false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173374891m/278916.jpg 278916 5 <I>Nursery Crimes</I>, progeny of first-time author Ayelet Waldman, bills itself as a mommy track mystery, the first in a series featuring Juliet Applebaum, a 5-foot-tall dynamo who gave up a career as a public defender to stay home with her daughter Ruby. Pregnant with her second child, Juliet is at loose ends and dissatisfied: <blockquote>Anyone who tells you that having a child doesn't completely and irrevocable ruin your life is lying. As soon as that damp little bundle of poop and neediness lands in your lap, it's all over. Everything changes. Your relationship is destroyed. Your looks are shot. Your productivity is devastated. And you get stupid. Dense. Thick. Pregnancy and lactation make you dumb. That's a proven scientific fact.</blockquote> When Ruby, a whiner and grabber par excellence, doesn't make the cut for Heart's Song, L.A.'s most prestigious preschool, Juliet and her husband Peter shrug it off with good grace. But when the school's founder, Abigail Hathaway, is killed in what the police think is a hit-and-run accident, Juliet's convinced something nefarious is afoot. Did Bruce LeCrone, a movie studio powerhouse with a flashpoint temper, kill Abigail after his son was denied admission? What about Daniel Mooney, Abigail's fourth husband--an egocentric new ager who's been communing with a voluptuous redhead? As Juliet discovers that everyone has secrets to keep, she realizes being a stay-at-home-mom is rather more risky than she'd thought.<p> Waldman's novel is breezy and engaging. Both Juliet's frustration ("Now, suddenly, just because I had doffed my lawyer's wig and donned a housewife's kerchief, people like Detective Carswell thought they could pat me on the head and send me on my way") and her witty asides on the idiosyncrasies of life in southern California (think Kinsey Millhone with a diaper bag) lend ballast to an admittedly slim plot. Effortlessly adept at sketching both character and place, Waldman falters slightly when it comes to action. Too often, she relies on awkward summaries to provide readers with crucial information, and Juliet's deductions occasionally seem abrupt and unsubstantiated. But these narrative hiccups don't detract from a thoroughly pleasant read. One minor cavil: Waldman's rendition of 2-year-old Ruby's speech is irritatingly coy (dinner at an Italian restaurant becomes "fed-up-cino alfwedo"). Since Juliet herself so staunchly opposes the saccharine school of motherhood, must her child descend to its cloying depths? <I>--Kelly Flynn</I> 1318435 1 7 2000 Nursery Crimes (Mommy-Track Mystery, Book 1) total:259|5:20|4:90|3:125|2:21|1:3| 259 880 378 41 4 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 17:36:40 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 17:50:48 -0700 2009

Juliet Applebaum is a stay-at-home mom who used to be a public defender. Being a stay-at-home mom isn't always her cup of tea, but she's trying to make it work. With a new baby on the way and her daughter almost 3 years old, J...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 14:38:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 14:41:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 16:08:39 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 16:09:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 11:31:08 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 08:18:40 -0700 2009 Not so into the mystery. I don't think I've met many good lawyers who didn't play their cards close to their chests. That just made it unreadable for me.]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 16:26:06 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 16:28:38 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat May 16 12:27:24 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 13:53:34 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Sun Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 21:28:42 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 16:08:36 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 19:32:48 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 19:34:06 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Nov 18 13:53:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 13:53:44 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 14:43:12 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 14:43:50 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 21:18:47 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 21:20:06 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 08:52:37 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 08:32:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 14 09:19:04 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 09:19:36 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Nov 17 22:15:49 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 22:21:35 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 20:03:56 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 07 18:40:54 -0700 2007
An entertaining quick read! Not too heady, not too involved, but kept me interested and up late. Quick summary: Juliet, former ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 16:09:35 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 16:10:05 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 16:01:05 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 05:48:57 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 16:40:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 16:57:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon May 18 04:45:29 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 04:53:41 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 04:45:29 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 05:57:34 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 10:43:42 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=278916