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DEATH OF A TOY SOLDIER

Barbara Early

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. 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 (writing as Beverly Allen) , and the first in her Vintage Toyshop series (as Barbara Early).
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Published 2016-10-11 by Crooked Lane Books

Comments

Liz McCall, the resourceful amateur sleuth at the heart of Death of a Toy Soldier, finds herself playing a deadly game of whodunit after a murder in her family’s vintage toy shop. This first-in-series from Barbara Early is an engaging romp sprinkled with humor, warmth, and romance. An absolutely delightful cozy mystery!

A vintage toyshop set in a winter wonderland with friends we wish we had makes for a fun and heartfelt read beginning to end.

I was hooked on page one of Death of a Toy Soldier, the first book in Barbara Early’s delightful new Vintage Toyshop Mystery series, and the fun and suspense didn’t let up until the very last sentence. The cozy hometown setting and a lovable cast of characters add to the story’s charm and the fascinating world of vintage toys offers a unique backdrop for a smart and savvy protagonist to solve a complex mystery that will keep readers guessing late into the night.

What's a gal to do when her retired police chief dad won't stop playing cop? Well, help him, of course! Add to the mix a vintage toy shop, a cast of memorable characters, a murder and a séance...well, it's hard to tell where the fun stops and the sleuthing begins. One thing's for sure, you'll be wanting to read more!