As a true crime fan I was fascinated by this case and was intrigued by this book. It was a really compelling book which I couldn't put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a solid true crime book about a world so incredibly different from most people's. Caviar and movie stars. Trust funds and society parties. An in the end, the same sad ending that comes to many women who unfortunately marry unstable men.

Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen is the ultimately tragic tale of Jennifer Dulos and her family. I live in Connecticut, so the story was local-ish to me, but this book wrapped together background information as well as under-reported details, making it not just a rehash of old headlines.

Jennifer Dulos dropped her kids off at school one morning, and was never seen again. She came from incredible familial wealth - and Liz Claiborne was her aunt. Jennifer was in the middle of an incredibly nast divorce from her scumbag of a husband, with whom she shared five children. They'd met back at Brown University and at one time appeared to live a charmed, happy life. After Jennifer's disappearance, her husbandand his girlfriend were arrested. He killed himself the day he was suppose to report to court, she was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

Unrelated: my grandma worked for Liz Claiborne when I was a kid and I loved back-to-school shopping there. In third grade I got this cute shorts/shirt set I loved, and one day for gym we went out to the playground. Mrs. Ewan asked us all to sit down on the blacktop and I moved to the back of the group to stand. She asked me to sit down and I deadass looked a grown woman in the eye and said, "Oh I can't sit down, these are Liz Claiborne shorts." She didn't say anything for a moment, then moved on with the lesson.

This isn't really a true crime book because the majority of the text is devoted to Jennifer's life. I appreciate this because I would much prefer books celebrate victims rather than perps.

That being said, there was so much more detail about her life than what we probably even needed, in order to understand who she was and how she ended up married to such an awful person. Jennifer led a very sheltered life due to her father and I think that is part of what set her up to get stuck in a situation like this. It seemed like she felt she was supposed to get married and have kids, and that was the only course after college. But she was also very selective about who she dated, and then as the years passed maybe she panicked a bit, ending up with Fotis who was an absolute narcissist. Well over half the book, maybe even closer to 70% is devoted to her life before her marriage, divorce proceedings, and disappearance.

The author really got to know his subject, and seems to care deeply about what happened to Jennifer. Which is why it was super weird to get a vibe that the author thought had Jennifer not fought Fotis so hard for custody of their children during the divorce proceedings, maybe she would not have been killed. I really hope I am wrong, because that's disgusting, but it was the impression I got. She had every right to fight for her children, just as he did.

This is such a sad, senseless crime. While Fotis and his girlfriend are 100% responsible for their actions, I place some blame on the court and attorneys who continued to drag out the proceedings, just so everyone could keep making money. All that did was create more room for both parties to get angrier and angrier at one another, really dig their heels in, and ultimately Jennifer lost her life.

I hate that he evaded justice and that his side piece/almost future ex-wife only got fourteen years. She can still do the right thing and tell the children where their mother is so they can give her a proper buriel. But she won't and it is heart-breaking.

Recommended. Mostly. That vibe really bothers me.

This was a very informative book. I loved how the author took us all the way back in the family's childhood so we could see who they were and how they were raised and what shaped them as humans. Definitely kept me reading and was very gripping.

I didn't finish this book, because it seemed less about the crime or any larger implications for society (which is why I read true crime) and more focused on the tangential connections the author has to the glitzy 1% social scene of the victim. Yawn.

3.75 ⭐️

Very well written however it took me a while to get through (not sure if this is my kind of book), but if you’re a fan of true crime then I would definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy!

I was not familiar with this crime before beginning the book, but the description on NetGalley sounded interesting. After (finally!) finishing the book, I still don't know a ton. So much of the book was about Jennifer's background, mostly as an allegory for her need to set up the perfect family, I think (The Dollhouse...). Too much time was spent on the description of their separation and the exceedingly lengthy divorce proceedings with too much detail about tedious court stuff. But the biggest issue for me was the overly dramatic writing style with tortured metaphors and similes everywhere. And, as a librarian, it really bothered me that some of the conclusions stated or intimated had no proof to back them up. It made for sensationalist reading, but it was disappointing in a nonfiction book.

This was a really good read and I think it had a decent writing style and story! Would recommend to anyone looking for next read! Was a unique read

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! This story is absolutely amazing. Rich Cohen did a great story of telling the Jennifer Dulos story. Most true crime books feel more like an opinion-based writing and this book was so much farther from that. It had my hooked from the beginning and now has me spending my Saturday watching True Crime Documentaries about Jennifer Dulos and her story.
Michelle and Fotis were calculated!

A tragedy meticulously told. Among other things, what differentiates it from other true crime stories is the author’s voice is periodically interjected into the narrative, we can feel his empathy for the devastation of it all, for a life that held such promise, it’s hard to fathom how horrific its ending.

The author reveals what led to the unraveling of a marriage, immediately immersing the reader into how a manipulative, greedy, evil man took over the life of a beautiful woman, through coercive control, putting their innocent children in the middle of a tumultuous relationship, and using fear tactics to swindle her wealthy family. It’s an in-depth portrayal of Jennifer, who she was before her marriage, her aspirations to become a writer, the eventually contentious divorce proceedings, and Fotis Dulos’ fear of losing his money (none of which was his to begin with) and his kids. By the time Jennifer devised a way out with her children, with the support of lawyers and her mother, her escape plan was no match for his deviousness. Along with the woman he was having an affair with, he murdered his wife, just after she came home from dropping her kids off at school. Her body has never been found. And Dulos never stood trial because he killed himself. Their children have no parents. We can only hope that they find some peace and comfort in their future.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I’ve been fascinated by this case from the beginning—having lived in New Canaan for decades, raised my children there, and knowing families at New Canaan Country Day, the story hit close to home. Murder in the Dollhouse finally gave me the answers that had been lingering in my mind for years.
Rich Cohen approaches the case with sharp insight and careful research. Instead of simply rehashing the facts, he digs into the forces at play beneath the surface—status, image, and the quiet tensions that can build behind closed doors. His portrayal of Fairfield County and surrounding towns is deeply familiar, not just in geography but in mood. He gets the place and its people exactly right.
What makes this book stand out is Cohen’s ability to illuminate rather than sensationalize. He connects the dots without pushing an agenda, allowing the story to speak for itself. The result is both gripping and grounded.
Highly recommended for anyone drawn to true crime that offers clarity, context, and a strong sense of place.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

J. Rich Cohen’s Murder in the Dollhouse isn’t just a true crime chronicle—it’s an examination of privilege, perception, and the performance of perfect lives, with the tragedy of Jennifer Dulos haunting every page like the echo of a locked door never opened.

Cohen’s narrative unspools like the silk wallpaper in a Connecticut mansion—charming at first glance, but hiding a rot beneath the surface. This isn't just the story of a woman who vanished; it’s the story of a world that helped her disappear.

More than recounting a crime, Cohen investigates the mythology that surrounds Jennifer Dulos: the Ivy League pedigree, the manicured affluence, the glossy photographs that once projected a life of enviable poise. But like the dollhouses that give this book its metaphor, every room has secrets in the walls. The book excavates those interiors with scalpel-sharp precision—unmasking not just the dark psychology of Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, but also the cultural architecture that allowed control to masquerade as charisma.

What makes Cohen’s approach original is that he doesn’t chase sensation; he interrogates context. The legal details are there, yes, but so are the psychological undercurrents: how society romanticizes control, how wealth becomes a smokescreen, and how women’s safety is too often a footnote - until it’s a headline.

And through it all, Jennifer remains at the center—not as a victim frozen in time, but as a woman with an intellect, a voice, and unrecorded stories. The tragedy is real; so is the rage Cohen makes us feel by the end—not just at what happened, but at how predictable it all feels in hindsight.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen in exchange for a honest review.This is a very well-written and researched true crime story of Jennifer Doulos. It details all aspects of her life from growing up as a wealthy child who always had the best in everything to meeting Fotis Dulos at a time in her life when she was actively searching for a partner to share her life with and raise a family which was a lifelong dream of hers.It didn’t take long for to realize she had made a terrible mistake and Fotis was not the man he claimed to be.He constantly used his father in law as a piggy bank to finance his luxury home building business. Fotis was a hard taskmaster who pushed his children to excel at waterskiing to the point that it monopolized their whole life.When Jennifer realized her husband was cheating on her with Michelle Troconis, she filed for divorce and the ensuing battle was contentious.This book describes how Fotis planned Jennifer’s demise down to the last detail.A riveting read!

I read a lot of true crime—probably more than I should—but Murder in the Dollhouse stands out in a sea of recycled headlines and podcast recaps. Rich Cohen's take on the Jennifer Dulos case is sharp, unflinching, and easily the most thorough account I've come across.

If you followed the case at all—suburban mom disappears after dropping off her kids, a bitter divorce, a shady husband, no body ever found—you'll know just how twisted and tragic it is. But Cohen digs deeper than any Dateline or 48 Hours special. He gives Jennifer a voice, traces the path that led to her disappearance, and lays out the aftermath with chilling clarity.

And let's be real: Fotis Dulos was a walking ego with access to money and status. Cohen doesn't waste time sugarcoating it—he paints a full picture, not just of the crime, but of the toxic entitlement that fueled it. If you're hoping for a sympathetic portrayal of Fotis, this isn't the book for you.

If you're even remotely interested in the case—or just looking for a true crime book that actually has something to say—Murder in the Dollhouse is absolutely worth your time. Just be prepared to finish it mad.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Rich Cohen’s MURDER IN THE DOLLHOUSE is true crime that, unfortunately, reads like a psychological thriller.

In 2019, Jennifer Dulos, mother of five, disappeared. She was a successful, wealthy, beautiful and talented woman who was in the midst of a contentious divorce from her husband, Fotis. As a little girl she created a perfect family in her dollhouse and wanted the same for herself. Consequently, she attained more of a ‘meet, marry, murder’ situation. Fotis was a controlling, manipulative, cheating spouse who Jennifer was writing about in her book, Tear Me Open, which seemed to chronicle her marriage. Jennifer‘s body was never found, but Fotis and his girlfriend were eventually arrested for her murder. Fotis ended his life on the day he was to report to court to answer for her murder, leaving his children with neither parent. His girlfriend was eventually tried and convicted.

This is a story of manipulation, lies, wealth and how people sometimes find terrible solutions to their problems. It reads like fiction but delves deep into the tabloid headlines from the summer of 2019. The writing was clear and concise and the research was obvious. It was a fascinating look at the deeper aspects of the story. This is my first Rich Cohen novel, but I will be watching for future writings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Murder in the Dollhouse is a deep dive into the Jennifer Dulos case by someone who was only a few degrees removed from her and her family (Rich Cohen lived nearby and knew people who knew her). I followed this case as it broke in 2019, with it being something of interest to me because children were involved and I was in college majoring in elementary education at the time. So I will start by saying that I appreciate how Cohen went into detail on how the situation impacted Dulos's five children while also managing to tackle that subject matter sensitively. I think this story should serve as a reminder that wealth and prestige don't protect someone from experiencing trauma and abuse, in the case of both Jennifer and her children.

The thing that really impressed me about this book, though, was in how Cohen breaks down how Dulos crafted a facade that ultimately masked the abuse she was enduring. He details her upbringing in a wealthy but painfully image-conscious family, how she struggled in young adulthood because she felt like what she wanted most--marriage and family--was out of reach, and finally how she hid what her husband was doing to her. This account isn't exactly objective--Cohen clearly has a lot of empathy for Dulos and thinks her husband murdered her--but the emotions don't get in the way of the facts here.

If you love True Crime you need to read this. I devoured this telling of such a terrible tragedy. You get a good look into her life leading up to her
murder/disappearance. It’s the kind of story that lingers and it kept me thinking about the case for days after reading the book.

Honestly I'm not a huge fan of rating non fiction. This author's writing wasn't particularly for me and I found it extremely hard to stay engaged despite how much I love true crime.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for a copy in exchange for a review.

A tragic story grippingly told. This novel is like a really, really good Hallmark movie. (I say this because the real-life murder DID inspire a Hallmark movie that was supposedly lame while this book does a masterful job.) Jennifer Dulos, beautiful and rich, disappears after dropping her kids of a their tony New Canaan, CT school. Cohen truly understands the glamorous world Dulos inhabits--the subtle difference between the rich and wealthy and the schemers who will do anything to enter that world.

Cohen paints a vivid picture of Jennifer's entire life, her search for love, that makes the tragedy hit that much harder. I don't want to give anything away, but this book really grabs you and won't let go. I highly recommend it. Cohen is a great writer (he has a wonderful book about going on tour with the Rolling Stones if that interests you.)

Netgalley has provided me with a free e-galley of the book in return for this honest review.