The Cradle Robbers by Ayelet Waldman

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

May 7, 2010

The Cradle Robbers is the 6th book in the Mommy-Track mysteries by Ayelet Waldman.

In this one, mommy and former lawyer Juliet is investigating the disappearance of an infant, whose mom, Sandra, is in prison. When Sandra is murdered behind bars, Juliet must work harder than ever to hunt down and find foster parents for Sandra’s child.

In the first chapter, Juliet mentions how her baby daughter has red spots all over her body due to sleeping in a disease-ridden, bug-infested bed that came with their new house. WHAT?! Seriously, what mom would ever put her baby in a strange old used bed? I don’t find that relatable at all, and I’m so grossed out and disappointed in Juliet.

Next, Juliet decides to let her baby sleep in poopy diapers, and she reuses old baby bottles she finds lying around the house. I may not be the cleanest person or Mom of the Year, but there are little things like this you just don’t risk with babies.

I regretfully have to say that The Cradle Robbers is incredibly boring and uninteresting. Plus, there just aren’t not enough characters and suspects to make solving the mystery fun.

The Cradle Robbers lacks suspense, along with the humor present in the other Mommy-Track books. I was probably more disgusted with Juliet’s character than anything.

You know, I also felt really bad for Juliet’s husband Peter, who works so hard to please her between cooking and taking care of their three kids while Juliet gallivants around California working a case she’s not getting paid to do.

Lastly, I strongly disagree with Juliet and her idiotic friends, when they talk about how marriage, mothering, and sex cannot simultaneously work together. It certainly can, and age has nothing to do with it.

Honestly, I only finished The Cradle Robbers because it was short and there’s one more book left in this series, called Bye-Bye, Black Sheep (2006).

Ayelet Waldman has also written these books:

What do you think about this series?

Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Sarah Ann

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