A Mommy-Track Mystery Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery Crimes | 2000 | Buy |
| The Big Nap | 2001 | Buy |
| A Playdate With Death | 2002 | Buy |
| Death Gets A Time-Out | 2003 | Buy |
| Murder Plays House | 2004 | Buy |
| The Cradle Robbers | 2005 | Buy |
| Bye-Bye, Black Sheep | 2006 | Buy |
Non-Fiction
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Mother | 2009 | Buy |
| Ayelet Waldman Quotes | 2016 | Buy |
| A Really Good Day | 2017 | Buy |
| Kingdom of Olives and Ash | 2017 | Buy |
| Inside This Place, Not of It | 2017 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Daughter’s Keeper | 2003 | Buy |
| Love and Other Impossible Pursuits | 2006 | Buy |
| Red Hook Road | 2010 | Buy |
| Love and Treasure | 2014 | Buy |
Ayelet Waldman brings her background as a federal public defender to her writing, creating mysteries and literary fiction that explore moral complexity and social issues. Her Mommy-Track Mystery series blends cozy mystery conventions with sharp observations about motherhood and suburban life, while her standalone novels tackle subjects ranging from family dysfunction to art restitution after the Holocaust.
Beyond fiction, Waldman has become known for her fearless personal essays and memoirs. Bad Mother challenged conventional wisdom about maternal devotion, while A Really Good Day documented her month-long experiment with psychedelic microdosing. Her work consistently pushes against social expectations and advocates for criminal justice reform, drawing on her legal career defending clients in federal court.
Waldman’s writing appears in publications including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She is married to novelist Michael Chabon, and their family life in Berkeley, California often informs her work’s exploration of progressive parenting, marriage, and the tension between public personas and private struggles.