I really enjoyed this nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat investigation novel! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
Rich Cohen’s Murder in the Dollhouse is the chilling, unputdownable story of Jennifer Dulos, a beautiful, rich suburban mother who dropped her kids off at the New Canaan Country School one morning and vanished. Her body has never been found.

Dulos was in the midst of an ugly divorce—one of the most contentious in Connecticut state history. The couple, a beautiful, highly connected pair, met at Brown University, had five children, and led what appeared to be a charmed life. In the wake of her disappearance, Dulos’s husband and his girlfriend were arrested. He killed himself on the day he was supposed to report to court; she was tried and convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. A gripping story of status, wealth, love, and hate, Murder in the Dollhouse peers beneath the sparkling veneer of propriety that surrounded the Duloses to uncover the origins and motivations of a crime that has become a national obsession.

With her body still missing, Jennifer Dulos remains an open mystery. The author here brings the entire case into focus, with the family, background, and so much more. For those that are interested in true crime, this book truly covers it all.

Learn more about this case now. The book was done with care, and brings the case to the public. Someone knows something, and maybe this book will help jog something loose.

I felt that there was maybe too much about Jennifer's playwriting days but all in all I thought this was well written and respectful. The moment of Theodore Dulos' speech in court was especially moving.

3.75 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I originally listened to the audiobook. I think the ebook is the better option because I didn't love the voice for the narration.

There is so much extra stuff leading up to the story itself that I had to remind myself what it was about. With the extra fluff, I found myself spacing out and realizing I missed moments. I feel like my mind is usually very interested in true crime, but this could not keep my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rich Cohen, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the opportunity to read Murder in the Dollhouse. I have written this review voluntarily.

This is the story about Jennifer Dulos- her life and her death. Jennifer Dulos was a mother of 5, living in the suburbs when she disappeared in 2019. She went to Brown University where she met her future husband, Fotis Dulos. Jennifer is also the niece of Liz Claibourn, and comes from wealth. Needless to say, their marriage was not a happy one. Fotis was abusive and controlling. Jennifer wanted to get out of the marriage, and so they were in the middle of a nasty divorce when she went missing. story

Overall I found this interesting and sad. There is a lot of information on Jennifer when she was alive, and I liked that we really got to know her as a person- not just a victim. The real mystery seems to be why she stayed with her abusive, murdering husband when she would not have put up with this from men in her younger years (she was a bit picky about who she dated!).

Overall, this is a well written exploration into a woman's life that has an unhappy ending. Jennifer's body has never been found, and I really can't say more in case you are like me. I had never heard of this case before, so was unaware of the outcome- don't want to spoil it for anyone that is like me!

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC. THis is my honest and voluntary review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this true crime story by Rich Cohen, with the audiobook perfectly narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Everyone is probably at least vaguely familiar with the Jennifer Dulos story - it's been well publicized. A wealthy suburban mother drops off her kids at school and has never been seen again. In the midst of an ugly divorce from her husband, this is a gripping story that became national news.

This book covered the backstory of Jennifer, including the author's connection to her circle, as well as her marriage and murder, and the court case. It's a story we're all familiar with, not only with Jennifer, but with countless women. The fact that Jennifer was wealthy and beautiful, living what seemed to be a dream life, certainly thrust it into the headlines, but it's a case as old as time. What struck me is that for all the protections her family sought to give her when she was young, they did nothing to prepare her for a real life monster she would invite into her world. My heart goes out to her children. Good read/listen for true crime fans.

This book was so well researched and thoroughly reported. It was fascinating and tragic and an important story to be told. I appreciated the author’s note at the end where he detailed his ethical choice to leave the children out of the story as much as he could. May Jennifer rest in peace wherever she is.

This true crime book comes from a unique perspective of a journalist who knew the circles that the victim walked in. He had friends who were her friends, went to the same doctors, and just existed in the same area.

I liked that the author gave us background on who Jennifer Farber was before the tragedy. It wasn't just a bland quick victim overview. While the story itself was hard to read about (simply because of the topic matter and tragic nature of the events), it was well-written and researched.

No one wants to speak ill of the dead and in no way am I victim blaming, but I had a hard time connecting with Jennifer. The evolution of her relationship with Fotis was so quick and seemed completely out of character for the person the author had depicted prior to their meeting (the second time), that it was as if Jennifer felt she was running out of time and felt she had to marry someone, ANYONE, to get the life she wanted and seemed destined to have.

I appreciate the author presenting this story with Jennifer in mind with more focus on her life than on her disappearance / death and he clearly has done his research. I found myself a little bogged down by the details, with lots of here and there and who is who thrown in.

This book, while OK, falls well short of true crime classics like In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders.

“I am afraid of my husband. I know that filing for divorce, and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.” - Jennifer Dulos

This is one of the best true crime books I have read in a while! Having lived in CT at the time of her disappearance in 2019 I can attest that you could not go a single day without hearing the name Jennifer Dulos in the news. So going into this book I knew the main details and key players (Jennifer, Fotis and Michelle Troconis). I knew Jennifer dropped her kids off at school and was never seen again, that the police had some evidence to arrest both Fotis & Michelle and that Fotis killed himself while out on bail. I honestly didn’t think there was enough meat & potatoes for a whole book. Well, I was wrong. This was both a biography of Jennifer and an account of the crime and aftermath. I was rapt from the beginning and could not put it down. I found Jennifer to be fascinating - I really appreciated the background into the beginnings of her life pre-Fotis and obviously the whole ending to her story is profoundly tragic. There were so many (insane!) details that I wasn’t aware of, maybe because we left CT in 2020. I feel so awful for the Dulos children and hope they can have some semblance of a normal life as they navigate the world without their parents. This book seemed to be meticulously researched and I appreciated the author’s inclusion of some exact dialogue, emails, etc. - especially the timeline included near the end. I hope someday we can find out the whole truth. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced copy. Murder in the Dollhouse was published this week and I highly recommend it for all true crime fans.

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.