Featured Events in Brielle in July 2025 (August Updated)

A ticket includes a signed copy of the book. ABOUT THE BOOK James Frey, the literary force hailed as “America’s Most Notorious Author” (TIME) and the “Bad Boy of American Literature” (The New York Times), returns with his latest tour de force: NEXT TO HEAVEN, a darkly funny, razor-sharp thriller that peels back the gilded surface of America’s wealthiest enclaves. This incendiary novel delivers an addictive and voyeuristic plunge into a world where privilege, scandal, and moral decay intertwine, culminating in betrayal, chaos, and murder. Welcome to New Bethlehem, Connecticut—a town of immaculate lawns, sprawling mansions, and the illusion of perfection. Beneath the designer yoga sets and curated Instagram lives, however, lies a darker truth. At the heart of the story are Devon and Belle: beautiful, wealthy, and unsatisfied. Desperate to feel something beyond the monotony of luxury, they orchestrate an exclusive party for New Bethlehem’s elite—a spectacle of opulence and indulgence designed to push boundaries. The guest list is a who’s who of moral compromise: an ex-NFL quarterback clawing at relevance, a hockey coach with a weakness for forbidden affairs, and a Wall Street predator who treats wealth as a weapon. With biting wit and unflinching precision, Frey takes readers on a satirical thrill ride through the dark heart of privilege. Fans of The White Lotus and Big Little Lies will find themselves captivated by the twists and turns of a narrative that exposes the treachery behind the American Dream. But this is more than just a story—it’s an experience only Frey can deliver. His ability to illuminate the dangerous allure of wealth while reveling in its seductive pull makes NEXT TO HEAVEN as thrilling as it is provocative. Frey doesn’t just write about this world; he lives at its edges, channeling its contradictions into a story that is as exhilarating as it is unsettling. NEXT TO HEAVEN is a novel that proves once again why James Frey remains one of the most daring voices in modern fiction. ABOUT THE AUTHOR James Frey was called America’s Most Notorious Author by Time Magazine, and the Bad Boy of American Literature by The New York Times. He has written multiple global bestsellers, includingA Million Little Pieces, Bright Shiny Morning, and The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. He has sold more than 30 million books, and his work is published in 42 languages. He lives in a small town in Connecticut. Information Source: BookTowne | eventbrite

A ticket includes a signed copy of the book. ABOUT THE BOOK From award-winning journalist Jack Ford, a riveting and colorful dual timeline novel of Lee Carson, the heroic yet elusive female journalist who defied convention and danger to report from the front lines of WWII, combining breathtaking wartime narrative with a compelling Cold War espionage tale for fans of Ariel Lawhon, Christine Mangan, Pam Jenoff, and Kate Quinn. Washington, DC, April 1954: Lee Carson, former war correspondent, is frustrated that her journalism career has been relegated to society events and fashion stories. But when she receives a tip about a Russian spy in a high-ranking government position at the height of the Cold War, she feels the thrill of a story that she hasn’t felt since she was on the front lines of the European theater . . . London, December 1943: As war rages on across Europe, twenty-two-year-old Lee Carson is waging a private battle of her own. An American-born correspondent for the International News Service, Lee is determined to cover the war from the field. But no woman, certainly not an attractive young woman with no military experience, will be allowed near the front lines. Lee is not easily dissuaded. And as the Allied forces prepare to take the fight to the enemy, her gift for boosting public morale is seen a valuable weapon. Assigned to cover the build-up to the invasion of Nazi-held Europe, she constantly wrangles with authorities in order to get to the heart of the action. From talking herself onto a bomber and flying over the beaches of Normandy at the start of D-Day to other feats of daring, she witnesses and reports on the war’s most pivotal moments. Told in dual timelines, Beyond this Place of Wrath and Tears is inspired by the story of an incredible woman who has largely been forgotten by history, and who, like many women in WWII, broke barriers in wartime only to find that upon the return home, she had to continue to fight for relevance in an entirely different way . . . Information Source: BookTowne | eventbrite

A ticket includes a signed copy of the book. ABOUT THE BOOK In this sweeping gothic thriller, THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA, Lisa Scottoline transports readers to the captivatingly beautiful hills of Tuscany, where a crumbling villa hides a long-buried family secret. With her trademark combination of vivid, cinematic settings, pulse-pounding suspense, and wonderfully relatable characters, Scottoline delivers an unforgettable story of mystery and psychological intrigue. Grand Central will publish on July 15, 2025. Julia Pritzker's life has been marked by tragedy and loss. First, she loses her adoptive parents. Then, her husband is murdered. Just when she thinks she’s reached her breaking point, a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard—along with a strange legacy from a woman named Emilia Rossi. But who was Emilia? Julia has no knowledge of her biological family and begins to wonder if Rossi could be a long-lost relative. Desperate for answers, Julia travels to Italy, where she is horrified to discover that Emilia Rossi was a paranoid recluse who believed herself to be a descendant of the legendary Renaissance ruler, Duchess Caterina Sforza. As Julia uncovers the eerie connections between herself, Rossi, and the infamous Duchess, she begins to feel as though she’s unraveling. Her unsettling resemblance to Emilia—and even to the powerful and enigmatic Caterina—are just the beginning. Soon, Julia suspects she is being followed, and strange, unexplainable events escalate. In a town steeped in dark history, even a chance encounter with a charming Florentine cannot calm her growing fears. As the line between reality and paranoia blurs, Julia’s search for her identity turns into a desperate race for survival and sanity, where every step forward seems to draw her deeper into a deadly conspiracy and every turn leads to a more haunting discovery, drawing her closer to a terrifying truth. THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA is a gripping thriller that combines criminal intrigue, haunted passageways, and seances with a deep exploration of family bonds, love from beyond the grave, and the unbreakable strength of female friendships. At its core, the book is a psychological journey asking readers to consider how much of who we are is determined by the ghosts of our past? And how far will we go to uncover the truth of our origins? With every page, Julia’s search for her identity becomes more than just a race for survival—it’s an exploration of how deeply the past can shape our lives and whether we can ever truly outrun its grip. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of 37 novels. She has also written a series of humorous memoirs, co-authored with her daughter, novelist Francesca Serritella. Lisa is President of Mystery Writers of America and she reviews fiction for the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. A former trial lawyer, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and cum laude from its law school, where she taught Justice & Fiction. There are 30 million copies of her books in print, and she is published in 35 countries. She lives on a Pennsylvania farm with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Information Source: BookTowne | eventbrite

A ticket includes a signed copy of the book. ABOUT THE BOOK James Frey, the literary force hailed as “America’s Most Notorious Author” (TIME) and the “Bad Boy of American Literature” (The New York Times), returns with his latest tour de force: NEXT TO HEAVEN, a darkly funny, razor-sharp thriller that peels back the gilded surface of America’s wealthiest enclaves. This incendiary novel delivers an addictive and voyeuristic plunge into a world where privilege, scandal, and moral decay intertwine, culminating in betrayal, chaos, and murder. Welcome to New Bethlehem, Connecticut—a town of immaculate lawns, sprawling mansions, and the illusion of perfection. Beneath the designer yoga sets and curated Instagram lives, however, lies a darker truth. At the heart of the story are Devon and Belle: beautiful, wealthy, and unsatisfied. Desperate to feel something beyond the monotony of luxury, they orchestrate an exclusive party for New Bethlehem’s elite—a spectacle of opulence and indulgence designed to push boundaries. The guest list is a who’s who of moral compromise: an ex-NFL quarterback clawing at relevance, a hockey coach with a weakness for forbidden affairs, and a Wall Street predator who treats wealth as a weapon. With biting wit and unflinching precision, Frey takes readers on a satirical thrill ride through the dark heart of privilege. Fans of The White Lotus and Big Little Lies will find themselves captivated by the twists and turns of a narrative that exposes the treachery behind the American Dream. But this is more than just a story—it’s an experience only Frey can deliver. His ability to illuminate the dangerous allure of wealth while reveling in its seductive pull makes NEXT TO HEAVEN as thrilling as it is provocative. Frey doesn’t just write about this world; he lives at its edges, channeling its contradictions into a story that is as exhilarating as it is unsettling. NEXT TO HEAVEN is a novel that proves once again why James Frey remains one of the most daring voices in modern fiction. ABOUT THE AUTHOR James Frey was called America’s Most Notorious Author by Time Magazine, and the Bad Boy of American Literature by The New York Times. He has written multiple global bestsellers, including A Million Little Pieces , Bright Shiny Morning , and The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. He has sold more than 30 million books, and his work is published in 42 languages. He lives in a small town in Connecticut. Information Source: BookTowne | eventbrite