After I finished Perfume and Pain, I was eager to read everything Anna Dorn has ever written, and then I found out there was an upcoming book written by the main character of PAP, so I was obviously on board. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book because it didn’t have the elements that made PAP so juicy and delicious: the humor, the queerness, and the strong MC voice. This book had too many characters, it was not as funny, and only 2 characters are queer (so far). I’m also not a big fan of books that talk about reality TV. PAP talked about fame in an internet lens, which I preferred. I’m sure this book has its readers but I’m not one of them. Still very excited to read more books by Dorn (Exalted is on my TBR).

Fun book based off of one of my favorite tv franchises! Had me on the edge of my seat with all of the twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

I unfortunately DNF’d this one. It was just not my cup of tea. I think maybe too much was going on at the same time? I love the idea though of following reality housewives in a fictional story! Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

This was fun! But not Anna Dorn at her best. I liked that there was a lot of fun plot happening but found it difficult to keep all the characters and their relationships straight. I also felt she often glossed over the most interesting parts (like skipping to a couple being together for a few months rather than allowing us to see the beginning of their relationship)

This was a wild satirical dive in the the world of reality tv. I loved this spoof on the Real Housewives franchise, and these characters certainly delivered! The women (and a few men) were over the top in just about every way, which was a positive for me. Their backstories, interactions, and drama all deliver throughout the novel and the plot really picks about about halfway through. I wouldn't label this a 'murder mystery' but there is a bit of death (murder?) mixed into this story. If you are picking this book up primarily for the murder mystery plotline I think you will be left disappointed, but if you want a fun satire that has a splash of murder, this is a great choice!

I as Real Housewives fan, I was really looking forward to this book, and it did not disappoint. This is a queer version of the Real Housewives, with all the drama, snarkiness, backstabbing and fun you would expect. I would recommend this to any Housewives fan.

Put down your wine glass and pick up your magnifying glass because the Real Housewives franchise just got a murder-y makeover.

The Garden State Goddesses are a reality tv cash cow for the Huzzah network execs, and harried producer Eden is hoping this season will be the most explosive yet and she'll get a promotion and ticket out of New Jersey and into the big time in New York. She's so desperate for success that she's convinced her ingenue cousin Hope to join the cast. Only Hope's got secrets that may be too hot for tv. Then, when a cast member meets an untimely end, Eden is scrambling to keep her own life together, the cameras rolling, and solve the mystery. It's like Real Housewives meets Knives Out.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl is good, campy fun. Dahl nails the over-the-top reality vibes and the reality show structure with zingy one-liners and camera confessionals. Those camera confessionals necessarily mean its a book with a lot of exposition. Unfortunately, Dahl takes it too far with a ton of "telling" on the rest of the pages, as well. After being told about one exciting scene after another, instead of living it with the characters, I started to wonder if Dahl just had too much material for the book and spent too much time in the first half on backstory so she sped us right past the middle.


The novel also struggled to decide what kind of book it wanted to be. For me, it's a fun work of women's fiction that's playing dress up as a murder mystery. After all, the murder only happens halfway through and while the murder investigation has its moments - and I was glad to finally see Eden had a soul (for a producer, anyway) - it's more of a quick skim than a deep dive.


Is this book the crime/mystery/thriller it wants to be? Not really. Is it a good time anyway? Absoultely. The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is like binge-watching reality TV: you know it's ridiculous and if you look too closely you'll realize those designer handbags are just cheap knock-offs, but you're entertained and that's what matters.


This book comes out January 14, 2025, just in time to blot out the post-holiday blues. So, grab your biggest TJ Maxx Audrey-Hepburn-esque sunglasses, pour yourself an oversized glass of two buck Chuck, and get ready for some murderous melodrama.

While I am not one to enjoy reality television, I actually do enjoy books set in those worlds. Unfortunately, this one was simultaneously too much and note quite enough for me. I was on the cusp of a DNF when the book took a turn for the exciting at the 53% mark and then didn't quit until the end. Perhaps it says more about my lack of knowledge of actual reality television, but I couldn't connect to this one. It was incredibly fun to read though once you get through to the excitement! Would recommend for someone looking for a fast, low stakes mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I was initially excited for this because I am a big fan of housewives but everything happened in the last 50 pages and it went left so fast.

Hope was raised in a religious cult and after breaking away from the confines of the strict rules and taking off to LA she reunites with her cousin. Eden introduces Hope to a celebrity life style and a wealthy husband. Hope is viewed by the other members of the Garden State Goddesses cast as spacey, and cast leader, Carmela, seems to outwardly despise her. Obviously designed to expose the seamier side celebrity life, the cracks start appearing quickly in the GSG's worlds and big secrets rise to the surface threatening everyone's futures.

I feel like this book can't quite decide what it wanted to be: a twisty-turny domestic thriller or a spoof on the cast and characters of the "Real Housewives" franchises. It was a little bit of an odd arrangement - every time I started feeling like it was going to be a major thriller twist, it fizzled and felt more like they were making fun of the uber wealthy who have nothing better to in their lives than gossip and lie to and about others. It was a unique read.

I think I would have enjoyed reading this book more when I was younger because it truly does read like a reality show. It was a fun escape for what it is but not much substance.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey
by Astrid Dahl
Pub Date: Jan 14, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A thriller following the hit reality TV show Garden State Goddesses where secrets are uncovered, intense rivalries surface, and a startling murder propels a producer on a riveting quest for the truth.
This book did not hit the spot for me. Possibly, it would be a better fit for someone else.
The book has a large cast, and the reader will likely guess a fair amount about what is going on. It’s relatively cute, even though there’s not much mystery to the mystery; it’s more a send up of the shows and how they are made. Fans of the Housewives will likely find it fun.

Unfortunately, I found this book wildly boring. There wasn't any actual depth to the story and the murder mystery was lacking. It wasn't as funny and engaging as I had hoped.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Loved all the Bravo housewives' quotes that kicked off chapters. A fun take on a popular TV franchise but on an extreme level as the title displays, death. Still interesting to see the behind the scenes producing and dynamics of cast to producers, etc.

This premise was so promising and I feel like I’m the target demographic to enjoy it: I love a good mystery, I love reality tv and behind the scenes details, and I’m an OG Housewives fan. Yet somehow, this really fell short for me.

I spent about the first half of the book wondering when something would happen, then a few things happened in very quick succession where they felt too rushed, and because some of what was happening was so obvious, I spent the second half of the book wondering where the twist was going to be that revealed the actual truth. I wondered all the way up to the last page when the book ended pretty abruptly. But that big revelation never came because this wasn’t a mystery.

Additionally, while I could definitely see the inspiration from the Housewives franchise (many moments and character details were lifted directly from the screen), this just didn’t have the same feeling I was expecting reading it to have that watching does. The whole thing just really left me expecting more.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

This one really was a lot like a Real Housewives show: a zillion characters (a hearty thank you for the cast list at the beginning), a lot of unreal drama, premade villains and one innocent lamb thrown among the wolves, an ambitious producer, plus Mafia family intrigue. Anyway, it’s a not-quite cozy mystery but an easy read. If you’re going to a beach escape in January, take this along - the title alone is a good conversation starter.

In this season of the “Garden State Goddesses” on the Huzzah cable network, showrunner Eden has somehow manipulated her backwater sweet cousin, Hope, from Weed, California, into Shady Pond, New Jersey, and managed to get Hope to marry into the Fontana family, joining two catty sisters-in-law on the show (despite her marriage to Leo Fontana apparently being a real love match). The Italian Goddesses might have some underworld connections and, lo and behold, we also get a murder mystery (a bonus that reality TV doesn’t get) to solve.

I understand that Astrid Dahl is a nom-de-plume for author Anna Dorn, in whose Perfume and Pain” novel Astrid Dahl was the name of a character. I’m not quite sure why the new name was used — this book still fits into Dorn’s previous genre. Anyway, for a thriller it was a tad short and not as developed as it could have been. It was still entertaining and, like true RH characters, there are a number of one line zingers to smile about. 3.5 stars.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Renee and daughter Ruby, and Cheyenne have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There are the appropriately overly manicured lawns surrounding the mansions.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

This story follows the cast and producer of reality TV show Garden State Goddesses. The Goddesses are elite Sicilian American women living in Shady Pond, New Jersey who have nothing better to do than get into petty arguments to fuel the fire for their reality show. Yet the more you learn about each Goddess, the more it seems like there is more under the surface than meets the eye.

Showrunner Eden has just plucked her cousin, Hope, from the clutches of their hometown in California where their family is part of an elusive cult, and brought her to New Jersey to star in her reality TV show. When Hope, a non Italian, marries Leo Fontana, the family is outraged. As are the goddesses Carmela and Valeria. But Hope finds solace in the goddesses Renee and Birdie, who are harboring secrets of their own. After a charity party turns into a crime scene, the Fontana family begins to turn against each other and the goddesses quickly fall from grace.

This book is definitely for the reality TV lovers in the book world. I loved the confessionals chapters and getting a behind the scenes look at each character and how they really feel about the show and filming was so interesting. Also, the murder mystery portion was intriguing and made me want to keep reading to found out all the skeletons in everyone’s closet. The ending was somewhat predictable but I wasn’t mad about it. Overall, a unique mystery and I would recommend to anyone who is a reality TV fan.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl is a fun interesting concept! Great read and I look forward to reading more from this author!

The book had promise but wasn’t for me. I love trash TV but this book fell short for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Oh Astrid.

I had a lot of fun reading this book especially for the added gimmick of one of my favorite characters ever as the author. As for the book on it's own, I enjoyed the duality of the confessionals and reality show fabrications with the actual day to day of our "Goddesses" cast. The one thing for me is that I feel the book is rushed after --SPOILER ALERT-- Hope dies. Things start moving super quickly after that. I also wish we had gotten a bit more of Hope & Renee's relationship, instead of getting it mostly in flashback.

I enjoyed the whodunit plot line in the last 30%. I was super engaged throughout and enjoyed picking up on the Easter eggs left throughout the text to lead you to the killer.

All in all, I would recommend this, but would definitely rate it higher if I felt that the plot moved at a consistent pace.