Murder Plays House

by Ayelet Waldman

Book Overview

Juliet Applebaum is a public defender turned stay-at-home mom--and a "highly likable sleuth" (Judith Kelman). Now in Murder Plays House, with a new arrival on the way, the Applebaum household is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425198693
• ISBN13: 9780425198698
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.3" x 6.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Entertaining

The writing is great, the storyline is interesting, and these quick reads leave me anxious to read the next installation. I highly recommend the Mommy-Track Mysteries series.

A house to die for.

In "Murder Plays House," by Ayelet Waldman, lawyer and part-time sleuth Juliet Applebaum is bursting at the seams. Literally. She has gained fifty pounds during her third pregnancy and she and her husband, Peter, need a bigger house for their growing family. The problem is that a desirable house in L. A. is not easy to get unless the buyers are filthy rich, which Juliet and her husband most certainly are not.While house hunting with her realtor friend one day, Juliet stumbles upon a dead body in the bathtub. The owner of the house, who is the victim's brother, retains Juliet to help investigate the case. Along with her partner, Al, Juliet starts digging into the life of the deceased, an out-of-work actress named Alicia Felix.Juliet interviews Alicia's former co-workers, ex-boyfriend, and anyone else with a possible connection to the crime. At the same time, the mother-to-be is trying to cope with her out-of-control appetite and ungainly shape, while also tending to the needs of her husband and young children."Murder Plays House" has its moments. Juliet is witty and sassy, and Waldman's wry humor and satirical treatment of the shallow L. A. culture are right on target. The author has a go at the trendy fashions, the insane desire to be thin at all costs, and the desperation of marginally talented actors to make it in show biz.Waldman has trouble, however, balancing her lighthearted humor with the book's tragic elements, most of which are introduced in the second half of the novel. The carefree tone of the book's opening gives way to a somewhat somber and preachy ending. Although the plots of the "Mommy-Track Mysteries" are only passable, I keep reading them because of my fondness for Waldman's irresistible and down-to-earth heroine, Juliet Applebaum.

fine mommy Track mystery

She was a public defender but after giving birth to two children, Juliet Appleton quit to become a full time mother. When she became bored, she and her friend Al opened up their own private investigate business that still doesn't pay their salaries. When Juliet discovers that she is pregnant for a third time, she realizes it time to move into a house with lots of rooms. Her husband Peter, a horror screenwriter, agrees with her. Juliet finds the perfect house for her family.After inspecting the home and loving every inch of it, Juliet looks in the guest house where she finds Alicia Felix, the owner's sister, dead in the bathtub, her body knifed countless times. When she talks to Felix about buying the home he tells her he is grieving for his sister and is not ready to move. Juliet agrees to represent Felix and his lover Farzad in their dealings with the police; she and Farzad agree that she will be given special consideration to buy the house if she finds the killer. It's not easy being eight months pregnant and conducting a homicide investigation but Juliet tries anyway.Ayelet Waldman's mommy Track mysteries get progressively feistier and wittier mainly due to the situations the protagonist finds herself in. Juliet is outrageous as she investigates and sometimes with her two children accompanying her interviews a suspect who might yield information that will lead to the killer. MURDER PLAYS HOUSE is a well thought out mystery that uses a social problem as the basis for the killing. Readers will adore Juliet and her two (no make that three) munchkins.Harriet Klausner