The name's the thing in this lively romantic thriller in the Susan Isaacs tradition, a theme set up in the opening scenes when Manhattan preschool teacher Nancy Stern gets flowers from an unknown admirer. As she soon learns, however, the bouquet is not for her, and neither are the phone calls from intriguing-sounding men or the invitations to film screenings and glamorous parties. Another Nancy Stern, a celebrity journalist, has just moved into the penthouse in our heroine's building. It's enough to make a teacher who hasn't had a date in months accept one of the mistaken invitations. The man proceeds to steal her heart, and the longer she waits to tell him about the mix-up in identities, the less she wants to. But when the other Nancy Stern is killed and the murder makes the headlines, the charade is over.

Or is it? It seems the killer was confused, too--he meant to put sweet Nancy out of the picture, and it all has to do with a gaudy brooch given to her by one of her pupils, a little boy who claims his father is a pirate and has a treasure chest full of booty. This is the perfect summer read--as frothy as an incoming wave, as refreshing as a Popsicle on a hot day. If you liked Susan Isaacs's Compromising Positions, you'll love Jane Heller's Name Dropping. And on your way to pick up some extra sunblock, you'll want to add Heller's earlier caper Sis Boom Bah to your beach bag. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Heller proves once again that she has breeziness down to an artful science. In her latest romantic suspense novel (after Sis Boom Bah), there's another powerful premise as well as a quirkily humorous heroine to hang it on. Nancy Stern, self-described Brunette Who Keeps Her Head, is a teacher at Manhattan's Small Blessings, a tony preschool where ultrachic parents deposit their "trophy offspring." Not completely satisfied with her lot in life, Nancy finds herself suffering from serious envy when a second Nancy Stern--who turns out to be a glamorous celebrity journalist--moves into her building and Nancy I begins to find $10,000 AmEx bills and invitations to private movie screenings in her mailbox and phone messages from ardent male admirers. Nancy I is intrigued, desperately wanting to learn if the grass is really greener; when she gets another misdirected phone call, this time from a man asking for a blind date, she decides to be Cinderella for one night and impersonate Nancy II. The blind date turns out to be the man of her dreams, but now that she's told him so many creative untruths, how can she ever go straight? To complicate matters, Nancy II is soon murdered and Nancy I finds herself caught up in a new existence that's even more exciting than she bargained for. Those without cause to take it personally will find it a treat to see Heller turn her culturally observant wit on certain parenting trends. There's even a rollicking and appropriately themed "shoot-out" to go with the nursery school setting. With a dearth of fleshed-out suspects for the murder, the mystery aspect of the book is somewhat shortchanged, but most readers will come for the fast pace and the fun, of which there's plenty. Agent Ellen Levine. Author tour. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Preschool teacher Nancy Stern learns the truth of the old adage "be careful what you wish for" in Heller's very funny new novel. Our heroine realizes that she's been in a bit of a rut when another woman named Nancy Stern moves into her building's penthouse--and this new Nancy's mail (from Kevin Costner), invitations (to a movie premiere with Harrison Ford), and dry cleaning (a mink coat) wind up being delivered to our Nancy, who rapidly comes to believe that she is the wrong Nancy. 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. Fans of Heller's Sis Boom Bah (LJ 4/1/99) will enjoy this clever tale. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-Elizabeth Mary Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Lately, the most exciting thing in preschool-teacher Nancy Stern's life is staying home with a good book. When she suddenly starts receiving invitations to White House galas and private film screenings with Harrison Ford, her ego is given a jolt until she realizes a much more glamorous Nancy Stern, a sneering celebrity journalist, has just moved into the penthouse in her Manhattan building. When the "wrong" Nancy accepts a call from a potential blind date, she decides to pose as the writer. Soon she becomes ensnared in a murder mystery and a romance, which may or may not be a result of her mistaken identity. Heller, author of Sis Boom Bah , manages again to mold what could be a dark, twisted tale into a sharp, lighthearted story. Heller provides some genuinely shocking revelations concerning the mystery at hand in between jocular scenes that jab at modern dating rituals and in which witty repartee abounds, especially between the self-deprecating Nancy and her cocky best friend, serial dater Janice. Kristin Kloberdanz


Library Journal
"Murder and mayhem follow, all in Heller's trademark witty and entertaining style."


Publisher's Weekly
"Heller has breeziness down to an artful science...Readers will come for the fast pace and the fun ...there's plenty."


Review
"A rollicking and delectable read."--People

"A charmingly improbable love story."--USA Today

"As much Sex and the City as I Love Lucy."--People

"Jane Heller is feisty, funny, and fully in control in Name Dropping...A great story." --Boston Globe

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Two women with the same name living in the same apartment building? It could happen-and does-in Jane Heller's latest novel, a delicious, romantic read that is as clever as it is comic. Name Dropping is the story of preschool teacher Nancy Stern, who is in a bit of a personal and professional rut. But what really puts a dent in her self-esteem is the realization that another woman named Nancy Stern has just moved into her building. A Nancy Stern who lives in the penthouse...a Nancy Stern who is blond and leggy, and has a stable of boyfriends...a Nancy Stern who interviews celebrities for glossy magazines...a Nancy Stern who's chummy with Harrison Ford. Nancy's turmoil deepens as she keeps getting the other, more glamorous Nancy's mail, phone calls, and party invitations by mistake. It's all too much to bear-until a man calls one night, intending to ask the other Nancy out on a blind date. In a moment of madness, nursery school Nancy accepts, and what follows is a raucous tale of mix-ups, mistaken identity, and murder. Leave it to the wickedly witty Jane Heller to come up with a story of a woman whose humdrum life turns out to be anything but.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publisher's Weekly

Heller has breeziness down to an artful science...Readers will come for the fast pace and the fun, of which there's plenty.

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

This "readable" novel with "likable characters" and a "snappy style" has an interesting list of ingredients: adventure, "pirates," stolen jewels, murder, a case of mistaken identity, and romance. It tells the story of Nancy Stern, a "sweet, uncomplicated preschool teacher" who assumes another identity, leading to "exciting encounters." "Wouldn't we all like some glamour in our lives?" It didn't hold some readers' interest, and was "too far-fetched."

Kirkus Reviews

Heller (Crystal Clear, 1997, etc.) adds a wide miss to a hit-or-miss record with a clichéd and carelessly plotted romantic suspenser about mistaken identities. Divorced from a man who didn't appreciate her, 30-something Nancy Stern's "good years" are slipping away, as her wacky, romantically desperate best friend Janice reminds her. The women are both preschool teachers at Small Blessings, an elite Manhattan nursery school, but after hours Janice zanily cruises bookstores and proposes on first dates, while Nancy is stuck in her quiet, single routine. That changes fast when celebrity journalist Nancy Stern moves into her building and narrator Nancy Stern mistakenly receives invitations and phone calls opening vistas onto a more glamorous life. Though Nancy the journalist is unpleasant and unhappy, Nancy the narrator envies the trappings of her life enough to hijack a piece of it when exclusive-jewelry store manager Bill Harris phones to arrange a blind date. Pretending to be her neighbor, Nancy I dates Bill; they fall in love, but she calls it off rather than confess her deception. When Nancy II's unexplained murder makes the front pages, Bill returns, angrily demands the truth, then leaves. The lovers are reunited by a stolen brooch (a misdirected gift from one of Nancy's rich young preschoolers), and before long they're living together, on the trail of jewel-thieves and murderers, headed toward a picture-perfect wedding on Block Island. Heller counts on his heroine's charm to carry the reader past forced plot turns, unlikely decisions, and glaring coincidences, but Nancy is more often smug, glib, coy, or vulgar—much less endearing traits.Whatdoesn't strain credulity is entirely predictable. Literary Guild alternate selection