Bye-Bye, Black Sheep by Ayelet Waldman

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

May 14, 2010

Bye-Bye, Black Sheep is the 7th and last book in the Mommy-Track cozy mystery series by Ayelet Waldman.

In this one, mommy and former lawyer Juliet Applebaum is helping a transgender person named Heavenly solve the mystery behind the death of her prostitute sister, Violetta. Initially, the case was thrown out because Violetta was both a hooker and drug user. So Juliet decides to take on the case to seek justice for Heavenly and her family.

The tone in Bye-Bye, Black Sheep is far darker and more somber than all the other books in this series. The humor is basically nonexistent, and Juliet’s narrating voice feels different—more serious and powerful, for sure.

Juliet has a few cool soliloquies in this book—one about being a realist versus a pessimist, and another one about her fears related to being a mom and the pressure of keeping her kids safe at all times. Yes—that’s so relatable and normal. All moms definitely share similar fears.

This book is excellent and engaging, with no lulls. My only gripe was its ending, which felt rather abrupt for a series finale. It was far better than The Cradle Robbers (book #6), which I only finished so I could get to this one.

This Mommy-Track series is definitely not Ayelet Waldman’s best, and I highly suggest reading some of her other novels! She’s a talented writer, and so is her husband, Michael Chabon—the author of Wonder Boys (1995) and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000).

Ayelet Waldman has also written these books:

What do you think about the Mommy-Track series?

Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Sarah Ann

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