num_pages: 374
description: Melissa Fuller, 20-something scandalmonger for a New York newspaper, is nicer than most Manhattanites, since she hails from a small town in Illinois. She actually likes her parents, has never attempted suicide, and is sincerely interested in the celebrities she writes about. Her woes are on the wee side: pesky workplace rules about punctuality, a grumpy boss, a nervous about-to-be-married girlfriend. Her boyfriend, reporter Aaron Spender, just dumped her for a luscious foreign correspondent, to Mel's chagrin. But she has more important things to think about when Helen Friedlander, her neighbor, is whacked on the head by an unknown intruder and left for dead. Apparently the old lady's only relative is a famous male model and photographer on assignment in Key West. Gee whiz, how is Mel ever going to find Max Friedlander? If she can't, she'll have to walk Helen's Great Dane and take care of those crazy cats all by herself until the old lady is out of the hospital. Ooh! Looks like Max just came back and he is soooooooooooo handsome, even though he has a playboy reputation. If only Mel knew that he was really John Trent, total dream dude, responsible human being, and scion of a wealthy midwestern family. John is returning a favor he owes his scurrilous buddy Max by pretending to be him while Max romps in the surf with a silly supermodel. Mel is smitten, though her girlfriend frets, parents cluck, and grumpy boss sounds off in the e-mails that comprise this cutesy romance. All counsel caution, as Mel begins to suspect that her new boyfriend just might be Helen's attacker . . . or a transvestite killer . . . or a copycat criminal. As chick sleuths go, she hasn't got a clue.
language: English
title: The Boy Next Door
titlecomplete: The Boy Next Door (Boy, #1)
characters: Vivica Chandler, Aaron Spender, George Sanchez, Max Friedlander, Melissa Fuller, Tim Grabowski, Dolly Vargas, Jason & Stacey Trent, Nadine Wilcock, Helen Friedlander, John Trent
genres: Contemporary Romance, Adult, Mystery, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction, Humor, Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
ratings_count: 67364
places: New York City, New York
series: Boy
awards: awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: RITA Award by Romance Writers of America
category: Contemporary Single Title Romance
publisher: Avon