Death of a Toy Soldier

Title:

A Vintage Toy Shop Mystery

Author:

Early, Barbara

Subject:

Mystery

Fiction

Description:

Liz McCall grew up in a playful winter wonderland but it was never her dream to manage her father's vintage toyshop. However, after he sank his entire police pension into the business, someone needed to help him turn his dreams into reality—and keep him from sneaking off to patrol the not-so-mean streets of East Aurora, NY.The mood goes from nice to naughty when a nervous man, who was trying to have his antique toys appraised, is found in the shop with a lawn dart through his chest. Suddenly, Liz's business plan is plunged into deep freeze, while she and her father find themselves toying with a cold-blooded killer who's playing for keeps.Now, it looks like Christmas might be cancelled for the neighborhood kids if Liz can't wrap up the case in Barbara Early's delightful debut Death of a Toy Soldier.

Publisher:

CROOKED LANE BOOKS

Date:

2016/10/11

Digital Format:

READ IN BROWSER

ADOBE EPUB

KINDLE

Language:

English

ISBN:

9781629538396

Summary

Liz McCall grew up in a playful winter wonderland but it was never her dream to manage her father's vintage toyshop. However, after he sank his entire police pension into the business, someone needed to help him turn his dreams into reality--and keep him from sneaking off to patrol the not-so-mean streets of East Aurora, NY.

The mood goes from nice to naughty when a nervous man, who was trying to have his antique toys appraised, is found in the shop with a lawn dart through his chest. Suddenly, Liz's business plan is plunged into deep freeze, while she and her father find themselves toying with a cold-blooded killer who's playing for keeps.

Now, it looks like Christmas might be cancelled for the neighborhood kids if Liz can't wrap up the case in Barbara Early's delightful debut Death of a Toy Soldier .

Author Notes

Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation. Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a school teacher, a pastor's wife, and an amateur puppeteer. After several years living elsewhere, she and her husband moved back to her native Western New York State, where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and posting pictures of her four cats on Facebook. This is her fourth mystery, and the first in her Vintage Toyshop series.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Just in time for the holiday season comes this heartwarming series launch from Early (Bloom and Doom and two other Bridal Bouquet Shop mysteries written as Beverly Allen). In a village in western New York, retired police chief Hank McCall and his 30-something daughter, Liz, run a vintage toy shop. But their efforts are hampered by Hank's insistence on checking out local crime scenes and his joy in making dreadful puns. The former leaves his daughter fretting about his safety-and the latter may make the reader wince. Liz runs interference for Hank, putting her in conflict with the new chief of police, who appears to have taken a shine to her. Meanwhile, a man who brings in some old toys to be valued ends up dead in the shop, the toys missing. Since the store alarm never sounded, Hank becomes a suspect in the man's murder. Naturally, the McCalls stir the pot by investigating. The characters can be whiny at times, but cozy fans should be satisfied. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Liz McCall has returned to East Aurora, New York, to help her father, Hank, make a success of his vintage toy shop, called Well Played. Hank, once the town's police chief, retired after being injured in the line of duty and sank his life savings into the shop. To Liz's consternation, Hank still fights crime by making citizen's arrests. When Sully O'Grady is found dead in the shop, Hank becomes a suspect after he is found with the victim, dazed and unable to remember what happened. Liz soon learns that Sully was once a caregiver to the reclusive Sy DuPont, who recently died. Did Sy die a natural death, and could his death be connected to Sully's murder? With the help of Sy's nephew, Jack, and a couple of Sy's eccentric, elderly neighbors, Liz attempts to find the killer and clear her father. Details about the antique and vintage toy businesses frame this cozy mystery, which is narrated by the charming Liz and offers a satisfying portrait of a close father-daughter relationship.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2016 Booklist

Library Journal Review

After writing the "Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery" series (Floral Depravity) as Beverly Allen, Early launches a new series set in East Aurora, NY. When her father retires as police chief, Liz McCall returns home to help him open a vintage toy shop and keep an eye on him since he seems to forget he isn't the police chief anymore. The McCalls are hoping for a successful holiday season, but then a man turns up dead in the shop with a lawn dart through his chest. Now Liz and her dad need to find the culprit and get back to business. VERDICT This holiday-themed tale gets Early's fresh cozy series off to a lively start. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.