flipping tables is just the start — words
flipping tables is just the start

flipping tables is just the start

Eden Bennett has worked her way up through the Huzzah network to finally achieve the position of showrunner. Sure, it’s just for Garden State Goddesses, the New Jersey franchise. But if she does well with this season, she may get moved up to New York. In the meantime, she has a lot of work to put this season’s episodes together. Especially with the new goddess, Hope.

The Garden State Goddesses revolve around Carmela. She is the top dog, married to a man rumored to have ties to the Mafia. Her sister-in-law, Valerie, is known for having a prosthetic foot and being Carmela’s puppet. Renee is a single mother and came out as bisexual, and her popularity is rising. Birdie is the matriarch, with money and stories for days. And then there’s Hope, the newest edition to the show. Hope is married to Leo, Valerie’s brother, who sells vintage cars. Hope just moved to New Jersey after Leo met her at a wedding and swept her off her feet. She had been living in northern California, working at a diner and sharing videos of her folk songs on the internet.

Eden arranges for Hope to go to Renee’s house, to help her teenage daughter Ruby, who wants to become a pop star. It’s Hope’s first introduction to reality television, so it takes her a minute to get used to the lights and the cameras and having a microphone attached to her. But Renee is kind to her, and Ruby is a fantastic singer, so the filming goes well. It doesn’t hurt that Eden slips some wine into a coffee cup and hands it to Hope before they start the cameras rolling.

As the episodes go on, things get crazy. Carmela comes for Hope like she’s jealous of the newest goddess and wants to put her in her place. Birdie seems to get increasingly drunk on every occasion. One woman gets pregnant. Another changes her will. And a troll Instagram account under the name Shady Di throws out dirt on them all, spreading rumors throughout the insular environment of the show and the to the world beyond, making them all a bit paranoid. But these women’s secrets are far darker than anyone imagined, and when one of the goddesses ends up dead, Eden has to figure out what happened if she has any hope of saving the show, her career, or herself.

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is a murder mystery spoof of the popular Housewives franchise and all the drama they have created through the years. It is told with love from an obvious fan, but author Astrid Dahl is not shy about throwing around the shade. Fans of reality television will recognize at least one famous moment, but you don’t have to be a fan of the Housewives to understand what’s going on here. There is enough drama to keep readers blazing through, and a solid murder mystery to solve for the crime readers.

As soon as I heard the remise of this book, I was ready to go all in. I am not a reality tv addict, but I’ve watched enough to want to read this and get the inside scoop on the popular Bravo franchise. For that, this book was super fun. I had a blast with that aspect. I was a little surprised at just how dark it got at times, but I think the way the characters reacted to the crimes helped the story from getting too dark. The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is not just a fluffy spoof on reality tv, it’s also a New Jersey-worthy crime story, and personally I thought it was a great ride.

Egalleys for The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey were provided by Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, with many thanks.

making things write

making things write

murder can be a drag

murder can be a drag

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