A Playdate With Death

Rating:
Summary: Questionable Paternity, Tay-Sachs, and Death
Review: I picked up A Playdate with Death because I was intrigued by its title and cover artwork. It is a well-written, fast-moving book. Author Ayelet Waldman seems to put a lot of her personal experiences into her books. Just like the book's heroine Juliet Applebaum, Waldman is a former public defender turned stay-at-home-mom. Applebaum often wavers from loving her two young children and movie-making husband and homelife to borderline resenting her family from keeping her from pursuing her career aspirations. In a very un-Dr. Laura way, Applebaum reflects: "Since I'd quit work, I'd found myself increasingly bored and frustrated with staying home. I'd left my job because I thought raising my kids myself was more important than working, but sometimes it was difficult to imagine my sighing, listless presence around the house was really doing Ruby and Isaac any good" (pg. 73). At this point, she must juggle her strong-minded daughter's schedule and drag around her 2 ½ year old son who still demands to be nursed (at one disturbing point, the child announces "bring me my breasts"!) as she investigates the sudden and suspicious death of her physical trainer. His death is deemed a suicide, but Applebaum is not so sure.

Waldman obviously conducted a lot of research in writing this book, especially on the Tay-Sachs disease which plays a large role in the story. Some parts of the book seemed a little unrealistic, especially the ease with which Applebaum was able to get numerous strangers to open up about extremely sensitive issues. Applebaum seems to do no wrong in this book, getting answers she needs from people in only a few visits, having a cop turned private investigator beg her to work with him because of her legal skills, even succeeding in firing some rounds at a rifle range for the first time. Her distaste for firearms is also substantiated. The book is fast-moving enough to hold one's attention, but, to me, the circumstances surrounding the death were more intriguing than the whodunnit. One fun sidenote: when searching her trainer's laptop, Applebaum runs across a review the suicide/murder victim wrote on Amazon for a John Grisham book which "he liked...okay but he wasn't thrilled" (pg. 52). He probably gave it 3-stars like I am giving A Playdate with Death.

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Waldman....getting better and better
Review: I really enjoyed this book. As a matter of fact, I thought it was much better then the last book, (the second in this series). I had decided to wait for paper on this one, but I won't do that again. I am going to rush out and get her next one as soon as possible. By the way, note to Ms. Waldman, I love the way you say things about your children, and things about being a mother, that all of us think at one time or another, but never say out loud!

Rating:
Summary: No blood, lots of guts
Review: I'm an avid mystery reader (PD James, D Sayers, R Hill) and enjoy Waldman's series immensely. Characters come across, even with brief descriptions and the dialogue is full of things I wish I'd have the chutzpah to say myself. I picked up 'Playdate' and didn't put it down until I was done.
As a new mom I relate totally to Juliet Applebaum (what mother wouldn't?!) and I greatly appreciate the lack of blood and gore. Many mystery writers rely on these devices to hold audience interest but Waldman never sinks to this level, instead relying on factual revelations and character analysis to further the plot development. Granted, one won't find a Dalglieshian tortured soul expounding on human philosophy while quoting WH Auden, but for an enjoyable, quick-paced humorous read I would recommend this book and series highly.

Rating:
Summary: Puts All Other Mystery Writers To Shame
Review: If only every detective novel could sparkle with such wit and verve! I read mysteries for pleasure, and it's remarkable how few of them manage to provide even the tiniest drop of that precious commodity.

Ayelett Waldman's book are sheer delight from start to finish!

Rating:
Summary: in the mood for a simple mystery? pick this one then!
Review: Juliette is at it again. The stay~at~home~mom's fitness trainer is found dead and it is ruled as supposed suicide. Juliette pokes her nose and starts investigating and learns it was murder. Bobby Katz had some secrets his fiancee, Betsy, did not know about and secrets he himself only found out recently!

Cozy, entertaining mystery but nothing that grand.

Rating:
Summary: A PLAYDATE WITH TOTAL READING PLEASURE!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A tense, sharply written thriller
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: intricate cozy
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: A "cozy" mystery -- Hollywood style!
Review: Waldman is maturing as an author. This book was a fast read, with a clever plot and mostly interesting characters. Unfortunately, one of the most interesting characters was the victim -- the heroine's personal trainer at the gym.

Juliet Applebaum, the heroine, is a Jewish version of Valerie Wolzien's WASP-y suburban heroine, Susan Henshaw. Both characters build their lives around home and family and are defined more by their roles than their three-dimensional personalities. However, Wolzien's characters are a little more appealing and the heroine a little more three-dimensional.

Here, the Hollywood setting recedes as Juliet gets embroiled in the victim's dysfunctional family -- or families. We learn a lot about human genetics along the way.

With Juliet emerging as a strong heroine, her screenwriting husband becomes a shadowy figure. The children are...well, typical screaming children.

This series isn't as deep as, say, the series by Nevada Barr or Marcia Muller. But I find myself waiting for the next book and enjoying an evening or two thoroughly immersed in what's happening.