This was a super interesting story of a crime I had never heard of.
Unfortunately the narrator was not my favourite which made it hard to binge and I found myself having to take breaks.
Not my favourite true crime audio but if you’re not particular on who’s telling you the story I recommend this one

Thanks to NetGalley for an ALC. I was excited about this because I remember the story, and I love a good narrative true crime nonfiction book. However I found this really dry. I know it shouldn’t be embellished at all because it’s telling a true story? But I guess I didn’t love the writing style. It was really well-researched, but I felt like the earlier parts were too long and the later parts were too short.

I believe Rich effectively conveyed Jennifer's story. While I have seen this on true crime television shows, he provided additional details that were not covered in those programs. It is clear to me that her husband, along with his mistress, was responsible. Their actions were reprehensible, and it is heartbreaking that those children had to grow up without their parents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Murder In The Dollhouse by Richard Cohen is about Jennifer Dulos her dream to be a wife and mother and the nightmare she ended up with. she was the youngest daughter of a multi millionaire couple she was treated like a princess and due to growing up in the higher upper echelon of New York society and having parents who loved each other and were faithful her aspirations for marriage was of the storybook variety. she met her future husband Fotis Dulos, while they both attended brown university but it was barely a blip on her radar as she was at the height of her beauty talent and powers as a woman. Fast-forward 18 years she’s 35 has yet to meet Mr. Wright when she runs in to Fotus at the airport in Aspen. it was the difference between finding your least favorite flavor protein bar when you were hungry and then running across it when you’re starving because by the time she was 35 Jennifer could see her dream of a happy married life slipping away and even thought of getting pregnant on her own. when he finally contacts her she decides to go out with him and then quickly marry’s him. It would be something she would regret until the last day of her life. her husband although not physically abusive was mentally abusive coercive and would taunt her by putting her children in danger and more than once threatening to leave the country to go home to Greece where he came from. when she caught him cheating they agreed to separate but he was a man who wanted his cake and thought he would eat it too so when Jennifer filed for divorce the battle was on until the day Jennifer went missing the divorce was contentious the children were put in the middle and stories like that never end well. This was such a good book and in the summary it says it is an unputdownable story and that is definitely the case I did fine the author Richard Cohen who ran in the same circles did make grand assumptions but still in all it did not mar the story and his knowledge of that group of Americans I think made it that much better. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator Eduardo Ballerini, did a great job and I’ve heard him narrate books before and he has a perfect voice for these types of stories. I highly recommend this book if you like True Crime and being a fly on the wall then you’ll definitely love this sad True Crime story by Richard Cohen.#NetGalley, #McMillanAudio, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #RichardCohen, #MurderInTheDollhouse, #EduardoBallerini,

I wasn’t familiar with the Jennifer Dulos case, so MURDER IN THE DOLLHOUSE: THE JENNIFER DULOS STORY by Rich Cohen was all new to me. The first half felt a bit slow and didn’t fully hold my interest, but the second half—covering the marriage and Jennifer’s disappearance—was much more engaging and better paced. Edoardo Ballerini’s narration was excellent and really enhanced the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murder in the Dollhouse missed the mark for me. I listened to the entire audiobook but never felt pulled into the mystery. The narration was complimentary to the content. Unfortunately, I never felt any type of nail-biting, edge of my seat suspense, which is what I was expecting.

This book is based upon the actual disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. I love a good mystery especially when based upon real events but this one was not for me. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know about it before reading but I wasn’t that interested.

However the author portrayed the facts and storyline very well.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the ARC audiobook of Murder in the Dollhouse. This book gave true crime vs Dateline but without the video. The author did tell an in depth depiction of the Jennifer Dulos story. I love true crime, but maybe not in this format. I prefer a podcast for my true crime or a tv show, so that was my mistake for requesting this title.

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 liked the narrator for this audiobook, they spoke clearly and it was easy to listen to.

I chose this as a NetGalley audiobook request as I live in New England, yet somehow I never heard this story and I found it surprising and intriguing how that could be possible.

Less a typical true crime novel and more of a biography of Jennifer Farber Dulos leading up to her disappearance, it is nonetheless riveting in the descriptions of peoples, places, opulence, shocking behaviors, and shocking outcomes.

Cohen's investigative skills and diligent research were extremely impressive while also staying on point throughout with just the right respectful tone considering the subject matter. Far from dry, however, Cohen also aroitly provided a sardonic tone when deserved, read: over the top lifestyle and unimaginable wealth and privilege.

The incredible talent of narrator Edoardo Ballerini provided so much in depth and emotion which added to the drama and further propelled the story expertly as he always does.

I recommend this book and will look for more by Rich Cohen in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Despite the title, this, for the most part, feels more like a biography than a crime book. The focus is less on the crime itself and more on the life of Jennifer Dulos before her disappearance. In some ways, this is refreshing — true crime is often at its best when it brings victims to life as real, complex people rather than simply recounting the tragedy. But in this case, the balance feels off. Most of the book is spent walking through Jennifer’s personal history in exhaustive detail, and after a while, it starts to drag. The chapters are long and often repetitive, with Cohen driving the same points home again and again.



While the research that went into this book is obvious, the end result feels more like a biography than a crime narrative. Readers hoping for a close examination of the investigation or the courtroom drama may find themselves disappointed. Murder in the Dollhouse has its strengths, particularly in its compassionate portrayal of Jennifer, but it struggles to keep a tight grip on the story’s central tension.

This book was dnf. I had issues with how he outlines her life. The author spends way too much time painting her as a woman who only cares about an expensive lifestyle. I don’t know whether this is true or not but it is way too much of a focal point. I couldn’t get past this part to even find out what happened.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen.

Truly a tragedy, the couple that has it all, torn apart by greed, infidelity, and perhaps psychopathy. This, somewhat detail heavy story systematically plays out every piece of the Jennifer Dulos murder, starting with her parents, down to the sentencing. It's maddening and tragic, but well told. If you are interested in high society true crime, this might be the ticket for a long plane ride.

This is a true crime story of a suburban mom who disappeared after dropping her kids off at school. Her husband (soon to be ex) and his new girlfriend were accused of murdering her, but a body has never been found.
I absolutely love true crime shows. I find the process of forensics and figuring out how these crimes occurred and ultimately who did it, fascinating. What I don't care so much about, is the whole life story of these people which is what a lot of this book was about.
What was impressive and what I appreciated is how much research went into this book. There was an afterword at the end stating where the information came from and there were so many things listed. Things like news articles, interviews, tv news, podcasts, and the author even went to some days of the trial. There had to have been an immense amount of research done to dig this deep into a family's history.
A lot of this book detailed both Jennifer and Fotis Dulos's lives before they met, during their marriage and during their divorce. Neither of them really lead super interesting lives in my opinion, so a lot of the book was kind of dull, but I knew knowing this information would help solidify Fotis's guilt. Once things started heating up during the divorce process, my interest piqued.
Fotis Dulos really was a master manipulator and so selfish. Unfortunately, Jennifer rushed into this relationship feeling she was becoming "too old" to start creating the family she so desperately wanted. All Fotos wanted was money and fortunately for him, Jennifer's family had it. Towards the end he successfully painted himself in a better light and made Jennifer seem like an unfit parent.
Hands down, my favorite part of the book was when they started finding all the evidence against Fotis and his girlfriend. He just made so many mistakes or thought he was above things and I just enjoyed all the evidence coming against him even though there was no body.
I enjoyed the audiobook narrator. I think he did a good job of keeping me interested even though the duller parts of the book.
While I wish more of this book had focused on the actual crime, I still found it interesting.

Nonfiction that covers very recent crimes can be incredibly thin, and bulked up with personal inferences and unnecessary information. This one certainly didn't fall all the way down that particular rabbit hole, and I did find some of the information about Jennifer's childhood and expectations of marriage to be intriguing and fairly well-balanced. Ultimately, though, it's hard to make a satisfying book about a deeply unsatisfying crime... I just left with impression of those poor kids.

Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen
Audio Version
Overall Grade: B
Information: B-
Writing/Organization: B-
Narration: B
Best Aspect: This was a very complete telling for the Jennifer Dulos murder.
Worst Aspect: Not the most interesting murder mystery… even the 48 hours special was dull.
Recommend: Yes.
Thanks NetGalley releases 5/20/25

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard one to rate for a couple of reasons. It's technically well-written, for one, and for another, there's a crucial level of human compassion that should come from engaging with true crime that its consumers are responsible for just as much as its content creators.

But man, it is a struggle to give this the gravity it deserves. I was put off right from the beginning at the mild criticism cast toward people who correctly identify missing white woman syndrome, especially coming from one wealthy writer about the wealthy white subject of his book.

On the one hand, it is an indisputable tragedy, and the children involved will carry this for the rest of their lives. On the other, this is a book about the most insufferable people you've ever heard of doing things that, were they a lower tax bracket, would be considered trashy and tasteless.

Like, there's a weird cognitive dissonance at play with what happened when paired with how this is written. So much of the book is about wealthy white people drama that just feels, frankly, obnoxious to endure, but you also read it knowing that it's about a woman who suffered a violent crime, so you have to approach it with compassion.

I mean, some of us do. One of the reviews on Goodreads is apparently one of the victim's neighbors who literally called this "a must-read for true crime fans" so I guess there's only so much milk of human kindness to go around lol.

Anyway, I'd give this one a skip if you're actually looking for a true crime novel, rather than a sort of pseudo-biography of a woman who had every possible means at her disposal to protect herself, and still fell victim to her husband's wrath. I say this not to victim blame, but rather to highlight the devastating truth that all the money in the world will not save a woman from a man if he truly means her harm. But this book was not for me. I think it's mostly for rich people from New York or Connecticut with way too much time on their hands.

As an avid true crime consumer, I was already familiar with the Jennifer Dulos case and was curious to see how it would be portrayed.

If you’re looking for a focus on the investigative, criminal or legal angle then this is not the book for you. However, if you want a story that is victim-focused, that is written almost like a fictitious thriller, look no further. Rich Cohen does a fantastic job of focusing the story on Jennifer and her life, rather than the merits of her killer.

Ultimately, I was not as interested in learning about certain aspects of Jennifer’s upbringing and therefore was a bit bored at times. I wish there had been more discussion on domestic and intimate partner violence. But I do appreciate any true crime book that is victim-focused, and therefore if you’re unfamiliar with this case and interested in learning more about it, this would be a good source to check out.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

This is a great dive into the life of Jennifer Dulos before and after she met her murderer. ⁣
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Many true crime stories focus so much on the killer rather than the people they killed, so I appreciate the author doing so much research into Jennifer’s story.⁣
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Cohen paints a vivid picture of Jennifer’s privileged upbringing as well as the collapse of her marriage to a controlling, status-hungry man. ⁣
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This is everything that other true crime stories should be. The crime is important, but you can find facts of it anywhere. ⁣
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What you won’t find in news articles are the in-depth details Cohen provides throughout this book that remind us that Jennifer was a real person rather than a headline or a woman experiencing domestic violence. She was an accomplished writer, she had dreams and goals, she loved her family.⁣
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Jennifer also now has a law named after her, which “allows victims subject to coercive control by a family or household member to be eligible for civil restraining orders,” among other protections (Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act No. 21-78).

My gratitude to #netgalley, #macmillanaudio, & author #RichCohen for the opportunity to listen to #MurderInTheDollhouse on #audiobook (narrated by the incredible Edoardo Ballerini).

I was loosely aware of the Jennifer Dulos case back when details were emerging in May 2019 but never followed specifics beyond the basic info shown on the news. I learned, based upon the extensive information contained in this book, that a variety of case-related media had been created (print, small-screen) based upon the entirety of events. Even so, I would find it difficult to believe that any content could touch the thoroughness and intelligence with which this book was researched and compiled - that is the greatest takeaway from my reading experience. This compendium of facts, quotes, interviews, timelines, and relevant family/cultural background is expertly researched and well-written, A compelling and addictive account of a true and fairly recent tragedy..

The book is heartbreaking, frustrating, maddening, and deeply sad. The title is drawn from Jennifer Dulos' persevering childhood "dream" of the perfect family - a dollhouse family - based upon integral familial and cultural impressions (she is well-to-do and doted upon by her father). This is a story of a dream deferred and later - a dream (and the dreamer) destroyed - never to be located again (to date).

There were the repeated frustrations of delayed police work and less than thorough and timely investigations and the absolutely maddening role of the legal system - especially lawyers and judges - who only seemed to stoke the fires of bitterness and hatred between the estranged Dulos couple..

I finished the book with the feeling that nefarious and evil things were done - to Jennifer and to the Dulos children, especially - but that maybe some of it could have been avoided or at least not so aggressively provoked. Hate and fear make people do unthinkable and irreversible things and, without laying out specifics, I do believe that the perpetrators were especially narcissistic and had little to no compassion toward the Dulos children or their mother. I believe that they had deluded themselves into believing they were victims who were "owed" something and that became a blinding motivator for everything that followed.

I'm not a regular pursuer of true crime books but do have a background in criminology and sociology (and writing). Like most people I know, these cinematic, larger-than-life cases are so sensationally reported it is easy to get pulled into the story (aka 20/20 and Dateline). That said, this was NOT, in my opinion, a true crime book. It was clear from the beginning that Rich Cohen felt a personal connection to the people, places, and events which took place. I believe he did an excellent and thorough job in relating the tragedy of this lost mother and the legacy it will leave on all who knew and loved her (especially her children). I think it also serves as an excellent warning to those who travel down these bitter and acrimonious roads (esp with children involved). It's important, at various times, to stop and ask yourself what you are doing and - "Is it worth it?"

I strongly recommend the audiobook!!