A compelling true account of what can happen when one spouse is not willing to accept divorce. Fotis Dulos wanted the Connecticut richest status and married Jennifer Farber as a means to get there. He was an impatient psychopath and narcissist who would take his frustrations out on his children and wife in the most extreme and controlling ways. When Jennifer had enough and filed for divorce she disappeared and Fotis became the prominent suspect but in an unexpected twist he takes his secrets with him never to be known by anyone.

Honestly, the pacing on this one feels like a bit of a slog, especially in the first half. While I appreciate really getting to know the victim as a person, I really didn't need to know about her plays and the reception of them in that level of detail. I also found the way that the author talked about Judaism and the antisemitism of some of the key people involved to be quite strange.

Usually I give myself time before I write a review. Mainly because I procrastinate. I just finished Murder in the Dollhouse two minutes ago though so this review probably won’t be very well composed.

I’m very familiar with Jennifer’s story. That did not prepare me for everything I learned in this book. I am sure Jennifer was not a saint. Apparently that is something that was very important to her ex-husband Fotis, his lawyers, his new girlfriend, and the next girlfriend for everyone to know. Funny story though…. No one is. Whatever shortcomings she had, whatever flaws she had, had no bearing on the coercive, abusive, and control she had to live with. What’s insane is she didn’t want out of that garbage marriage. She was willing to stay on that ride until the wheels fell off even at her own expense.

Jennifer was a mother and an artist and she had more fight in her than she knew. I hate that she became another statistic. Another news story. Another woman whose spouse had to have the final word by silencing hers forever. Another narcissist with no regard for life. That had to maintain control. This story hits so many women so hard because it’s such a familiar tale. Her husband no longer wanted her, and she finally gave him what he wanted. She left with the kids secretly because you don’t just walk out in front of someone like him. This wasn’t enough though. He wasn’t going to be satisfied until he eviscerated her. She knew he was dangerous. She knew she wasn’t safe. She could afford body guards. She had body guards. Perhaps she was feeling a little more comfortable because she had scaled back on the bodyguards and now she’s gone. She’s never been found. Five kids without a mother. Her husband will do no time because he gassed himself while awaiting trial. His accomplices have been found guilty and are still awaiting trial.

As a woman what I took for this story is that when women leave or when they fight back or even when they don’t, you should never let your guard down.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.) 2.5 stars rounded up. As an avid reader of true crime, I can forgive exaggeration needed for effect and some insertion of author opinion (in Anne Rule books, everyone is always gorgeous, special, unique etc.) Here, I found myself struggling to stay interested as the story was focused for the bulk of the book on Jennifer's early/college life, with the crime itself much later in the book. The author's "voice" felt distracting from the narrative with excessive editorializing or strange declarations such as "Jennifer wasn't a self-hating Jew".

Overall, it wasn't badly written but lost steam so it was hard to stay with the story long enough to get to the actual crime that was the topic of the book.

So it is hard to want to rate a true crime story when it deals with a real persons death, but for how this was written and the story was presented it was just a 3⭐️ for me. I felt part one and two had so much information that just felt like filler stuff to me to make the book longer. It could've been condensed into having just one part and then I would've liked to have more on the trial and how that went inside the courtroom and more on the actual interviews with people who knew the victim. Overall it is always sad to read about someone's untimely passing under the hands of someone who was suppose to love them regardless of what was happening between them.

I knew very little about the Dulos case. I had no idea what Jennifer's background was or that she grew up privileged. It's inconceivable that her beautiful life would end that way and we still don't have her body for her family to bury. I feel for her children. I'm glad Michelle Troconis is charged. Maybe sitting in jail a few years will snap her into telling what really happened to Jennifer.

This was a very interesting book about Jennifer Dulos who was murdered by her husband and his girlfriend. I usually get a bit frustrated when a book goes all the way back to childhood and spends so much time on events that didn't have to do with the crime. But this one was done really well and hold my interest the entire time.

Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story by Rich Cohen, takes us through the life and final days of Jennifer Dulos who was murdered by her husband and his girlfriend. It reads more like a mystery/thriller than true crime, keeping the reader fully immersed and invested in the story throughout. The writing focused on the events that lead up to the murder but lacked the same level detail for the crime itself, and may disappoint some pure crime purists.

In addition to the book, I had the good fortune to be able to listen to the book simultaneously as well. The Narration by Edoardo Ballerini was amazing, setting a great pace for the book. I will be looking into this narrator in the future.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read the eARC and listen to the ALC. All opinions are my own.


Print book Rating: 3 Stars
Audible book Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: May 20 2025

Tags:
#MacmillanAudio
#FarrarStrausGiroux
#MurderInTheDollhouse
#JenniferDulos
#RichCohen
#EdoradoBallerini
#YarisBookNook
#netgalley

While this is a deep and poignant read on the life of Jennifer Dulos by someone who was loosely connected with her, this does not read as your standard true crime book. There isn't much to be found in the way of the investigation, interviews with prosecutors or investigative officials, and for some true crime fans this may be disappointing. This is instead a human piece on the person who was murdered, the days she lived and the relationships with those around her. The murder and crime itself accounts for maybe a third of the book and this is what I found to be my favorite part. Part biography, part true crime, this would be a great read for anyone already familiar with the case and wanting to get a deeper understanding of Jennifer herself.

The author immerses the reader in an emotional and tragic narrative that is difficult to pull away from. Chapters focused on Jennifer and her husband's life before the murder paint a vivid, yet dark, picture that is both thrilling and shocking. Ultimately, the narrative builds the tension so effectively that the terrible climax seems all but inevitable. Thank you to NetGalley.

I often say that the best true crime is travelogue : it is preoccupied not merely with sets of facts but with the larger context of location and circumstance, allowing the reader to learn something about the human condition by imaginatively entering into another life in another place. I would place Murder in the Dollhouse in this category; in its best moments, it rises almost to an Ann Rule or Joe McGuinness working at peak powers.

Like Rule, Cohen excavates a crime with a friend at the center, and like McGuinness, he looks to the full history and context of his subject to inform his narrative. In a case with as many unknowns and as much media saturation as the Dulos case, Cohen's book is refreshingly thorough and measured for those wishing for a clear and comprehensive account.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for this review.

While I enjoy true crime. This book just didnt hold my attention like I thought it would. I did like the aspect of making sure readers knew more about Jennifers background, simply because sometimes the person gets overshadowed by the details of their demise.

Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen is a book that I did not personally connect with, but I could see how some people might like it. There are some bright points, but overall this one did not keep me engaged.

The story is about the disappearance and likely murder of Jennifer Dulos during a contentious divorce. Cohen doesn't tell this story like a normal true crime work which is both a good and bad thing. Mainly the book recaps Jennifer's life and tries to tell the reader who she was and how she ended up where she did. As an idea, I love this. True crime is best when we celebrate the victims as living and breathing people who had lives before they were cut short. The issue is that about 80% of this book is focused on her life before the disappearance. There is way too many details. The chapters are super sized and it quickly gets old with Cohen hammering points home.

Cohen is a good writer, but not as a true crime author, at least in this case. He has done extensive research, but will also make grand pronouncements or use nonsensical cliches. I kept feeling like his style would be great in a fiction narrative, but here it is distracting and make the reader wary about what is him extrapolating as opposed to knowing something definitively from his research.

As I said, I think there is a reader who may think my criticisms are too harsh and may love this book and its style. I wouldn't argue about it. It just didn't work for me.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.)

Murder in the Dollhuse by Rich Cohen is beautifully written and provides detailed information not only into the victims life, but into the troubling marriage that lead to her death. A powerful book on how a divorce can turn ugly, and affect all of those around them.

I found myself getting very angry and sad in various points of this book. It will take you on a ride of emotions as you read through Jennifer Dulos life from childhood, to college, to getting married and ultimately, her death. I have never heard of this case so this book was my first in reading about it and I feel as if it give the reader all the information they would need to understand this case.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the True Crime/Memoir genre. However, i will caution people before reading that there will be moments where it may get a bit hard to read. While I applaud the writer for detailing every aspect of Jennifer's life, I don't believe we need as much that was given in the book. I do understand wanting to get a full picture of who Jennifer was but that much detail isn't really neccassary. With that said, definitely a good read and worth a shot for those interested in the book.

As someone who was once a fan of the true crime genre I was unfamiliar with this case. I appreciate how the book was dedicated to Jennifer’s life story which was well written in that aspect. I do think some of the details didn't really align with what was needed to continue to story though. I was hoping for more as well to addition of what is in the book about the investigation and possible interviews with the detectives to get more of a background that holistically showed all sides of the investigation. Over all I dont know if this is more a biography rather than the true crime genre as it rarely touched on the investigation and more spoke about her life. Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 57%. Unfortunately, this book was really just not for me. I struggled through it and I wish it focused more on the actual investigation than on giving us so many details that I felt didn’t matter,

Murder in the Dollhouse written by Rich Cohen is about the disappearance and suspected murder of Jennifer Dulos. But it’s really about her life story. We follow Jennifer from her early college years until after her disappearance and the trials that follow it.
I had never heard of this case, and appreciated the fact that the information comes from people who knew Jennifer and legal documents.
I related to Jennifer a little bit as I am around the same age as she was when she met Fotis, and have some of the same concerns it appears she was having.
This was a horrific story and I really hope that Jennifer’s Law can reform the divorce system. I recommend true crime fans to read this one.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

As a self proclaimed true crime junkie, this is actually a case I do know about.
This book did a great job of breaking down the why. Everything I have ever heard on this case had been surface level through podcasts who simply did not have the time to do a giant deep dive.

I found this book to be more of a story on the background of the case, which while important, is not typically the reason people pick up a true crime book. I do wish the author had put more focus into the criminal elements of the book as I felt that was his best writing in the book.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was very informational and I think it would be perfect for any true crime lover out there. The author wrote with great detail.

Part one could have probably been half the length. Obviously it's important to humanize the victim and give her life in the page, but it felt like an editorial piece for a magazine, too glamorous and fluffy - "Jennifer was just TOO beautiful. She was the victim of her beauty and her wealth" (like OK). "She wasn't a self-hating jew" (proceeds to list a bunch of ways she totally was, including that she converted for the sake of appearances).

The rest of the book, while a bit fluffy, was much more captivating. The attention to detail and timelines are exceptional.