Nursery Crimes

by Ayelet Waldman

Book Overview

"Ayelet Waldman has given birth to a fresh new franchise with her Mommy-Track mysteries. Juliet Applebaum is smart, fearless, and completely candid about life as a full-time mom with a penchant for part-time detective work."--Sue Grafton A public defender turned stay-at-home mom, Juliet Applebaum is bored with playdates and trips to the park--so near the end of her second pregnancy, she gets off the mommy track to track down a murderer. . . . Juliet...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042518000X
• ISBN13: 9780425180006
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Terrific first mystery!

This is a smart, funny, well-written book. The main character is Juliet Applebaum, a former federal public defender, now a stay-at-home mom, who's married to a screenwriter. She's pregnant with their second child and bored out of her skull, so when the headmistress of a prestigious Hollywood preschool is killed in a hit-and-run on the very day she turns down Juliet's two-year-old daughter for admission, Juliet decides to investigate. Waldman's characters are well-drawn and believable, and her swipes at Hollywood are funny without being mean-spirited. I did figure out whodunnit a chapter or so before Juliet did (which may have been because I recently read another mystery in which a similar character was the culprit), but this was such a good book, I didn't mind. I've already ordered the second book in the series, THE BIG NAP, and can't wait for it to get here.

A mystery starring an endearing stay at home mom -what fun!

I read this one in a single gulp and had a blast doing so. Author Ayelet Waldman has created a wonderful new sleuth in Juliet, a stay at home mom with a toddler, a woman dying to go back to work - until she becomes pregnant with her second child and her career plans are put on hold. Resigned to staying at home, Juliet is less than perfect on the domestic front, finding life with a toddler hard to take at times. As Juliet herself says, " I wasn't any June Cleaver. I did all the things mothers aren't supposed to do. I yelled. I was sarcastic. I let her watch TV". Clearly, Juliet needs an outlet besides mothering. Then Juliet's daughter, Rudy ("half adorable..angel, half street urchin from hell") fails to ace the admissions interview at the Heart's Song school. Shortly afterwards, the principal of the school killed and Juliet has a new mission - she decides to solve the crime. The details are what set this book apart from the average mystery - Juliet's frustration living among overly ambitious parents striving to get their toddlers into the best schools, her difficulty balancing her desire for a career with her decision to stay home and her humorous attempts to solve a crime without alienating every "suspect" ( in other words, she isn't the most tactful detective). Waldman catches the subtle nuances of suburban life (albeit suburban Hollywood life) perfectly. I hope to see more from this new author and am looking forward to getting her next book, The Big Nap.

Lots of fun!

Cute mystery featuring Juliet Applebaum, a public defender turned stay-at-home mom. When her young daughter's application to a famous preschool is rejected, Juliet isn't too surprised. When she turns on her TV that night only to discover the school's principal has been killed, however, she is not only shocked, but completely suspicious. Soon she finds herself investigating a few clues, against the advice of all who know her. The clues lead her to a seedy, sleazy Internet newsgroup where she eventually gets herself in deeper than she'd planned to go. Now the suspects are piling up (an angry man whose daughter was also denied entrance to the school? the principal's husband?) and when the cops start to take Juliet seriously, she begins to think she's really onto something. But is she? And, if so, how much risk is this pregnant mom going to take on in pursuit of justice? Waldman is the wife of Michael Chabon, one of my favorite authors, and while her novel isn't "literture" as her husband's often are, this was a book I drank down in one afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed. Am looking forward to Waldman's next Juliet Applebaum mystery, too. Recommended!

A 21st Century Sleuth

Juliet Applebaum, the nutty protaganist, is a woman in need of some prozac. Problem is, she's also seriously pregnant and that's no time to start medicating. She does the next best thing: hits the streets and solves a murder. Eventually, at least. In the 200 breezy pages before she finds her killer, Juliet runs madly around LA, assaults mailboxes, and generally acts like the detective she's not. Its fast and funny, and Waldman's character feels remarkably - almost uncomfortably - honest.

It's Not Over Till the Fat Lady Delivers

I was riveted! This book caused me to feel two things I crave from a good read: (1) I never want it to end and (2) I can't stop reading, so it's over way too soon. This plot has more twists and turns than a Brio trainset and no, I didn't guess who done it. I identified with Waldman's Juliet Applebaum, the Harvard law school trained, former public defender turned stay at home Mom -- even though I'm not a Mommy or a lawyer and as far away from Harvard as the Hollywood celebrity star-struck shrink character in the book is from Sigmund Freud. The book has lot of great characters who don't behave in ways you'd expect. There's sex, of course -- real and virtual (I must say I learned a few things about the world of cybersex I didn't expect), all seen through Juliet's wise-cracking sensibility. There is so much packed into this mystery -- it's smart and funny and heartbreaking -- the dialogue is utterly real. This is a Mommy that Ann Lamott could relate to, for a change. Unlike detectives who are so busy tracking down clues they forget to eat, Juliet never misses a chance to eat and never tires of hearing her one-of-a-kind husband tell her "you're not fat, you're pregnant". Juliet is the kind of in-your-face type of detective I get my vicarious thrills from when she confronts the high-and-mighty, all five feet and 8 1/2 months pregnant of her.