Deborah Royce | BEST BOY w/ Annabel Monaghan

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.

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.

Annabel Monaghan is the New York Times bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of It’s A Love Story, Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer and Nora Goes Off Script, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Her forthcoming novel, Dolly All The Time, will be out May 26, 2026.