Nursery Crimes

Mommy-Track Mystery, Book 1

By: Ayelet Waldman

Narrated by: Christine Marshall

When the principal of Hollywood's premier preschool is killed in a hit-and-run accident, public defender turned stay-at-home mom Juliet Applebaum gets off the mommy track - to track down a murderer.

©2000 Ayelet Waldman (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Slow start, but fairly decent ending

If you could sum up Nursery Crimes in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, funny, almost-predictable

Who was your favorite character and why?

Juliet was my favorite character. She is an educated woman, who chose to stay home with her children, yet did not become an automaton.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene that was my favorite was when Juliet gets shot.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Juliet gives birth was a moving scene

Great debut

This is a fun and entertaining cozy mystery with well developed characters and a well written plot. The characters seem very realistic and human. I look forward to the next book.

Annoying characters, mystery not so mysterious

What would have made Nursery Crimes better?

I am not someone who actively tries to solve the mystery when reading a mystery novel. I have even read books with a somewhat weak mystery and still given them high ratings because I really enjoyed reading about the characters. But unfortunately for this book, it didn't really have either thing to recommend it. There came a point when the solution should have been obvious to our heroine but it wasn't. I probably could have gotten over it if I liked Juliet more. But I didn't. I read this book because I had read Bad Mother which is basically a memoir by the same author. I knew this character was somewhat autobiographical. Like Waldman, Juliet Applebaum is a former public defender who has become a stay at home mom and is not finding that fulfilling. She is so bored by daily interactions with her 2 year old that she decides to investigate what may be a murder. I know as well as anyone that it can be mind numbingly dull to play mommy and baby trains with a two year old, but still I couldn't get behind her motive to get involved. Then she does a bunch of things that made me cringe, showing up at funerals or homes of the bereaved just to stick her nose in. I really prefer my sleuth have a better motivation than finding her toddler boring especially if she is going to do things like that. I also can't ignore that other people's bratty two year olds are annoying, but if there is anything more annoying than a bratty two year old it is an adult imitating the voice of a bratty two year old. I know Ruby is supposed to be cute but the narration of her was not enjoyable to listen too. Think I'll pass on the rest of the series.