Skip to content

THE REALLY DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY

Astrid Dahl

A propulsive page-turning thriller following the hit reality TV show Garden State Goddesses where secrets are uncovered, intense rivalries surface, and a startling murder propels a producer on a riveting quest for the truth.
One of Huzzah's most popular shows, Garden State Goddesses, was in need of a refresh. Largely centering on the Sicilian American Fontana family of Shady Pond, New Jersey, showrunner Eden Bennett found a solution that helped her both personally and professionally: she introduced lovable bachelor Leo Fontana to her estranged cousin Hopea blonde beauty and aspiring singer. After a whirlwind romance, they begin the new season with Leo and Hope's wedding, but not everyone is happy, least of all Hope's new sister-in-law Carmela, who finds Hope's lack of family, friends, pop cultural knowledge, and social media presence deeply suspicious. Nevertheless, Hope is joining Carmela, and their other sister-in-law Valeria, a lovable ditz too dependent on cutting Carmela, and wealthy grand dame Birdie St. Clair as a new lead on Garden State Goddesses. Hope quickly bonds with castmate Renée, a down-to-earth single mom whose daughter Ruby aspires to be the next Ariana Grande. When one of the goddesses collapses while filming at the Broke Not Broken gala at Birdie's manor, there will be a reality reckoning. Eden will be forced to confront the ways she is responsible: emotional manipulation, coercion, and dropping her naïve cousin in this mess while also using her skills as a producer to seek out the truthuncovering that many of the Fontanas have rivalries and grievances that go back decades, some with serious legal, financial, physical, and romantic consequences. Astrid Dahl is an author, fangirl, and law school dropout. She lives in Los Angeles, where she plans to die.
Available products
Book

Published 2025-01-14 by Simon & Schuster

Comments

Secrets, gallows humor, campy reality TV stars, and an Instagram gossip account called 'Shady Di'Astrid Dahl's The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is the kind of book I wanted to live inside. LOLing and gasping my way through, I nearly wished I'd written it myself!

Juicy, gossipy, and deliciously vicious, The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is my platonic ideal of a novel. Whether this all-star cast of wives is throwing shade in their confessionals or literally killing to get more screen time, one thing is certain, this New Jersey neighborhood has enough secrets to guarantee renewal. Readers will be clamoring for Season Two of this funny, dark guilty pleasure.