[.ca] Death Gets A Time Out (ISBN 0425197123)

Time Out for a Great Book!:
In _Death Gets a Time-Out_, Ayelet Waldman has finally hit her stride as a mystery writer. Her first book introduced mommy-track nosy sleuth Juliet Applebaum, featuring snappy dialogue, good intial scene-setting, but ultimately it didn't deliver in either plot or as a mystery. The second book well-captured the haze of the new mom, but when we found out whodunit, I had too many flashbacks to the first book. Book three broke chose a new type of murderer but lacked a sense of place and wasn't consistent in describing Juliet's kids. Here, she did everything right. If you enjoyed any of Waldman's three previous "Mommy-track Mysteries" then _Time-Out_ will delight you because it has it all; twisty plot strands that keep raising more and more questions, plenty of suspects and their deliberate misinformation. The characterization that made the first book so fresh, Juliet's relationship with her family and her musings on how she's not a mom who Does It All, is kept going in almost every chapter. And Waldman finally did some homework on Life in LA this time; Juliet appears to live there in this book. I loved the scene where she's on her cell phone to another cell phone and notices her caller's freeway is moving faster. I hope she gets a better copy editor to catch mistakes like "Cedar's Sinai" which show she doesn't live there or Elect X for "City Counsel" signs that meant too much time in court instead of on the neighborhood streets. This book is too good to have silliness like that staining it. Juliet's racking up the miles on the mom-mobile, driving from a recovery center for wealthy addicts to a religious center based on astrology, with stops in on her movie-star friend whose staff wear khakis. It was also nice to get to know her partner Al better in this book. So: does Juliet have any friends that carry over from book to book? Is this a lack in her character? Most moms find friendship invaluable, and Juliet is driving a carpool, so why do we never meet the kids or their parents? That's about the only thing lacking from Time-Out, and it probably would have made more sense to remove the carpool reference rather than have the rest of us moms wonder about it. After all, her kids go to two different schools, that could make carpooling difficult (or it would make it mandatory!) Having Juliet try to escape a mom who wants to know everything her perschooler said in Juliet's car while Juliet needs to go chase some bad guys would be the extra frosting on this delicious sundae of a book.

Such a perfect read for Moms!:
For anyone who has yet to discover the world of Juliet Applebaum and the writing of Ayelet Waldman--you are in for such a treat! I find myself laughing out loud as I read this book, recognizing some many typical Mom-in-the-trenches moments while flipping pages quickly and reading late into the night due to its absorbing murder-mystery plot. (And as a Mom where you have to get up at the crack of dawn with your kids--I find that the ultimate testament to a great book!) Juliet's down-to-earth attitude and bitingly funny observations pervade Death Gets a Time Out. At various points Juliet is fishing her pregnancy test out of the toilet where she dropped it, wearing a dated 10-year-old dress to an elegant L.A. banquet and noting the dim lighting that benefits all the botoxed-enhanced women who seem to be in attendance, and careening between nursery school pick-ups and getting statements from murder witnesses. For me, balancing being the mom of a 9 and 10 year old with writing parenting books (most recently The Mom Book and Sign Me Up for Simon & Schuster), I find myself constantly torn between my 24/7 Mom role and being overwhelmed with the intensity of love for my kids, to wanting nothing more than to escape for a couple hours to the world of work and adults. Ayelet Waldman completely captures the emotional truths of being torn between roles. I have so little time to read that when I do, I want the book to be fabulous--and Ayelet Waldman's always are!

Slow-moving "Mommy-Track" mystery.:
Ayelet Waldman's "Death Gets a Time-Out" is the fourth entry in her "Mommy-Track" mystery series. The heroine is Juliet Applebaum, a public defender turned stay-at-home mom. Now that her kids are no longer infants, Juliet has a part-time job as a private investigator with her good friend, Al Hockey. Juliet and Al have been hired to find some exculpatory evidence that may help a young man named Jupiter Jones, stepbrother of Lilly Green, who is an Oscar-winning actress and an old friend of Juliet's. Jupiter may face the death penalty for killing his lover and stepmother, Chloe Jones. The "Mommy-Track" mystery series started out well, mostly because the first few books were light and breezy. Juliet's sardonic sense of humor, often aimed at herself, was refreshingly droll, and the novels moved along quickly. The same cannot be said for "Death Gets a Time-Out," unfortunately. This time, Juliet's whining is more annoying than amusing, and the mystery is so convoluted, tedious, and long-winded, that it was truly a chore to finish it. This book needed some serious editing. By the time I finally reached the long-awaited conclusion, I was bored with the large cast of characters and their endless troubles. "Death Gets a Time-Out" is neither amusing nor particularly absorbing, and I do not recommend it.

Hot on the Mommy-Track:
I've read all of Ayelet Waldman's Mommy Track mysteries and this one may be the best yet. Juliet Applebaum is at work again, to clear the name of her best friend's step-brother. She must discover what went on in the past to figure out what has happened in the present. In the course of her investigation, she begins to wonder if she won't clear her friend's step-brother only to find out that her friend is the killer! The usual humor of Ms. Waldman's mysteries is in full flow here. Juliet is someone you'd love to have as a friend in the good times and would hope to have as a champion in the bad times. This is an exceedingly fun series.

Follow this Mommy:
I still enjoy the Mommy Track Mysteries. They are fun, simple and entertaining. Ms Waldman's style is funny and sarcastic. It's a great summer/beach read. Enjoy!