• Murder in the Yoga Store

  • The True Story of the Lululemon Killing
  • By: Peter Ross Range
  • Narrated by: Jesse Einstein
  • Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (1,141 ratings)

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Murder in the Yoga Store

By: Peter Ross Range
Narrated by: Jesse Einstein
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Editorial reviews

Jesse Einstein brings a clear voice and understated performance to Peter Ross Range’s nonfiction crime story Murder in the Yoga Store: The True Story of the Lululemon Killing.

Range, a one-time overseas bureau chief for Time, brings his reporting skills to the murder of the Washington, D.C., yoga store employee who was stabbed to death by her co-worker. Vividly evoking both the victim and the killer, the author recounts the incident, the ensuing cover-up by the murderer, and, ultimately, her arrest and trial.

Einstein trusts the power of this grisly true life story and reads it carefully – and without any overly dramatic flourishes.

Publisher's summary

Murder In The Yoga Store is the true story of the brutal killing of a beautiful young woman at a chic Lululemon yoga-wear shop. The grisly murder was committed on a pleasant Friday night in upscale Bethesda, Maryland, a leafy suburb of Washington, D.C. In this riveting narrative by veteran journalist Peter Ross Range, the author for the first time brings together the tale of what really happened in the yoga store murder. He portrays the personalities of both victim and murderer, along with the strange and convoluted circumstances of the crime and its cover-up. Range meticulously exposes layer upon layer of deceit and confusion. His account builds the tension of the police investigation until the real story, so odd and creepy, takes your breath away. The drama of the murder trial is a moving emotional roller coaster built around the prosecutors, the detectives and the family of the victim.

Peter Ross Range is a longtime Washington, D.C., magazine writer. A former White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and foreign correspondent for Time, Range has covered politics, international affairs and war. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic and many other publications.

©2013 Peter Ross Range (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Murder in the Yoga Store

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Never another book with this narrator.

Before writing this I checked to see whether this narrator had done other books. I was astounded to find that he had. His rapid-fire bursts of 3-4 words at a time with no consideration given to the flow of the written word was extremely distracting. Emphasis was given to words within the bursts without thought of the meaning of the entire sentence being read. It was difficult to follow the storyline. The topic was interesting and the writing was okay--I think. I tuned out frequently in frustration. Even as a daily deal, the cost was excessive. Save your money.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Straightforward, and, in the end, unnecessary.

Not sure why I decided to listen to this - I'm too susceptible to late night Daily Deal emails. This is a more-or-less straightforward telling of the investigation of a horrific crime. It's a strange length - not long enough to be really detailed about anything, and with no deep investigation or analysis beyond what one could garner from some quick web-browsing. The additional detail that IS there is kind of strange - long and stereotyped descriptions of Bathesda, of Apple as a soulless hawker of "baubles" (though one can later understand why someone might might misplace some anger towards Apple), and other such generalities. But where there seems to be opportunity to explore the personalities involved more deeply, we get very little. So... if you really want to hear about this crime, and haven't read anything else (even brief news reports) about it, it's OK to listen to while running or washing the dishes. But five minutes on the web will get you at least as much satisfaction and sense of what happened.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Short and not even remotely sweet

While the narration was a bit grating, this true story about an almost fictitiously horrific crime was gripping. I had to listen all the way through, start to finish, just to find out how it all ended.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

CAVALIER TREATMENT OF A SHOCKING CRIME

What disappointed you about Murder in the Yoga Store?

I grew up just a few miles from Bethesda MD, in Washington, DC, so I was very interested in reading about this crime. However, the book started out talking about Bethesda like it is Bel Air, Rodeo Drive, Aspen, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, or any number of other much more tony and high-income areas. I failed to see what that had to do with the murder of a young woman - something that can happen anywhere.

What could Peter Ross Range have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

He could have focused less on all of the alleged accomplishments of the victim (George Washington U grad, six years at Haliburton in Texas, 6 weeks away from TWO Masters from Johns Hopkins), especially since she's working in an yoga store selling workout clothes! Also about all of her drinking and hanging out with her girlfriends, like she's living in "Sex In The City"! It made her a less sympathetic character. Plus I figured out who the perpetrator was about 15 minutes after the police got to the crime scene. Range kept throwing in "red herrings" about black men which "stank" more than they fooled me.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jesse Einstein?

The problem with Jesse Einstein is that he sounds like he should be reading a book about Broadway or Liza Minnelli, rather than a vicious cold-blooded, gory murder. I would say my favorites Nadia May or Simon Vance but this whole story is not up to their masterful standards. Not the crime - THE BOOK.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was like "Oh, well". Without giving away the killer, I just felt like this killer just took a page from the criminal playbook of Susan Smith and Charles Stewart. My husband was brutally murdered in a home invasion robbery in 1997. He was an award-winning recording artist but the legal system didn't go all out to solve his murder, not even as late as today February 11, 2014, just days away from the birth of his first grandchild. This is a typical white woman murder where everyone wants to get all up in arms like it's some kind of surprise. Bethesda is a few steps from one of the most violent cities in the country but people keep flocking there. As one of my law professors taught us: "assumption of the risk".

Any additional comments?

I'm glad I only paid 99 cents for this book in the "Daily Deal". Who writes a true crime book that is less than 4 hours long? True crime writer Gregg Olsen or a young Ann Rule would have made this a real page turner, without all of the melodrama. I felt that the author's whole attitude was too cavalier about this murder. He worked really hard to make up the listener's mind ahead of time. Was the crime unspeakable and unnecessary? Of course, but it always is for the victim's family.

The fact is that the REAL criminals that night were the two Apple Store employees right next door who had their ears to the common wall for NINE MINUTES listening to thumps, bumps, crying, moaning, wailing, gurgling, calls for help, and even death throes, yet they did absolutely nothing! They didn't ask the 2 Apple security guards to check on the women next door. They didn't look out the door. They didn't knock on the wall. And above all, they failed to act as any concerned citizen would do and call 911, even if it was for a welfare check. This is a crime which could have been at least stopped before Jayna Murray was killed, hit and stabbed over 300 times during a protracted struggle. But the Apple employees let her die. They let her lay in her own blood all night long. In the allegedly upscale shopping street in allegedly ritzy Bethesda. THAT is the true crime here!

If white people in America had spent as much time watching "The Wire" as they did the mafia "fantasy" show "The Sopranos", they might not be as naive as they continue to be in this country. No place is safe. No race is solely criminal.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Stopped after the first chapter

What would have made Murder in the Yoga Store better?

Different narrator.

Would you recommend Murder in the Yoga Store to your friends? Why or why not?

No, the narration was distracting.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jesse Einstein?

George Guidall or Barbara Rosenblat

Any additional comments?

The narration was choppy, thus distracting to me and I had to stop listening after the first chapter. At some point, instead of listening to the book, I may go back and read it. The story is intriguing and I'd like to read the full version of what happened.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sad Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Murder in the Yoga Store to be better than the print version?

I would have preferred the written version, to the audio, because the narration was aweful

What other book might you compare Murder in the Yoga Store to and why?

I don't read/listen to a lot of true crime stories so it would be hard to compare it to anything.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jesse Einstein?

anyone!!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I thought the story was sad, but the robotic, awful tone of narrator was difficult to listen too, so I had to take a lot of breaks.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ed
  • 04-30-14

Good story, but told in an average fashion

This was an interesting story, which could have been presented in a more-interesting fashion. The narrator did little for me. If Lululemon's has any male sales associates, this might have been who was doing the narrating. I think a female narrator would have worked much better. The way the story was put together was also lacking. It was more a series of independent facts than it was a weaved-together story. I probably would have enjoyed it more if someone created a piece of non-fiction and based it on the true story. A 10-minute epilogue could have then summarized what actually took place. With all that said, it was a relatively short listen and one that was worth my time. Upon it's completion, I Googled the characters in the book and put together names, faces and other nuances not available in the book. And you can't do that with straight fiction. Worth the price I paid with an Audible Daily Deal.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Maybe worth a longform article; not worth a book.

What would have made Murder in the Yoga Store better?

A professional narrator and a less extended story. A lot of the details seemed unnecessary and like they were added to inflate the story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Basically just an in depth newspaper article

Any additional comments?

I'm not sure what I expected, but this is basically just a scene-by-scene breakdown of what happened, and who the people were who did it. It's a bit unfair for me to review this because I didn't finish it, but I wanted to add my opinion so others who aren't into gruesome details will know that is all this book seems to be. Not worth the listen, as far as I got.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating account of true story

I found the book very interesting. I was unaware of the real murder, but liked the factual presentation of the story. I especially liked the author's straight forward style.

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