The Boy Next Door (novel)

Mel is a gossip columnist for the New York Journal and has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend, Aaron Spender.

Her best friend, Nadine Wilcock, a food critic, is marrying her fiancé, Tony Salerno, who is a chef at the popular restaurant Fresche.

Melissa also has many coworkers, including Dolly Vargas, an outlandish Style Editor who has her eyes on quite a few men.

The book starts with Melissa being late to work after finding her neighbour, Mrs. Helen Friedlander, facedown on the carpet of her apartment after a brutal attack.

Max, who is on vacation with the supermodel Vivica, calls upon his millionaire friend John Trent, who is a crime reporter for the New York Chronicle, the Journal's top competitor.