Name Dropping

"A rollicking and delectable read." – PEOPLE "A charmingly improbable love story." – USA TODAY Preschool teacher Nancy Stern soldiers through her days cleaning spills, moderating bathroom breaks, and preventing that one kid in the back of the room from eating glue. America's precious future in her hands, Nancy rises to the occasion, but sometimes she yearns for something a little more glamorous. Already worried she's living a cookie cutter life, she can't even take comfort in being the only Nancy Stern in her apartment building. The penthouse-floor wonder with the same name has a life that may put even the celebrities she interviews for her magazine to shame. To make matters worse for the "lesser" Nancy Stern: No one can seem to get her address right. That pile of party invitations spilling out of her mail box? Not for her. The stunning coat that's arrived straight from the cleaners? Not a chance it's hers. That smooth voice on the other end of the line calling to ask Nancy out on a blind date? Now that is something the penthouse-floor Nancy Stern doesn't have to find out about. The Other Nancy bends her rules and accepts, hoping for a fun night out with a mystery hunk. What she doesn't expect? To fall in love and have her entire humdrum life turned upside down. And just when it can't get any better, or more complicated for preschool teacher Nancy, she finds herself smack in the middle of something worse: murder. Did someone have an axe to grind with penthouse Nancy, or with her? Der Name ist Programm in diesem lebhaften romantischen Thriller in der Tradition von Susan Isaacs. Das Thema wird bereits in den ersten Szenen aufgegriffen, als die Vorschullehrerin Nancy Stern aus Manhattan Blumen von einem unbekannten Verehrer erhält. Wie sie jedoch bald erfährt, ist der Strauß nicht für sie bestimmt, ebenso wenig wie die Anrufe von faszinierend klingenden Männern oder die Einladungen zu Filmvorführungen und glamourösen Partys. Eine andere Nancy Stern, eine prominente Journalistin, ist gerade in das Penthouse im Gebäude unserer Heldin eingezogen. Das reicht aus, um eine Lehrerin, die seit Monaten keine Verabredung mehr hatte, dazu zu bringen, eine der irrtümlichen Einladungen anzunehmen. Der Mann beginnt, ihr Herz zu stehlen, und je länger sie damit wartet, ihm von der Verwechslung zu erzählen, desto weniger will sie es tun. Doch als die andere Nancy Stern ermordet wird und der Mord in die Schlagzeilen gerät, ist es mit der Scharade vorbei. Oder doch nicht? Es scheint, dass auch der Mörder verwirrt war - er wollte die süße Nancy aus dem Weg räumen, und alles hat mit einer knalligen Brosche zu tun, die ihr einer ihrer Schüler geschenkt hat, ein kleiner Junge, der behauptet, sein Vater sei ein Pirat und habe eine Schatztruhe voller Beute. Dies ist die perfekte Sommerlektüre - so schaumig wie eine ankommende Welle, so erfrischend wie ein Eis an einem heißen Tag. Wenn Sie Susan Isaacs' "Kompromisslose Positionen" mochten, werden Sie Jane Hellers "Name Dropping" lieben. Und wenn Sie auf dem Weg zum Strand sind, um sich mit Sonnencreme einzucremen, sollten Sie Hellers früheres Werk Sis Boom Bah in Ihre Strandtasche packen. -Jane Adams This tale of murder and mistaken identity in a Manhattan apartment building is “a rollicking and delectable read” by a New York Times–bestselling author (People). A teacher at a fancy Manhattan preschool, Nancy Stern spends her days cleaning spills, moderating bathroom breaks, and preventing that one kid in the back of the room from eating glue. With America’s precious future in her hands, Nancy rises to the occasion—but sometimes she yearns for something a little more glamorous. Meanwhile, another woman by the name of Nancy Stern has moved into her apartment building—and as if the constant mail mix-ups aren’t annoying enough, every mistaken delivery and misdirected message reminds her that the other Nancy Stern is outshining her by far. That pile of exclusive party invitations spilling out of her mailbox? Not for her. The stunning coat that’s arrived straight from the cleaners? Not a chance. And that smooth voice on the other end of the line calling to ask Nancy out on a blind date? Now that is something the penthouse-floor Nancy Stern doesn’t have to find out about . . . But while her night out with the hunk stirs up a romance, The other Nancy gets murdered. And suddenly the real identity of not just the killer, but the intended victim, is a mystery in desperate need of solving . . . “Very funny . . . When teacher Nancy accepts a blind date meant for the other Nancy, things rapidly spiral out of control. Murder and mayhem follow, all in Heller’s trademark witty and entertaining style.” —Library Journal “A charmingly improbable love story.” —USA Today This tale of murder and mistaken identity in a Manhattan apartment building is “a rollicking and delectable read” by a New York Times –bestselling author ( People ). A teacher at a fancy Manhattan preschool, Nancy Stern spends her days cleaning spills, moderating bathroom breaks, and preventing that one kid in the back of the room from eating glue. With America’s precious future in her hands, Nancy rises to the occasion—but sometimes she yearns for something a little more glamorous. Meanwhile, another woman by the name of Nancy Stern has moved into her apartment building—and as if the constant mail mix-ups aren’t annoying enough, every mistaken delivery and misdirected message reminds her that the other Nancy Stern is outshining her by far. That pile of exclusive party invitations spilling out of her mailbox? Not for her. The stunning coat that’s arrived straight from the cleaners? Not a chance. And that smooth voice on the other end of the line calling to ask Nancy out on a blind date? Now that is something the penthouse-floor Nancy Stern doesn’t have to find out about . . . But while her night out with the hunk stirs up a romance, The other Nancy gets murdered. And suddenly the real identity of not just the killer, but the intended victim, is a mystery in desperate need of solving . . . “Very funny . . . When teacher Nancy accepts a blind date meant for the other Nancy, things rapidly spiral out of control. Murder and mayhem follow, all in Heller’s trademark witty and entertaining style.” — Library Journal “A charmingly improbable love story.” — USA Today Preschool teacher Nancy Stern soldiers through her days cleaning spills, moderating bathroom breaks, and preventing that one kid in the back of the room from eating glue. America's precious future in her hands, Nancy rises to the occasion, but sometimes she yearns for something a little more glamorous. Already worried she's living a cookie cutter life, she can't even take comfort in being the only Nancy Stern in her apartment building. The penthouse-floor wonder with the same name has a life that may put even the celebrities she interviews for her magazine to shame. To make matters worse for the "lesser" Nancy Stern: No one can seem to get her address right. That pile of party invitations spilling out of her mail box? Not for her. The stunning coat (I omitted "gown" because I think it was a fur coat in the book) that's arrived straight from the cleaners? Not a chance it's hers. That smooth voice on the other end of the line calling to ask Nancy out on a blind date? Now that is something the penthouse-floor Nancy Stern doesn't have to find out about. The Other Nancy bends her rules and accepts, hoping for a fun night out with a mystery hunk. What she doesn't expect? To fall in love and have her entire humdrum life turned upside down. And just when it can't get any better, or more complicated for preschool teacher Nancy, she finds herself smack in the middle of something worse: murder. Did someone have an axe to grind with penthouse Nancy, or with her?