What do you think?
Rate this book
A Mommy-Track Mystery #6
The Cradle Robbers
From the national bestselling author of Murder Plays House.
For private-eye-cum-supermom Juliet Applebaum, business is booming. But there are pros and cons to every assignment. And the con in her latest job is her client, an inmate at Dartmore Prison. She's enlisted Juliet to locate the son she surrendered--as well as the foster parents who've disappeared with him. But this case takes a deadly detour when the desperate young mother is fatally stabbed--allegedly by another inmate.
Prison officials dismiss the murder as just one more fatality in lockdown. But Juliet has her doubts. Now she's determined to make the woman's last wish come true, even if it means tracking little Noah--and the killer--through the dark maze of a widespread conspiracy.
"A master of smart, snappy repartee." --Kirkus Reviews
"[A] unique, highly likable sleuth." --Judith Kelman
"A brassy, funny, quick-witted protagonist."--Houston Chronicle
For private-eye-cum-supermom Juliet Applebaum, business is booming. But there are pros and cons to every assignment. And the con in her latest job is her client, an inmate at Dartmore Prison. She's enlisted Juliet to locate the son she surrendered--as well as the foster parents who've disappeared with him. But this case takes a deadly detour when the desperate young mother is fatally stabbed--allegedly by another inmate.
Prison officials dismiss the murder as just one more fatality in lockdown. But Juliet has her doubts. Now she's determined to make the woman's last wish come true, even if it means tracking little Noah--and the killer--through the dark maze of a widespread conspiracy.
"A master of smart, snappy repartee." --Kirkus Reviews
"[A] unique, highly likable sleuth." --Judith Kelman
"A brassy, funny, quick-witted protagonist."--Houston Chronicle
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 5, 2005
8 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Ayelet Waldman
27 books40.3k followersAyelet Waldman is the author of A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road and The New York Times bestseller Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities and Occasional Moments of Grace. Her novel Love and Other Impossible Pursuits was made into a film starring Natalie Portman. Her personal essays and profiles of such public figures as Hillary Clinton have been published in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Vogue, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Her radio commentaries have appeared on "All Things Considered" and "The California Report."
You can follow Ayelet on Facebook and Twitter.
Love and Treasure is available for purchase here.
You can follow Ayelet on Facebook and Twitter.
Love and Treasure is available for purchase here.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
February 21, 2010
This particular book didn't entertain me much, and I was severely disappointed enough to the point where I have decided I will no longer continue on with the series after the next one (since I already own it).
Waldman's The Cradle Robbers had Juliet investigating a case involving an infant disappearing while its mother was still in prison. The story and the mystery itself was just boring and uninteresting, and there were not enough characters and suspects in the book to make it fun to solve. The book had zero suspense and even no humor this time around. I spent more time being appalled at how disgusting Juliet was throughout the book versus anything directly involving the plot.
The first chapter reveals to us how Juliet has not replaced a bed mattress that comes with their new house, and how their infant daughter has red spots all over her body due to the disease-ridden, bug-infested bed. Instead of being able to relate to Juliet as a mother myself, I found her habits disgustingly lazy. Other low points in the book featured how Juliet decided to let her infant sleep in poopy diapers, as well as recycling old milk bottles lying around the house. I may not be the most pristine, cleanest person on the planet, but even I wouldn't stoop that low with taking care of my own son's health.
I also felt very sorry for Juliet's husband Peter, who works so hard to please her throughout the book between cooking dinner and taking care of the three children while Juliet gallivants around California working a case she is not getting paid to do. I strongly disagree with Juliet and her idiotic friends when they discuss how marriage, mothering, and sex just cannot simultaneously work together. Of course it can! You just need to have energy and not be so lazy! I'm lazy and I can get it done!
I only finished this book because it was short and I have one more after this to go in the series. I plan on not pursuing any future installments. Boooo!
Waldman's The Cradle Robbers had Juliet investigating a case involving an infant disappearing while its mother was still in prison. The story and the mystery itself was just boring and uninteresting, and there were not enough characters and suspects in the book to make it fun to solve. The book had zero suspense and even no humor this time around. I spent more time being appalled at how disgusting Juliet was throughout the book versus anything directly involving the plot.
The first chapter reveals to us how Juliet has not replaced a bed mattress that comes with their new house, and how their infant daughter has red spots all over her body due to the disease-ridden, bug-infested bed. Instead of being able to relate to Juliet as a mother myself, I found her habits disgustingly lazy. Other low points in the book featured how Juliet decided to let her infant sleep in poopy diapers, as well as recycling old milk bottles lying around the house. I may not be the most pristine, cleanest person on the planet, but even I wouldn't stoop that low with taking care of my own son's health.
I also felt very sorry for Juliet's husband Peter, who works so hard to please her throughout the book between cooking dinner and taking care of the three children while Juliet gallivants around California working a case she is not getting paid to do. I strongly disagree with Juliet and her idiotic friends when they discuss how marriage, mothering, and sex just cannot simultaneously work together. Of course it can! You just need to have energy and not be so lazy! I'm lazy and I can get it done!
I only finished this book because it was short and I have one more after this to go in the series. I plan on not pursuing any future installments. Boooo!
August 20, 2012
Boring and predictable.
September 6, 2025
3.5 stars
This is one in a series that I picked up at a book sale at the library. It is the 6th in the series, and I believe it did just fine as a stand-alone story.
Juliet is drawn into a case where female inmates are losing custody of their newborn babies. Juliet decides to try to help track down 2 of the babies and finds herself with more than she bargained for.
An enjoyable and quick read for sure.
This is one in a series that I picked up at a book sale at the library. It is the 6th in the series, and I believe it did just fine as a stand-alone story.
Juliet is drawn into a case where female inmates are losing custody of their newborn babies. Juliet decides to try to help track down 2 of the babies and finds herself with more than she bargained for.
An enjoyable and quick read for sure.
May 15, 2018
I like each book in the series better than the last, glad I kept going.
September 1, 2022
It's a very good story but very depressing
October 8, 2014
I've read a few of this series and they were unusual, well-focused and just right for someone with kids, who can't concentrate on too many plot twists and levels of detail for long.
The amateur sleuth has been a public defender but now she's a stay-home mother who is looking for preschools, attending play-dates and funerals and all kinds of things that women do instead of being at work. She still can't help investigating crimes and in this book we learn that babies born in prison are taken from their mothers are adopted out. There may be a good societal reason for doing this but it still seems hard on some of the mothers who don't get the usual choices. The heroine's kids are pretty good kids I have to say, and the good mother comes to the fore and puts their needs first.
The amateur sleuth has been a public defender but now she's a stay-home mother who is looking for preschools, attending play-dates and funerals and all kinds of things that women do instead of being at work. She still can't help investigating crimes and in this book we learn that babies born in prison are taken from their mothers are adopted out. There may be a good societal reason for doing this but it still seems hard on some of the mothers who don't get the usual choices. The heroine's kids are pretty good kids I have to say, and the good mother comes to the fore and puts their needs first.
December 1, 2007
Waldman can write -- no doubt about that. But her plotting with this book in particular left me confused and unsatisfied. And the motivations behind her protagonist's actions are also a bit sketchy.
There were too many loose ends here and not enough beef... Characters are introduced and then conveniently manipulated, killed off, or abandoned. The sub-plot about Juliet's husband and his lawsuit also seems a bit too convenient -- merely a chance for Juliet to redeem herself in his eyes.
I'd like to see something with more "oomph" and a little less carefully-scripted-plot-designed-to-show-how-bad-the-establishment-is.
There were too many loose ends here and not enough beef... Characters are introduced and then conveniently manipulated, killed off, or abandoned. The sub-plot about Juliet's husband and his lawsuit also seems a bit too convenient -- merely a chance for Juliet to redeem herself in his eyes.
I'd like to see something with more "oomph" and a little less carefully-scripted-plot-designed-to-show-how-bad-the-establishment-is.
July 8, 2008
I haven't read any of the other Mommy-Track Mysteries. This was a quick read during a long car ride and it kept me entertained. I liked the mom perspective, although I really don't know how you can nurse your baby and be on the run like she always is. I liked the plot, but it seemed like it wrapped up really quickly and I wasn't quite satisfied. But overall it was a fun read.
August 2, 2010
This is my first "Mommy-Track Mystery". After reading other reviews, I think I'll go back and try the earlier ones in the series. Most agreed that they were better.
Juliet, mother of 3, wife of 1, and former lawyer turned private investigator uses her wit and charm to draw you in. A simple, light read.
Juliet, mother of 3, wife of 1, and former lawyer turned private investigator uses her wit and charm to draw you in. A simple, light read.
July 20, 2014
I have loved all of Ayelet Waldman's Mommy Track Mysteries & The Cradle Robbers did not disappoint. She's such an intelligent writer & knows as much about law as she does about being a mommy & wife. Her books are so easy to fall into. I read this entire book on a very lazy day(My children are all grown.)& can't wait to start the next book in the series.
November 18, 2015
I jumped in to this light mystery series at #6 when it caught my eye at the library and I enjoyed it enough that I'd like to go back and read the first five. Entertaining, humorous and sharp, plus it's a bonus that it's set in LA. A nice light mystery for when you don't have the desire for something meatier.
July 31, 2018
I really enjoy this mystery series, which always makes me laugh. While the conclusion of the mystery in this one was a bit of a stretch for me; I am sorry that there is only one more book in this series.
August 20, 2014
Another fun Juliette mystery. Easy to read and a good adventure all around. Sometimes there are no true happy endings and Ayelet does a good job of making the reader okay with it because at the end of the day we go home with Juliette and her family where it is nice and safe.
November 30, 2015
This book is fast-paced and genuinely moving, with Waldman's ability to capture both modern married life and modern crime. A winner.
October 15, 2007
Really liked the writing on this one, but the mystery resolution was not as satisfying or organic as the rest of the series.
November 10, 2007
Not my favorite of her mysteries, this one didn't really engage me, despite having an interesting premise (someone is stealing the babies of women who give birth in prison).
March 27, 2008
The Mommy-Track Mysteries:
1. Nursery Crimes
2. The Big Nap
3. Playdate With Death
4. Death Gets a Time-Out
5. Murder Plays House
6. The Cradle Robbers
7. Bye-Bye, Black Sheep
1. Nursery Crimes
2. The Big Nap
3. Playdate With Death
4. Death Gets a Time-Out
5. Murder Plays House
6. The Cradle Robbers
7. Bye-Bye, Black Sheep
August 13, 2009
Light enjoyable mystery - good summer read with a mommy detective with 3 children under 6, one still nursing. Especially amusing if you have ever been a breast-feeding, multitasking mother.
June 17, 2008
I keep reading her books in between other books I have on my list to read. I am rating this series a three because they fit into my "light and fluffy" category of books. I do love them though!
July 16, 2014
#6. Missing infant. I remember nothing but the pleasure of reading the book.
June 14, 2009
I love the book's protagonist, Juliet Applebaum, who I suspect is largely based (or so I'd like to think) on Ayelet Waldman herself.
January 5, 2010
Light, breezy and fun. The amusing voice of the main character Juliet Applebaum pulls you right along.
March 19, 2010
Yet another good read although this one was not quite so humorous. On to the next one!
May 12, 2011
Still love the series and the characters, but this story wasn't as good as some of the others. I still enjoed it regardless.
Read
June 22, 2011an awesome short cute book...
November 8, 2011
This was a fun read, not meaty, but a good vacation book. Waldman's own knowledge of the legal system added weight to the issues of single mom's in prison and their babies.
January 28, 2012
I love her quick style and funny humor!
July 24, 2013
It was a quick read, the ending was quite a stretch. The more I get to "know" Juliet, the more she bugs me. I still like the series though, for some fun entertainment.
lost-interest
September 9, 2016Read first book in series - lost interest.
February 17, 2016
Loved it!! The ending is sad!! But I did enjoy how Ayelet changed things up..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews