out this summer. I turned to Katy Waldman's scathingly excellent review in The New Yorker to understand whether I should push through, but it only cemented my decision. Waldman said it best when she wrote, "And it's true that, while reading 'Next to Heaven,' I sometimes thought I could feel individual cells in my body trying to die."

There are also rumors circulating on TikTok that Frey used AI to write parts of the book, which raises ethical questions for me, though the book's writing wasn't compelling enough to make me want to grapple with those concerns. Additionally, the constant name-dropping and prestige signaling was nauseating, even accounting for the book's premise about wealthy elites. Perhaps Frey thought this was effective "show don't tell," but it wasn't.

Thank you to Author's Equity and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The controversy around this book made it hard to be immersed in the story as it's well known that artificial intelligence is used to write this authors novels. The repetitive nature of this book was exhaustive and truthfully I just had no interest in it.

LOVED this book! So many twists and turns, I didn't figure it out until the very end. If you love tales of old money, twisted family relationships, and all around mystery then you will love this book!

This book hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It’s chaotic and fragmented, but that’s what makes it feel real—like grief, like longing. Parts of it made me pause, reread, just to sit in the feeling. It’s not polished, but it’s honest. And that honesty stayed with me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster audio and James Frey for the audiobook of Next to Heaven. While the plot and narrator were intriguing, I do think the writing itself was repetitive and tangential at times. I also think the thriller portion of this novel was a bit late to the game and the execution of this was underwhelming overall.

This was literally awful. At the risk of yucking someone’s yum… I just can’t do it anymore. I’ve accepted that this book is not for me. At about 47% I’m throwing in the towel.

While the author seems to find himself in a bit of publicity drama yet again… I remember enjoying his previous books and was interested in trying out his latest. This was an absolute mess and nothing at all like I remember his previous writing. I saw comparisons made to White Lotus and this is by no means within the same universe.

The writing was super cheesy and juvenile and, as others have mentioned, REPETITIVE. The sex scenes caused me to roll my eyes vs giggle with references to ‘coconut cream explosion’ and ‘yogurt cannon.’

Super disappointing but appreciate the opportunity to review an ARC courtesy of #netgalley #simon&schusteraudio