Welcome back to the exasperating world of Juliet Applebaum, a public defender turned sleep-deprived stay-at-home mom-and "a unique, highly likable sleuth" (Judith Kelman).
When her infant son's beautiful young Chasidic babysitter vanishes, Juliet can't help wondering if the girl was fleeing something even scarier than her screaming, squalling charge. Like her upcoming arranged marriage, maybe? It's certainly possible. Or perhaps something much more sinister has occurred. Why else would her family be so reluctant to call in the police?
To find out the truth, Juliet, with her over-tired kids in tow, will have to travel from her havoc-filled home in Los Angeles to a Chasidic encalve in Brooklyn. In search of answers. In pursuit of justice. And in desperate need of a big, long nap.
"Amusing but poignant...Waldman has given her heroine a compelling story befitting her intelligent, witty voice."-Publishers Weekly
"Waldman is a master of smart, snappy repartee."-Kirkus Reviews
Welcome back to the exasperating world of Juliet Applebaum, a public defender turned sleep-deprived stay-at-home mom-and "a unique, highly likable sleuth" (Judith Kelman).
When her infant son's beautiful young Chasidic babysitter vanishes, Juliet can't help wondering if the girl was fleeing something even scarier than her screaming, squalling charge. Like her upcoming arranged marriage, maybe? It's certainly possible. Or perhaps something much more sinister has occurred. Why else would her family be so reluctant to call in the police?
To find out the truth, Juliet, with her over-tired kids in tow, will have to travel from her havoc-filled home in Los Angeles to a Chasidic encalve in Brooklyn. In search of answers. In pursuit of justice. And in desperate need of a big, long nap.
"Amusing but poignant...Waldman has given her heroine a compelling story befitting her intelligent, witty voice."-Publishers Weekly
"Waldman is a master of smart, snappy repartee."-Kirkus Reviews
Ayelet Waldman currently lives with her writer-husband Michael Chabon and four children.
Juliet Applebaum, L.A. public defender turned stay-at-home mom, returns for a second amusing but poignant adventure mixing child-rearing and sleuthing (after 2000's somewhat weaker Nursery Crimes, which was marred by a clich?d ending). Four-month-old Isaac isn't sleeping much, and neither is his mother, while dad is busy getting the pilot for a new TV series ready. A chance encounter with a Hasidic storekeeper, Nettie Tannenbaum, brings Juliet temporary relief, when Nettie recommends her niece, Fraydle Finkelstein, as a babysitter. Fraydle works wonders with Isaac and three-year-old Ruby, but next day goes missing. Could Fraydle's disappearance have something to do with her family belonging to a strict religious group, the Satmar Hasidim, and her parents having arranged a marriage for her? Juliet saw Fraydle chatting with a young Israeli named Yossi, but the girl vehemently denied that he was her boyfriend. When the Finkelstein family refuses to involve the police, Juliet travels to Brooklyn, where she wangles a meeting with the family of Fraydle's intended husband. The surprising truth of what happened to Fraydle, however, lies back in Los Angeles. Drawing sharp contrasts between the world of conservative Judaism and Juliet's more liberal Hollywood life, Waldman has given her heroine a compelling story befitting her intelligent, witty voice. (June 12) FYI: Ayelet is the wife of Michael Chabon. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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