Playdate with Death

By Ayelet Waldman

Book Overview

Public defender turned stay-at-home mom Juliet Applebaum's previous adventures have been praised as "compelling" (Publishers Weekly) and "entertaining" (Booklist). In A Playdate with Death, she's back in top form, investigating the mysterious death of her personal trainer in between taming tantrums, planning playdates, and playing dress up with her two rowdy kids.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425184730
• ISBN13: 9780425184738
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Easy Read for Mom's who love to read

As a stay at home Mom of 2 I loved this book. It was perfect for the short spans I can find in my day to read. The story was involving and fun. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. Written for Moms as only a real Mom could. Thanks Ayelet!!

Lots of fun

Poor Juliet Applebaum...she's a stay-at-home mom who's a little bored with her life. Fortunately, things keep cropping up to make her life more interesting. First, the director of the preschool she's trying to get her daughter into is mowed down in a hit-and-run (Nursery Crimes). Then, her babysitter disappears (The Big Nap). Now, her personal trainer has committed suicide...or has he? Juliet's determined to find out the truth.The Mommy-Track mysteries are a great way to spend a couple of hours escaping from everyday life. Especially if that life involves Sesame Street and potty training.

A tense, sharply written thriller

Public defender/home mother Juliet is a fearless sleuth who finds happiness in her new life with her daughter - until her trainer commits suicide. She suspects murder, and uncovers a series of lies and deceptions that not only lure her back into the job, but also eventually threaten her newfound happiness. A Playdate With Death is a tense, sharply written thriller.

A PLAYDATE WITH TOTAL READING PLEASURE!

OK, I have to say it: I didn't think I'd ever be reading a mystery novel, let alone one with a detective who's also a mom with all of the issues moms have, but when I heard Ayelette Waldman on "All Things Considered" on NPR the other day she was so funny & warm & human, I figured the Juliet Appelbaum books had to be good. ANd was I ever right! Few books, let alone genre novels, let alone SERIES, offer as much smarts & fun as this one did: Juliet is a detective with a great twist: she has all the 'issues' that many women have, and the author brilliantly blends the necessary 'mystery' elements with an extra dimension of a mom being driven crazy, every now and then, by her kids. A MUST READ FOR WORKING MOTHERS!

intricate cozy

She is on indefinite leave from her job as a public defender but Juliet Applebaum isn't satisfied being a stay at home mom to her two children. The only time she is truly happy is when she can fit a murder investigation into her hectic schedule. When her friend and trainer is found dead the police rule it a suicide but Juliet's instincts go into overdrive. In Juliet's expert opinion, Bobby was a laid back, easygoing guy with no apparent reason to kill himself. She convinces his girlfriend to give her Bobby's computer to see if there is anything on it that would give a clue to her trainer's state of mind before he died. She discovers that Bobby was searching for his biological parents and when Juliet starts questioning those involved in the search, somebody reacts by threatening her family. A PLAYDATE WITH DEATH is an that stars a protagonist that is impossible to dislike. Her frustrations and troubles with being a stay at home parent add comic relief to a very serious and believable story line. Ayelet Waldman is a natural storyteller who has created such an intricate mystery that readers will want to finish the book in one sitting while obtaining other Mommy-Track novels.Harriet Klausner