Best Boy
- Judith D Collins
- Apr 20
- 9 min read
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Blackstone Publishing
ISBN: 9798895653340
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Publication Date: 02/24/2026
Format: Hardcover & Audio
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
A gripping psychological thriller, Best Boy teeters on the knife-edge of memory and identity when the arrival of a shocking letter threatens the carefully constructed life of a woman desperate to outrun her past.
Viveca Stevenson has it all: a handsome and successful husband, an adorable ten-year-old son, and a coastal dream house in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has a solid group of girlfriends and is content with the afterglow of the film career she’s left behind. But when a threatening letter arrives—from a man she does not remember—it cracks open a part of her past she thought was buried for good.
A terrifying chain of events is set in motion, forcing Viveca to confront what happened on a shattering Halloween night in high school when she had a different name, a different face, a different voice. Who is the man contacting her now and was he really the best boy on her most famous film, Misty? Why can’t she remember him—or that night?
A taut psychological thriller, Best Boy explores identity, memory, and the dangerous power of forgetting.
My Review
The Mystery: "One letter. Three 'Best Boys.' A lifetime of lies. Is your memory a sanctuary or a cage?
BEST BOY by the talented Deborah Goodrich Royce is a twisty psychological thriller (and so much more) about Viveca Stevenson, a woman built from the shards of a discarded life. Having traded her Detroit trauma for Hollywood glamour and a Greenwich pedigree, she exists as a triumph of reinvention—until a single letter arrives.
In the affluent suburbs of Greenwich, Viveca Stevenson lives a life defined by silence and beauty. Decades ago, she was Ingrid Lind, a girl whose identity was shattered by a brutal assault on a Detroit Halloween night. Through sheer will and surgical precision, she shed her old self to become an actress, but the "dangerous power of forgetting" has left her with a fractured mind.
When a letter from a stranger triggers a flood of suppressed memories, Viveca is forced to navigate three interweaving timelines to discover the truth.
BEST BOY is a Hitchcockian exploration of the fractured self, a twisty and introspective descent into the cost of silence. It asks the chilling question: when you erase your past to survive, what—or who—fills the void?
"A haunting, introspective masterclass in suspense that explores the high cost of a fresh start. Royce proves that while you can rewrite your name and your face, the truth is a ghost that eventually demands an audience, that refuses to stay buried."
My thoughts...
"Identity Thriller with a Social Conscience."
It’s less about the "who-dun-it" and more about the "who-was-I" and the justice that was never served.
The Vibe:
Think, "Julia Heaberlin's Black-Eyed Susans meets Hollywood Noir. 🎥🖤 A story about the 'dangerous power of forgetting' and the high price of a perfect life.
In BEST BOY, the author crafts a thematically rich autopsy of a "perfect" life. Viveca Stevenson has successfully manicured away the scars of Ingrid Lind, the Detroit teenager broken by a Halloween night assault.
Through three interweaving timelines,
Royce peels back the layers of Viveca’s atmospheric world, from the dishy, high-stakes grit of 1980s film sets to the stifling elegance of modern Connecticut.
~Detroit (The 1970s)
~Los Angeles (The 1980s)
~Greenwich (Present Day)
The suspense is found not just in the "best boy" who stalks her through letters, but in Viveca’s own unreliable memory. Using vivid sensory detail, Royce builds a propulsive narrative where the protagonist is her own greatest antagonist. It is a bladed psychological thriller that examines how the weight of suppressed truth can eventually crush even the most meticulously crafted mask.
The Verdict: 5/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A sharp, bladed, atmospheric psychological thriller that moves beyond the typical 'amnesia trope.' Royce uses her cinematic background to craft a Surgical Noir that is as much about social accountability as it is about a forgotten crime. By weaving together the grit of 70s Detroit and the high gloss of 80s Hollywood, Royce crafts a Body noir, about the high cost of a fresh start. A must-read for fans of nuanced, slow-burn suspense."
Writing Style
Royce writes with a cinematic elegance that masks a lacerating psychological depth. Her prose is incandescent, capturing the shimmer of a life well-lived, yet it remains bladed, constantly probing the dark corners of her protagonist's fractured psyche. It is a style that doesn't just tell a story; it creates a visceral, atmospheric experience where every sentence feels like a step deeper into a beautiful, dangerous labyrinth."
The author skillfully employs temporal juxtaposition to create a sense of inevitable collision. Her prose is rich with percussive alliteration, giving the narrative a visceral, heartbeat-like rhythm. By utilizing chiaroscuro imagery, she paints a world where the shadows are just as important as the light, turning the act of remembering into a lacerating physical journey.
Takeaway...
The novel suggests that you can change your name, face, and lifestyle, but you can never truly outrun your past; eventually, the truth will demand to be remembered.
Metaphors
The literary metaphors bridge the gap between the character's internal struggle and the suspenseful plot to give it an edge. Let's dive a little deeper...
1. The Mask (Plastic Surgery & Identity)
Viveca’s surgically altered face is the ultimate metaphor for erasure.
2. The Film Set (Life as a Production)
Given the title and Viveca’s background, the book treats her life like a movie set where she is both the star and the director of her own fiction.
3. The Corn Maze (Memory as a Labyrinth)
One of the most vivid "Hitchcockian" scenes takes place in a corn maze, which serves as a metaphor for Viveca’s fractured memory.
4. The "Best Boy" (The Burden of Guilt)
The term becomes a metaphor for accountability. By applying the label to her son, a film tech and a victim of racial injustice (Sebastian), Royce uses the term to explore who we choose to protect and who we choose to sacrifice.
5. Halloween (The Night of Unbecoming)
The original trauma occurs on Halloween, the one night when everyone wears a mask.
Genre-bending!
Do not let the stately house on the cover that signals "wealthy people with secrets" fool you. The book's soul is giving a Body Noir and Hollywood grit vibe. Not just a thriller, a "Moral Mystery."
The Audiobook...
The audiobook experience truly captivated me. I had the delightful opportunity to immerse myself in the book while also listening to the expertly narrated audiobook by the talented Saskia Maarleveld. Her dynamic voice brought the story and its characters to life, adding depth and nuance that made for an engaging and unforgettable listening experience.
Recs...
If you found yourself captivated by BEST BOY, I highly recommend exploring these compelling reads:
~Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
~Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
~All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
~Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom
~If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
~The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Special thanks to Post Hill Press and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 24, 2026
Praise
“Absolutely compelling! This story will please fans of Liane Moriarty and Ruth Ware.”
-- Kirkus Reviews
“Richly layered and elegantly told, Best Boy is a twisty thriller that dives deep into questions of memory, identity, and the ties that bind. Weaving classic mystery elements with the best of modern psychological suspense, the talented Deborah Goodrich Royce deftly draws her reader in, and turns up the tension page by gripping page. This is a breathless and engrossing must-read about the lies we tell each other—and ourselves. Don’t miss it!”
-- Lisa Unger, New York Times Bestselling Author of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
“Deborah Goodrich Royce writes with the cutting clarity of a glittering diamond.
Bringing readers deep into the mind and voice of leading lady Viveca Anders, Royce delivers a nuanced drama over multiple timelines and wrestles with the weight of secrets—those we keep from others, but especially those we keep from ourselves.
At times dark, at times laugh-out-loud funny, this is a dishy and deeply textured read that will have you racing through the pages to figure out what happened, and what happens next.”
-- Allison Pataki, New York Times Bestselling Author of Finding Margaret Fuller
“Once again, Deborah Goodrich Royce hits a home run with a suspenseful novel that flip-flops seamlessly as the story unwinds. Ingrid Lind has escaped the past and her humble Detroit origins by transforming herself (literally) into a Hollywood actress, wife and mother. But while trying to escape what happened one long ago, horrible night she is blind to the present dangers lurking all around. This latest read from the mistress of suspense deftly peels back the onion until the final truth is revealed.”
-- Lee Woodruff, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of In an Instant
“This novel is electric—a low pulse that builds and builds, then explodes in a devastating lightning strike. I felt this way right from the beginning, all the way through—I could NOT stop turning the pages.”
-- Luanne Rice, New York Times Bestselling Author
“From the very first page of Best Boy by Deborah Goodrich Royce, I was captivated by the story of the young woman who becomes Viveca Stevenson. Driven by a traumatic event in high school, Viveca reinvents herself—new face, new voice, new life. But just as she settles into her picture-perfect world in suburban Connecticut with her husband and son, someone emerges from her past carrying a ghost of a memory she can’t quite recall. From there, Royce took me on an emotional roller coaster, expertly weaving together three timelines, each more riveting than the last. With a gripping narrative and masterful control of suspense, she explores the truth that we can never fully outrun our past. Best Boy is a haunting, propulsive novel about the cost of secrets and the past’s refusal to stay buried. I’ll be thinking—and talking—about this book for a very long time.”
-- Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times Bestselling Author of Harlem Rhapsody
“A new Deborah Goodrich Royce novel is always reason to celebrate. And Best Boy is a delicious read, full of Royce’s wonderfully wicked plot twists and engaging characters. I can’t say more because I don’t want to spoil the gasp-inducing surprises that keep the reader turning the pages fast!”
-- Ann Hood, Author of The Stolen Child
“Best Boy is a beautifully written psychological thriller that delves into the cost of burying secrets to preserve a carefully constructed life. With poignant prose and a keen emotional intelligence, Deborah Goodrich Royce introduces us to Viveca Stephenson—a woman whose seemingly flawless world teeters on the brink of collapse. As Royce masterfully blends past and present, she unearths the trauma Vivaca has long tried to forget, crafting a haunting narrative of love, loss, and the fragile truths we hide. Gripping and emotionally resonant, this is a novel that will stay with you long after the final page.”
-- Elise Hart Kipness, Bestselling Author of Close Call
“Can you outrun, overcome, outlive a tragic mistake of youth? In Deborah Goodrich Royce’s novel Best Boy, Ingrid/Viveca tries, but the past lives inside her and haunts her and ultimately manifests in a chilling confrontation, spinning Best Boy into another Deborah Goodrich Royce intelligent psychological thriller that the reader is compelled to keep turning pages to finish.”
-- Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Author of The Far Side of the Desert and Burning Distance
“Deborah Goodrich Royce’s Best Boy is a beautifully layered, deeply introspective and courageous mystery. While building a deliberate storyline full of twists and unanticipated revelations, Goodrich Royce does not shy away from reflecting on the emotional price of personal tragedies, complicated personal choices and problematic historical social issues. Best Boy is a treasure for both mystery lovers and those who love meaningful literature. Personally, I love a great mystery that comes with a genuine heart and a deep soul and that’s Best Boy.”
-- Jeffrey Blount, Author of Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way
“Deborah Goodrich Royce is the new queen of bladed psychological thrillers. Best Boy proves her immense talent. A propulsive novel that had me laughing even while nervously gripping the pages. Royce expertly balances readers’ emotions on the tipping point of terror and delight all while extracting her characters’ innermost secrets. It reminds me of my favorite cult classic films. As soon as I finished, I wanted to rewind/reread, and so will you!”
-- Sarah McCoy, New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Author of Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?
About the Author
Deborah Goodrich Royce’s Reef Road, a national bestseller and Indie Next pick, was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews. Ruby Falls won the Zibby Award for Best Plot Twist, and Finding Mrs. Ford was hailed by Forbes and Good Morning America.
At the Ocean House Author Series, Deborah interviews writers ranging from Katie Couric to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. With fellow authors Luanne Rice and Amy Scheibe she leads the Deer Mountain Writers’ Retreat. She writes a book column for Hey Rhody and Providence Monthly magazines and began her career as an actress on All My Children and story editor at Miramax Films.
Deborah holds a BA in modern foreign languages and two honorary doctorates of humane letters from Lake Erie College and the University of Rhode Island. With her husband, Chuck, Deborah restored the Avon Theatre, Ocean House Hotel, Deer Mountain Inn, United Theatre, Martin House Books, and numerous Main Street revitalization projects. She is a trustee of New York Botanical Garden. WEBSITE
