Next To Heaven: A Novel

"NSFW Gatsby." —Book of the Month

"A sizzling beach read about the misdeeds of the rich." —Wall Street Journal

"The novel on every beach towel this summer, all summer, everywhere." —Esquire


America's most perfect town hides its darkest secrets in this "lurid" and "propulsive" novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Frey (New York Times Book Review Podcast) — a world where privilege, sex, scandal, and murder lurk beneath a flawless veneer.

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

In this world of excess, best friends 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. An ultra-elite swingers party. Multiple betrayals. And a murder that will shatter New Bethlehem's carefully constructed facade.

Enter a world of troubled opulence and sharp betrayal that's reminiscent of "The White Lotus," "Your Friends and Neighbors," and "Big Little Lies"—a world of spectacularly badly-behaved rich people where money can buy anything. . .until it ruins everything.

An addictive page-turner where rich people behaving badly has never been so entertaining.

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Published Jun 17, 2025

336 pages

Average rating: 6.72

36 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Josie the book goblin
Aug 22, 2025
8/10 stars
I received this audiobook arc from @netgalley!

Basically you have bored rich people, lots of sex, cheating, drugs and betrayal. Some of my favorite books when I was younger were written by James Frey so I figured this couldn't do me wrong. The first 20% book I had no clue what the heck was going on. I was getting information on four couples, talking about a party. All the characters were horrible. Honestly only three people were kind of likeable. All the marriages were pretty awful. You had cheaters, liars, drugs, tax fraud and just crappy individuals. About 35% you find out what kind of party it was (I did not pick up the context clues
brueckta
Jun 08, 2025
8/10 stars
If the Real Housewives and a murder mystery had a baby, it would be this book. Great pool read! It is like a train wreck that you can’t stop reading!
Peter Davis
May 01, 2025
7/10 stars
Read it in 48 hours
Tedhildner
Mar 27, 2025
10/10 stars
Great story and a lot of fun to read!

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