Playdate With Death: Amazon.ca: Ayelet Waldman: Books

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Product Description

From Booklist

Juliet Applebaum, lawyer turned full-time mother, seems to have a talent for encountering murder. In her third case, she arrives at the gym for a session with her personal trainer only to find that he is dead. Ever ambivalent about her decision to stop working outside the home, she agrees to investigate when the police write the death off as a suicide. The victim's history of drug abuse, his fiancee's fall off the wagon, and the complex web of relationships in his family provide a multitude of possibilities, but Juliet's search for clues quickly opens a Pandora's box that puts her and her family in danger. Waldman's deft portrayal of Los Angeles's upper crust and of the dilemma facing women who want it all will make it possible for readers to forgive a rather flimsy plot. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Public defender turned stay-at-home mom Juliet Applebaum's previous adventures have been praised as "compelling" (Publishers Weekly) and "entertaining" (Booklist). In A Playdate with Death, she's back in top form, investigating the mysterious death of her personal trainer in between taming tantrums, planning playdates, and playing dress up with her two rowdy kids. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
ISAAC shot me two times in the chest. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Questionable Paternity, Tay-Sachs, and Death, April 27 2004

By	mwreview "mwreview" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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 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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read for Mom's who love to read, Feb 6 2004

By	Julie Brugh (Evansville In) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a stay at home Mom of 2 I loved this book. It was perfect for the short spans I can find in my day to read. The story was involving and fun. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. Written for Moms as only a real Mom could. Thanks Ayelet!!

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1.0 out of 5 stars poor writing and boring storytelling, Feb 2 2004

By	Tricia Silverstein (New York) - See all my reviews

I had the bad idea of picking up this book for a long flight, knowing nothing about its author. It turned out to be worse than the airline food. The writing is truly awful, clumsy yet full of conceit. The plot and the characters seem lifted from things you've read somewhere else but much better realized. I confess I was quite surprised that something like this got published. That's the only real mystery about this profoundly mediocre, boring and superfluous novel.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Improving
Ayelet Waldman improves with each entry in this series. In this episode, Juliet Applebaum's trainer commits suicide...or is it suicide? Read more

Published on Oct 16 2003 by Louis M. Perdue

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Waldman....getting better and better
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). Read more

Published on July 24 2003 by N. Gargano

3.0 out of 5 stars in the mood for a simple mystery? pick this one then!
Juliette is at it again. The stay~at~home~mom's fitness trainer is found dead and it is ruled as supposed suicide. Read more

Published on Mar 18 2003 by mamareadssomuch