This was such a hard read and had no heard of this case before this book. although this was a disturbing read at points it portrayed Jenifer in a great light before her disappearance.

Informative but not boring! I really enjoyed this one and it was a case that I hadn't been familiar with prior to picking it up.

The Jennifer Dulos case is sadly familiar to many interested in true crime. After dropping her five children (ages 8 to 13) at the New Canaan Country School, Jennifer returned home to her luxury home, and was never seen again. Blood found in the home suggested a devastating loss of blood, which was not survivable. The clear suspect was Jennifer's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos. As the author says: "when someone is determined to do you real harm, no amount of money can protect you."

But Murder in the Dollhouse does not focus exclusively on the crime, its investigation and trial, but rather delves into Jennifer's family, education, career as well as her hopes and expectations for her life, and how this brought her to Fotis. The author uses the story of Jennifer's childhood dollhouse and her dreams of filling it with children and a successful husband as the underlying motif. For all of Jennifer's education (Brown) and career aspirations, the goal was to be married by 25, with 3 kids by 30.

One aspect of the case that was new to me was the extent of the divorce and custody cases. The divorce was filed in Stamford (Fairfield County, Connecticut) "the most punishing, money-friendly divorce court in America." It was almost a guarantee for a knock-down divorce with endless filings, restraining orders, contempt charges, etc. And some of the attorneys involved thought that the case may have been what caused Fotis to snap. "Fotis Dulos did not become the person he ended up being without the help of the Stamford divorce court."

Where this book did not work for me was in fleshing out Jennifer. For all the information on her writing, being one of the founder of the Playwrights' Collective, and her family background, the personal aspect is lacking. The author is prone to tossing off comments like "Jennifer fetishized America's fashionable wives" without explanation but rarely offers anymore more insightful. At the heart of it all, we never really know Jennifer. But, in the end, did anyone really know her?

Overall, the book delivered in the area of context and background, as well as details of the divorce case, but left me wanting more insight. 3.5 stars.

Sometimes a gripping true crime story is exactly what I crave, and Rick Cohen’s examination of the 2019 disappearance of 51 year old Jennifer Dulos, a wealthy suburban Connecticut mother of five, is one of the more propulsive that I have read in some time. Before she married Fotis Dulos, with whom she was in the midst of an ugly divorce at the time of her disappearance, Jennifer Farber was a sought after New York “It Girl” per Cohen who does a deep dive into Jennifer’s origin story. Her father, Hilliard, had founded a successful investment banking firm and eschewed his Jewish identity. Jennifer was chauffeured to private school at Saint Ann’s where she filled her resume with honors and extracurriculars with an eye to the Ivy League, ultimately attending Brown. She was a serial dater in college who, not surprisingly, could not meet a man that met her fantasy of the ideal mate, one summarized by Hilliard as “Bank” — old money mystique.

After college graduation, Jennifer seemed to cycle through identities, first moving to Manhattan to study dramatic writing at NYU (her father rented her an apartment in a building known for its celebrity residents which Jennifer curiously decorated with an aspirational baby crib in the living room), then to Aspen where she changed her name to Jennifer Bey and converted to Christianity, then to Los Angeles to follow her playwriting friends.

She ran into Fotis Dulos in an Aspen baggage claim in December of 2003. Jennifer had met Fotis at Brown in 1986, but she found him lacking — too short and “a bit boring.” Perhaps fearing as she got deeper into her thirties that she would spend her life childless and alone, she put aside her list of criteria for her dream husband. Fotis was an Ivy League graduate (although he had been a scholarship student), handsome and athletic, a member of the Greek national waterskiing team. Jennifer and Fotis married in August 2004 (a month after he signed the divorce papers dissolving his existing marriage).

Fotis and Jennifer were mismatched and the marriage seemed doomed from the start. Fotis was superficial, did not care about art or novels, was “neither Jew nor Wasp, and was definitely not Bank.” Hilliard bankrolled his business, putting up millions to buy land and build luxury homes. “In short, in addition to buying a husband for Jennifer, Hilliard paid to make that husband appear successful.” The couple went from newlyweds to a family of six in just four years. Motherhood was bliss for Jennifer, but Fotis had not particularly wanted children, and they argued over child-rearing practices. Fotis began leaving for long stretches to Miami, which caused Jennifer to become rightfully suspicious. They separated in 2017.

Cohen meticulously reports this lurid tale of class, money and status. Cohen claims to have traveled in the same circles as Jennifer, lives a few miles from the scene of the tragic events, and has children who played where the Dulos children played, providing him access to Jennifer’s friends, detectives, private eyes, and attorneys. The book reads like a thriller and it was difficult to put down. Thank you Farrar, Strauss and Giroux and Net Galley for an advance copy of this chilling tale.

Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen is an exceptionally well-researched exploration of Jennifer Dulos's life leading up to her chilling disappearance. Cohen masterfully reconstructs Jennifer's world, from her family background and upbringing to her relationship with her eventual husband. For true crime fans, this deep dive into the victim's story—rather than just the crime itself—is invaluable. It compels us to care about the person at the heart of the tragedy.

While the level of detail might be overwhelming for a casual reader, enthusiasts will appreciate the focus on Jennifer's lived experience. It's a truly heartbreaking account, highlighting how even the most loving and protective environments can't always shield against the darkest aspects of humanity.

When the book started I thought I wouldn't like it, the intro gave a lot away and I wasn't sure how Cohen would flesh out the meat of the book, but he did and I ended up really liking it. He writes a biography of Jennifer Dulos that is so compelling and then at the end gets to the marriage and the crime. He handles the children with respect. There are observations and insights into wealth that I appreciated. The author inserts himself a litlte bit too much into the book at the start, but overall I found it very good.

Do you have a comfort read?
I have always been intrigued by true crime and a fair amount of my reading life is spent on it, but what I realized during the pandemic is that it is sometimes a genre I turn to when things in the world feel overwhelming. A comfortable read if you will. Because whatever I am dealing with personally, what I am reading about is usually much worse.

My most recent foray into the genre was The Dollhouse by Rich Cohen, an examination into the disappearance into the murder of Jennifer Dulos by her husband Fotis. A couple with everything- massive wealth (her family), beautiful children, and luxury. But everything they had could not buy a happy marriage. And ultimately, these very same things became the catalyst for her murder by her husband, Fotis. A fascinating and disturbing tale of a toxic relationship formed by his narcissism, control and greed.

I listened to this one on audio and it was the perfect distraction for me as the author leads you through the timeline of Jennifer’s life and eventual murder. Most people experience toxic relationships at some point, but I doubt and pray many will ever know one on this level. The narration by Edoardo Ballerini was really well done and captured the perfect tone for the shocking and somber subject matter. If you enjoy true crime, I highly recommend this one. Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for an audio arc of this one

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the eARC.

This story haunted me when I first learned about it and I was so pleased to receive this advanced copy of Rick Cohen's novel. This book really did not skimp on the details and offered the reader a hard look into Jennifer Dulos' life. I won't ever forget this story.

Rich Cohen delivers a detailed and emotionally grounded account of the Jennifer Dulos case, balancing true crime reporting with thoughtful storytelling. The writing is sharp, and the research is meticulous—Cohen dives deep into the lives of those involved, particularly Jennifer, whose story is handled with care.

However, the book can get bogged down in excessive detail, slowing the pacing and overwhelming the core narrative. While informative, it doesn’t offer much new for readers already familiar with the case, and the lack of a clear resolution may frustrate some.

A solid, respectful retelling—well-crafted, but not standout in a crowded genre.

On May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos, a mother to five young children, disappeared after dropping her children off at school. Her body has never been found. It is widely suspected that her estranged husband Fotis Dulos, along with his new girlfriend Michelle Troconis and Fotis' friend and attorney Kent Mawhinney, conspired to kill Jennifer and dispose of her body. In January 2020, before he ever got to trial, Fotis took the cowardly way out and committed suicide leaving Troconis and Mawhinney behind to pick up the pieces. In March 2024, Michelle Troconis was convicted of six charges relating to Jennifer's disappearance and she was sentenced to 14 1/2 years in prison.

This is a widely publicized case and I was looking forward to reading this book to maybe get some insight into the investigation and find out more information on what led the police to charge Fotis. Unfortunately I didn't feel like this book offered any new information on this case and at many times it felt like the author was victim blaming Jennifer for her own death. She is portrayed at the start as fickle, weak and desperate for love and it felt really icky to read at points. Now, it is important to be honest about who people are in books like this, but there was so much unnecessary emphasis on her early love interests and life. As the book went on, the discussion about the lead up to the murder really tries to spread the blame around instead of focusing on the place it firmly belongs - with Fotis and his accomplices. There is no doubt that the Family Court System is deeply flawed, and Jennifer definitely contributed to the acrimony in her divorce, but the fault for her murder starts and stops with Fotis. I am probably extra sensitive to this subject matter because my sister-in-law was murdered by her partner, but I was very disappointed with this book.

**I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is exactly how a true crime book should be written. The depth of the character study is unmatched and I certainly hit a point where I understood through the authors work why things were turning out the way they did and why things couldn’t be any different. I’ve never had a lot of tolerance for being rich - but I have a new outlook now.
The whole story was told with just enough depth and not enough weeds. As I had questions the author answered them and my favourite was that pieces of information that seemed not to fit were then packaged to explain their significance - something I’ve rarely seen well done. Each time we got a “two mistakes were made, one… and two…” I just smiled from ear to ear.
Okay. Gotta go see there’s a backlist to catch up on or wait for the next book cause this author absolutely nailed this.

Thank you Netgalley & Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an eARC ❤️

There’s something particularly unsettling about crimes that unravel in wealthy, manicured suburbs—places where life is supposed to be safe, orderly, and privileged. The disappearance of Jennifer Dulos isn’t just a true crime story; it’s a grim dissection of how money, status, and resentment can curdle into something monstrous. 💔

What strikes me most is the sheer *normalcy* of it all before the horror began. Jennifer was a mother dropping her kids at school, a woman navigating a divorce—something countless people do every day. Yet beneath that ordinary surface was a marriage so toxic it may have ended in annihilation. The details of Fotis Dulos’s alleged manipulation—controlling finances, isolating Jennifer, the slow suffocation of her independence—paint a picture of coercive control that feels terrifyingly mundane. How many other women are trapped in similar shadows, their suffering invisible until it’s too late? 😟

Then there’s the haunting absence of Jennifer’s body. Without it, there’s no closure, only a void where answers should be. It’s a cruel twist—Fotis’s suicide ensured he would never face full accountability, leaving Jennifer’s family and the public with a story half-told. Michelle Troconis’s conviction provides some justice, but the central mystery lingers like a ghost.

What chills me most, though, is the way this case exposes the illusions of privilege. The Duloses had everything: Ivy League pedigrees, wealth, a sprawling Connecticut home. Yet none of it prevented the ugliness beneath. If anything, the pressure to maintain appearances may have exacerbated the rot. Divorce battles among the wealthy aren’t just emotional—they’re wars of reputation, assets, and power. And in this case, the stakes turned lethal.

Jennifer’s story isn’t just about a crime; it’s a warning. It forces us to question how well we truly know the people around us, the marriages behind closed doors, the quiet desperation masked by Instagram-perfect lives. In the end, no amount of money or status can shield someone from a partner who decides they’d rather erase them than let them go.
The tragedy leaves me with a gnawing thought: How many other "perfect" families are hiding similar secrets? And what will it take for the next Jennifer to be seen before it’s too late?😔

Jennifer Dulos was a wealthy, suburban wife who was in the midst of a contentious divorce when she vanished in May 2019 after taking her children to school. She and her husband had met at Brown University, went their separate ways and then reconnected and married in 2004. While it seemed their life appeared perfect from the outside, it was anything but. After finding out about her husband’s affair, Jennifer moved out with her 5 children and filed for divorce in 2017, setting the stage for the tragic events that followed.

In this book, the author takes a deep dive into the lives of Jennifer and Fotis Dulos. Cohen meticulously reports on their upbringing, family lives and the events that lead up to this tragic disappearance. I was not very familiar with this case and felt this book presented in this case in an informative way. I felt the only drawback was the lack of information on the actual police investigation. Despite that, this story held my interest throughout and I would recommend this book to other true crime readers.

I have read other books by Rich Cohen and also really enjoyed this one. It is about the murder of Jennifer Dulos by her husband, and was front page news for awhile. I followed this tragic story throughout and really appreciated how Rich Cohen approached the narrative. I learned new things in reading this and especially learned more about the major players in this book. The author is able to effectively capture NYC life in the early 1990's among writers and creatives as both he and Jennifer were writers. They attended some of the same parties and knew some of the same people (although they were not friends). I could not put this book down -- I was so absorbed in her story and the mystery of what happened to her. I highly recommend this book for true crime lovers and fans of great writing!

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

thank you rich cohen and netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
i highly!!!! recommend this true crime! it was my first true crime read (but definitely not my first true crime anything) and i can say wholeheartedly that it will not end here!
rich cohen’s work is well researched and interesting. he paints an amazing picture and setting for the reader to really appreciate the setting and mystery at hand. it feels weird to “rate” a true crime/non fiction about a person’s death so i say the rating attach is because netgalley requires a star rating, BUT i will absolutely not forget this story and the impact it had on women in the community around jennifer dulos and her family.

I have been reading True Crime for years and it is my favorite genre. I was excited to get a copy of this book since I had seen several programs regarding this case on television. When I started the book, I was excited to get background information on Jennifer and her husband Fotis Dulos. However, I was soon very disappointed in this book as it seemed to give minutiae of everyone they had ever known and everything they had every done. It turned into an informational tutorial on the rich and famous, where they go to school, to party and who knows who. I was hoping for more of a police procedural and I was very disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I enjoy true crime stories that give a lot of background on the victim, so we can know them better as a person, but this book had excessive amounts of information about everyone that the victim knew in her life, to the point that it felt pointless to have it in the book.

Rich Cohen did an amazing job telling Jennifer Dulos’ story. A wealthy suburban mother goes missing after dropping her children off at school. She is in the middle of a horrible divorce, but sadly, her body is never found. Her husband and girlfriend are arrested for the murder, but he ends his life before he can be convicted. Such a tragic and sad story, I feel awful for the children. This book was written very well and I learned so much about this case.

I am so fascinated by true crime and so I was so excited to read this book and intrigued as it is a case I haven't heard of before and it didn't disappoint. I felt like I got the full picture which was written in a very honest and real way. I would definitely read more by the author

True crime books are difficult to talk about. First, the crime and details are interesting. Second, isn't it kind of effed up to want to know all the details?

Murder in the Dollhouse does an excellent job of writing about Jennifer Dulos, of her life BEFORE her marriage, during and what MAY have led to her assumed death. Could I just have read the wiki? 100%. I think Rich Cohen may have gotten too in the weeds with details and maybe starting to assume various outcomes.

It's hard, because I can see his point, but we don't know. But that's kind of the point with a lot of true crime, we don't know exactly what happened unless someone survived. We don't know what happened to Jennifer, and we can pray for her peace, but it doesn't make it any easier to read the details.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.