An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Another amazing story from one of my favorite authors. As always he gets you hooked from the first line. A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher as well as Jame Frey for an eARC copy. All in all another crazy ride and a joy to follow.

>>>>> for some fun illustrations, check out my blog! <<<<<<

well dang james frey continues to show me that he can write a captivating story.

something i love about frey’s books is they feel like real stories of real people (they probably are). the characters are easy to connect to. the story feels like watching a reality show unfold.

i love how frey gives just enough information about the location (new bethlehem) to provide meaningful context to the story without making it boring.

also loved that i can see parts of frey in some of the characters (charlie).

i read bright shiny morning when it was released years ago while i lived on the east coast. i was moved by the story. i was devastated by the story. i was attached to the characters in the story. but i had no context for life in/around LA. i moved to LA years later and re-read the book and i couldn’t help but feel like james wrote about several people that he had experienced or known. and that’s how i feel about this book.

several times while reading, i had to actively remind myself that these were characters and not my friends.

james’ writing style has always been something that captivated me, so i deeply loved this book because his style and voice is once again so prevalent throughout.

and not to mention... the ending slaps.

6/5 stars

A huge fan of Frey’s writing style, I flew through this one and of course loved the thinly-veiled depiction of our little town in Connecticut.
The character development is spot on and the cast of characters runs the gamut from an imploding “small town hero” to a typical “closer” to a washed up “hockey pro”.

Since we moved here, I’ve always heard references to the “key” parties from the 1970s so I love that the culmination of these fractured relationships takes place at a not so random swingers party, full of booze, drugs, & sex.
With so many dominant personalities, layers of jealousy and revenge-no wonder it ends with a murder.
Dig in and hold on tight friends, you won’t be able to put this one down!

This was a fascinating read from James Frey, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this. I thought the characters worked well in this universe and was everything that I was hoping for. It worked well and was invested in the story being told.

I absolutely love this writer!

What a twisted group of people who are not happy with anything until they are and then they are not.
Fortune---Betrayal...Crime.... Murder. Does money ruin lives? It is a twisted story till the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Another fantastic read by James Frey!

He always knows how to pull you in within the first few sentences of the book and doesn’t let you go!

It was a story I didn’t expect and it totally worked! Some characters were really messed up and some your heart ached for. You hated and you laughed too!

You always see the exterior lives of rich people and that is what they want to show you. But what goes on behind the scenes when they get bored or their marriages aren't what the facade shows is what always makes things a little more interesting.

The ending you think you see coming , but do you really?

I’ve read three books by James Frey, so I was eager to read this advanced review copy. I couldn’t decide whether I loved it or loathed it, but in the end, I’ve settled on loving it—I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think this is a sign of an excellent book! I disliked many of the characters, but I believe that was the point, as many of their conversations were superficial and materialistic. The book captures this shallowness brilliantly, making it a gripping read. I certainly wasn’t expecting a swingers' party!

Frey’s writing is what drew me in—it’s precise, punchy, and richly detailed.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

A pure way to indulge in a novel. I was intrigued and into this story from the beginning. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. It's a five star book!

I love how Frey starts his story. Generally, it's rare for a quote to truly set the scene for me, but this one was just perfection:

"Behind every great fortune, lies a great crime."
— Honoré de Balzac

In Frey's fictional town of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, there’s incredible wealth, massive homes, and country club drama. He immerses us in this world, then peels back the layers to reveal its dark, twisted underside—highlighting a series of deeply flawed characters and the aftermath of an infamous key party gone wrong.

There’s no shortage of wild drama, power plays, and cat-and-mouse tension, but what makes Next to Heaven so compelling is its dark humor and absolute chaos. Frey leans into the absurdity of privilege and deception, crafting a story that’s equal parts entertaining, biting, and ruthless. If you love stories about the rich behaving badly—with a sharp, satirical edge—this one delivers.

#NextToHeaven #JamesFrey #AuthorsEquity

Five stars all the way! What a fun book about rich people behaving badly. The book comes from many characters’ point of view and is set in a small very upscale town in Connecticut. It’s definitely raunchy and has themes of sex, drugs, murder and infidelity. In other words a great beach read!

This book was an emotional rollercoaster I didn’t know I signed up for and I loved every single second of it.

Something I absolutely adored was how James Frey proves he is the king of details. He paints the characters, the places, and every twist of the story with such care, without giving too much away. It’s like he’s letting you into each character’s mind just enough to make you feel everything: the pain, the love, the betrayal, but still leaving room for surprise.

There are four main couples at the heart of the drama in New Bethlehem:

1️⃣ Devon and Billy - She married for money. But money-love doesn’t hold when the storms hit.
2️⃣ Grace and Alex - Oh, Grace. Stuck with the charming, rich, ambitious (and unfaithful?) Alex. I just wanted to hug her.
3️⃣ Teddy and Belle - The couple who are too comfortable. Their love has turned into a quiet routine, and honestly, it made me think a lot about what it means to keep love alive.
4️⃣ Charlie and Katy - Not married, not tied down, just vibing with freedom and desire.

And it’s not just about these couples, the entire town of New Bethlehem feels alive, messy, and full of secrets.

James Frey, labeled the bad boy of American literature by The New York Times, brings us a story that's bold, gripping, and way different from anything I’ve read before. And the ending? Oh my god… just know that you will not see it coming.

If you’re into emotionally complex characters, tangled relationships, and stories that keep you hooked until the very last page, I highly recommend this one.

Pure brain candy. This book is a hot mess in the best way possible. You do have to pay attention to keep everyone straight, but once you get it down it's a wild ride. This needs to be optioned for Netflix.

After a 'party' held by the uber wealthy for their equally wealthy friends, madness ensues. Lust, betrayal, lies, cover-ups and alliances are formed. Just go in cold and buckle up.

There's a lot of controversy around James Frey, but I can't deny that I enjoy his books. His latest, Next To Heaven, was a good read.

On the surface, New Bethlehem, Connecticut is a perfect New York suburb. A village atmosphere, tree lined streets, an excellent school system and very little crime. That’s on the surface. Under the surface, there’s…well…a lot. Deception. Adultery. Lust. Bribery. Violence and so much more. Next to Heaven is delicious, gloriously trashy and simply marvelous!

Almost all the characters are over the top rich. The men work too hard and the women have too much time to play. When the men are at their jobs, cheating others to make more money, the women are at home, cheating on their husbands and planning a party. Although everyone in town has heard the salacious gossip, it’s a very exclusive party. It’s an old time swingers' party although with sushi, Macallen scotch and Pratesi sheets. At this party, people fall madly in love, and others leave shattered. Lives are changed, and the path to tragedy and violence quietly begins.

Next to Heaven should have a warning. Anything that might cause triggers is in this novel. I loved it! It’s a well written character study. It emphasizes societal differences. It’s a mystery and a romance. It’s suspenseful and lascivious. And it’s so readable that you will not be able to put it down. Enjoy! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Authors Equity and James Frey for this ARC.

This book is SO good. I loved it. Great Gatsby meets White Lotus meets Elin Hilderbrand. I would read a million more books set in this world. THE juiciest read of the summer.

Tantalizing, fun, creative, and page-turning. I loved this book. A perfect community of rich people with their imperfect lives mix and tumble and screw each other literally and figuratively, culminating in a murder mystery. I loved the story and wanted to keep reading every time I picked up the book. The story is a masterpiece, and the writing is creative and different and a pleasure to read.

A delightful, nasty little gem of a book about sex, money, and murder among the top 1% in Connecticut. Frey nails the tone of the more superficial set. I was hoping this book would be reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis' Glamorama, and it is, to some extent, but in Frey's particular writing style. Yes. It is lengthy and yes there is repetition but that's his style and I loved it, particularly as voiced by the dazzling Gina Gershon in audiobook form. Gershon's winking, slightly sarcastic, omniscient tone really added to my enjoyment of the snarkiness.

Other readers are correct that it takes awhile to set up the murder plot, but the gossip was so good and the characters so intriguing (even the horrible ones -- and there are many) that I didn't mind. I was fascinated by the descriptions of the wealthy Connecticut dwellers and their very superficial, mostly pretty sad, but also comfortable, lives.

I haven't read a lot of James Frey but I really enjoyed his writing style, his descriptive embellishments, his ridiculous characters and his interesting voice. I would like to read more books by him and I'll definitely look for more audiobooks voiced by Gershon, who was a real treat. A perfect summer beach read with bite and intelligence.

A wild ride you won’t forget)

This book is everything I didn’t know I needed—darkly funny, totally outrageous, and absolutely addictive. It reads like it was made for TV—think The White Lotus meets Big Little Lies, but even more twisted and over-the-top. If it doesn’t get adapted into a mini-series, it’s a missed opportunity.

Set in the pristine, scandal-soaked world of New Bethlehem, Connecticut, this is a razor-sharp, satirical deep-dive into the lives of the privileged and morally bankrupt. There’s sex, betrayal, murder, and one unforgettable party that sets the entire story aflame.

I’m so glad James Frey is still writing—despite the controversies of his past, his storytelling is razor-sharp and unapologetic. He has a rare gift for turning even the most intolerable characters into fascinating studies. I don’t usually love character-driven novels, but this one completely pulled me in. I cared about these characters, even when I knew I probably shouldn't.

🔥 It’s lurid, propulsive, and pure page-turning mayhem in the best possible way.

Fair warning: This book has it all—murder, deceit, elite-level dysfunction, and yes, an ultra-exclusive swingers party. Dive in with your eyes wide open.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am obsessed! This was so interesting, and I found this very intriguing. I highly recommend this book!