Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my ARC copy! This review contains my personal thoughts and opinions.

I had high hopes for The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey based on its premise. As a fan of the Real Housewives franchise, I was super excited to dive into a book that promised all the drama I consider a not-so-guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, this one didn’t deliver.

While the book was undeniably fast-paced, the pacing felt rushed. The story frequently jumped around in the timeline, often without clear markers to guide the reader, making it difficult to follow. This lack of cohesion made it hard to stay invested in the plot.

The storyline also wasn't believable. It was just too much and in a very short amount of time. The writing could have been better for a plot that was very promising. What could have been a fun, over-the-top thriller ended up being a disappointment.

Rating: 2.5/5

When I say slow burn- I mean slloooooow burn.

The book was intriguing and I was absolutely on board to read it as it sounds great. The story was well written, it just didn’t keep me enticed and on the edge of my seat or intrigued as I had hoped.

Definitely a fun read- worthy of a recommendation.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was really excited for this book. I love trashy tv, I love thrillers, and I live in New Jersey. It should have been a match made in heaven! But now, after trying (and failing) to get through this book, I'm actually really upset that I hated it. I pre-ordered this book before I even saw it pop up on Netgalley, and then thought it was a no-brainer when it did pop up. I was excited to read it and jumped right in after I finished what I was in the middle of, and almost instantly got turned off. There are so many issues with this and I'm honestly really shocked that Simon and Shuster picked this up.

The writing is what did me in. The author doesn't seem to have any grasp on how to write in third person. This probably would have even been done better first person, as it seems many other reviewers also failed to connect with the "cast members". What got me the most though, and what ultimately led to me putting down this novel before I could finish it, was the overuse of names. It was as if the writer didn't trust that we could keep people straight. Like she was allergic to the word "she", only because there were two women in the scene. Not only that, but this is written in the third person, and there were a lot of "had done this" in there, which didn't make any sense and should have just been written with the word in past tense. I'm really surprised an editor didn't clean both of these issues up. I think the writer had a solid idea, but was lacking in just about everything else. The characters were flat and uninteresting, the stakes didn't feel very high, which is detrimental to a thriller, and I was just plain bored. The fact that the prologue opened up with the "action" and then we didn't see any of the resulting aftermath shortly after that really took me out of it and slowed the pace of the book.

Ultimately I'm super disappointed in this. My local Barnes and Noble mistakenly put it out early and still sold it to me, but I plan to return it at the store, and I'll probably never read something from this author never again, and I'm side-eyeing Simon and Shuster from now on, too.

Bravo fans, this one is for you. As the author notes, she’s a fangirl, and this book is steeped with references you will absolutely understand if you’ve been an active participant in the Real Housewives universe through the years.

This was fun, entertaining and had me guessing until the very end. I really enjoyed it. The only complaint I had is that it could have been a little longer with more of the storyline developing, specifically in the middle of the book.

Dnf @ 28%

Had an amazing premise but unfortunately poor execution. The characters seemed like caricatures of the real housewives and all were so unlikable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

3.5* This was a fun twist on a cozy mystery story. It follows a reality show similar to that of the real housewives. You get pretty much every character's perspective and the mystery unravelings in a fast-paced way. If you like reality TV and mystery novels this is one to pick up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this. It comes out on January 14th!

Listen, if you're like me, and you're an avid fan of any of the THE REAL HOUSEWIVES franchises, you'll appreciate Astrid Dahl's THE REALLY DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY. It's basically an ode to all of the ladies, and under three hundred pages, it's an easy read. If you like reality tv, camp, bickering housewives, murder mysteries, sapphic romances and a bunch of Italian women screaming - buckle on up bambinas! I can't say I was entirely surprised by the ending, but I read it so quickly that I didn't mind the time I spent reading it. To be honest, this is a very mid-tier book for me, but will it make you want to binge all of the Real Housewives episodes? Absolutely.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl, and wow—what a ride! This thriller had me hooked from the first page. The characters are totally over-the-top, just like the Real Housewives (which I love, by the way), and that made the whole thing even more fun. The twists and turns kept coming, and every time I thought I had it figured out, something else shocked me. I couldn’t put it down—it’s one of those books that’ll have you saying, Just one more chapter, until it’s 2 a.m. If you’re into thrillers or love a bit of drama, you’ve gotta check this one out!

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl is a campy, satirical mystery that takes inspiration from reality TV dramas like The Real Housewives. The plot centers on Garden State Goddesses, a fictional show filled with outlandish characters, sharp humor, and dark secrets. When a murder disrupts the glamorous chaos, the show’s producer, Eden, is thrust into a tangled web of rivalries and lies as she tries to uncover the killer.

This debut novel has been lauded for its witty humor, over-the-top drama, and a fast-paced mystery that keeps readers hooked. Fans of dramatic storytelling with a satirical twist, especially those who enjoy guilty-pleasure reads or pop-culture parodies, will find it a highly entertaining escape.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb: When Hope Bennett marries Carmela’s brother, Leo, she becomes not only a Fontana, but a Garden State Goddess—and not everyone is happy. Secrets will be revealed, decades-long rivalries will surface, and a sudden murder will lead to a reality reckoning no one is prepared for—least of all the show’s producer, Eden, who must race to catch a killer and save the most dramatic season of all time.

My Thoughts: This was messy AF, and I absolutely should not have laughed as much as I did, but this book has gallows humor and follows the cast of an outrageously campy “Italian” Goddesses of New Jersey. The main protagonist is Eden, the showrunner, who is thirsty for a successful show to elevate her career, which includes ensuring peak levels of drama. Eden was the queen of the confessional booth where she prodded and stirred the pot! She did NOT expect for this season’s innocent hippie-from-California cast member (and Eden’s cousin!) to drop dead. Queue even more drama as Eden attempts to solve her cousin’s murder as more bodies drop.

The beginning of this one seemed to drag a bit, but once the murders started, I was flipping as fast as possible to see what outrageous messy twist was next. If you enjoy reality TV, books about TV shows, mixed media inserts (interviews), and messy books, this one is for you!

Fans of both reality TV and true crime need to pick up The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey. This was a fast-paced read and so much fun! I do think the turning point about halfway through the book came on a little too abruptly and lead to a bit of a rushed through ending. That said, I definitely enjoyed this one and will be suggesting it to mystery readers in our store!

This was such an interesting read! Full of messy and chaotic characters making them super unreliable. I was constantly trying to keep up with each characters motives. The lies were constantly unraveling. I really loved this thriller.

I grabbed this book because of the title and the reference to reality tv. I wanted to love it, but sometimes it was so off the rails that I just couldn’t handle. There were some great pieces, but the crazy kind of outweighed the good for me.

Thanks for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

Perfume & Pain is my favorite book of all time (Anna Dorn can literally do no wrong). So when I saw that Astrid Dahl’s debut novel was going to be released, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey was camp in all the best possible ways. It read just like a reality show, including confessional transcripts, and it was unserious and fun the entire way through.

The satire in this book was masterfully done, as can only be expected with Anna Dorn. The characters were all beautifully one-dimensional and (mostly) vapid. I also loved reading the book through Astrid’s lens, as there was a clear difference in terms of the narrative provided.

I highly recommend this book for any fan of satire, especially those who also enjoy trashy reality TV.

As a big fan of both Housewives and Anna Dorn, I was excited for this offering, but it felt a little undercooked - maybe that's why it's published as one of Dorn's characters instead of as herself. It lacked the wit of her other works, and I felt that generally the book summarized events and characters' feelings instead of allowing the reader to experience them. Dorn remains an automatic buy for me, and I might rec this book to others who enjoy and can appreciate the Housewives references/satire but are more into contemporary fiction than literary. Two and 3/4 stars.

UnREAL meets The Real Housewives franchise in Astrid Dahl’s The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey. It serves up the secrets, drama, and manipulation you expect from reality TV, but with the added wrinkle that the showrunner is related to one of the stars.

Read it for
- The mysteries (yes, plural)
- The drama
- The reveals
- The queer rep
- The cult ties

Told from multiple POVs with the transcripts of the show confessionals interspersed throughout the tale, this book will take you for a ride.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Simon & Schuster #SimonBooksBuddy. All review opinions are my own.

If you've ever watched any of the Bravo Housewives series, I bet you will enjoy this book. It is all kinds of fun to read, even though some of it gets a little crazy! Since it's set in New Jersey, where I grew up, I knew I had to read it. But even if you don't have Jersey ties, I think you'll be able to enjoy this satirical mystery. Thanks to Simon Books and NetGalley for early access in exchange for my honest opinion.
Garden State Goddesses, produced by Huzzah, is going into its third season and showrunner Eden knows she needs to stir the pot a bit. Luckily, she introduced her cousin to the brother of the Italian family in the show, and the two are getting married. Hope, her cousin, has never seen the show, having grown up in an isolated town in Northern California in a cult run by her parents, which she jumped at the chance to leave. But New Jersey and the Goddesses are a world away from everything Hope knows. It's interesting to see her experience a reality show for the first time by being in the show. There are secrets galore, some backstabbing, an epic table flip (paying tribute to NJ Housewives season 1, of course), and so much more - including murder!
I enjoyed reading this book before bed - it was almost as much of a brain break as watching a reality show! It
NJ gets a less-than-stellar reputation in most books (and in life), but I will always defend it - even if I choose not to live there anymore. And I grew up in a rural area, far from all the "what exit" highways and smelly oil refineries.
This book is full of Jersey fun, and it comes out 1/14.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey - Astrid Dahl

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

“Despite this, Eden continued to be driven by the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. She wanted to capture the uncanniness of real people.”

Hope marries into a family of reality TV stars on a Housewives-esque show called “Garden State Goddess.” She is thrust into the spotlight of manipulation, truth bending, and reality TV trash moments, all while trying to run from her past across the country.

I got this as an ARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster. As a Housewives lover and Teresa Giudice apologist, I was super excited to read this play on the Jersey Housewives. I really loved some of the more subtle Housewives references, personality traits and quirks in each of these girls. However, it turned into being a little too copycat when actual quotes from the real shows were incorporated, as well as very specific housewives traits like a prosthetic leg and a table flip moment. The second half of the book took a thriller turn that was truly unbelievable, not in a good way either. I didn’t really enjoy how they wrapped up the story either. While the mystery was solved, it wasn’t much of a satisfying ending with character development for most of the key players.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Let me just say I am a HUGE fan of reality tv, and this is what drew me to this book! Unfortunately it fell flat.

This book was juicy, I can tell you that, but nothing else much I can say.

I liked the sort of “behind the scenes“ into how reality tv shows work like with how they had to speak present tense and repeat the question for the confessionals. Maybe that is common knowledge, but I didn’t know.

Don’t get me wrong, I love unlikeable women especially when it comes to reality tv, but these characters were unlikeable just because they were either boring, or it was too forced. Carmela was the “mean girl” who hated everyone, but it wasn’t ever entertaining, she was just mean to be mean. And I know Hope was supposed to be the “boring one” but the author really laid thick into that, and that was her only personality trait. Whatever these characters were labeled as that is what they were times ten. It felt so forced so it wasn’t natural.

I didn’t like her but Hope was kind of paid dust. People were sad she died but also moved on super quickly. Her character was built up only for most everyone to be like, okay, that was crazy but she’s gone.

Not a single character in this book I liked. No one to root for, no one to despise. I felt no emotions at all.

I guessed every plot point that was supposed to be a mystery. Everything that was supposed to be shocking about this book I guessed every single one. It was all so obvious. I know this isn’t necessarily a thriller so maybe the author made it easy to guess, but it didn’t make it super fun to read.

I forgot it was supposed to be a murder mystery because other than the first couple of pages it was completely forgotten about until a little after half way through. It went 0-100 in two seconds after part 3 hit. It was moving at such a snail’s pace for the first half of the book then after that everything was bang bang bang all at once. It felt like whiplash.

It was almost so bad that it was good. I was getting so worked up about how much it didn’t make sense than I’m like should I have given this 5 stars maybe this is reality tv material. If the characters were more compelling I could have looked past the bad and nonsensical plot, but nothing about this book worked for me sadly.

I also didn’t appreciate the Taylor Swift hate throughout the book, but that’s just a personal preference.

This next part has spoilers because I have to put this in here since it shows a lot of issues I had with the book. So don’t read past this if you don’t want any.

Here are some of the things that made no sense and was just bad writing in my opinion.

Eden didn’t care about Hope at all and tortured her for ratings, yet was all bent out of shape when she died. I get death is hard to deal with, of course Eden didn’t wish death on her, but she said multiple times she didn’t really care about her and they weren’t that close.

Then Leo was happy Hope was cheating on him so he could be with Carmela. He went as much to say he was worried Hope was actually falling for him because he didn’t want that. And then after Hope died HE was bent out of shape and killed Carmela cause he was upset even though he said he didn’t love Hope. I guess you could argue he thought she was pregnant, but he didn’t even mention a baby while he was mad.

It seemed over the top just to be over the top. Like when Carmela flipped over the table. I know reality stars can get crazy and start throwing punches and drinks, but not THAT crazy.

I know death can affect someone on a greater scale, but that was completely out of character for both Eden and Leo; it made no sense for them to be acting that way.

I think it’s dumb they put Eden and Renee together after Renee was just with Hope, EDEN’S COUSIN, who just died soon before. I get they must have trauma bonded, but come on. Hope was barely six feet under and she already started to have feelings for Eden. Not to mention Eden was saying the entire book how she didn’t want anyone clingy and wanted nothing more than just a hook up, yet she gets with Renee. Make it make sense. I’m glad they had Eden say she was getting bored with being a good person, but that still doesn’t excuse them pairing up so quickly.

A lot of crazy stuff happened in this book that you would think would be entertaining, but it was all so unrealistic and by the time I got to the end I didn’t care what was happening. It all came so easily to the characters to figure out motives for the killers.

I wish I could say I recommend this to people who enjoy reality tv, but I cannot.

Astrid Dahl (aka Anna Dorn) is her first murder mystery novel. I love Anna Dorn's other novels, but this one was just for fun. It's silly and campy, and crazy as hell. This is not as well written as her other books, but it is not supposed to be. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It was just okay. If you love campy novels, then you will devour this.