Death of a Toy Soldier (Vintage Toyshop Mystery Series #1)

by Barbara Early

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629538396
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	10/11/2016
Series:	Vintage Toyshop Mystery Series , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2016
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.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Death of a Toy Soldier:
"Details about the antique and vintage toy business frame this cozy mystery, which is narrated by the charming Liz and offers a satisfying portrait of a close father-daughter relationship."
—Booklist

"This well-turned mystery...is filled with interesting characters, old-fashioned gaming lore, and a million puns."
—Kirkus Reviews

“This holiday-themed tale gets Early’s fresh cozy series off to a lively start.”
—Library Journal, Killer Holidays Feature

“A mystery lover’s delight and a solidly entertaining read from cover to cover.”
-Midwest Book Review

"The characters are captivating, the plot is well-constructed, the mix of crime and laughter is balanced. Cozy mystery fans have been presented with a charming gift for themselves and their mystery-reading friends this Christmas season. Don’t miss it."
—Noir Journal

“This is a warm and thoroughly entertaining cozy mystery of humor, unconventional characters, and even an added dash of romance."
—Kings River Life Magazine

“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!”
—Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author of the Manor House mysteries and the White House Chef mystery series

“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.”
—Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author of the Bibliophile mysteries

"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!"
—Erika Chase, aka Linda Wiken, national bestselling author of the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries

“A vintage toyshop set in a winter wonderland with friends we wish we had makes for a fun and heartfelt read beginning to end.”
—Duffy Brown, national bestselling author of the Consignment Shop mystery series

Praise for Barbara Early (writing as Beverly Allen):
"A great read...a page-turner of excitement that takes readers along for a thrilling ride."
—Suspense Magazine on For Whom the Bluebell Tolls

“Allen’s upbeat series debut reads smoothly and easily with excellent dialog and an immensely likable cast....The flower business really stars in this cozy.”
—Library Journal on Bloom and Doom

“Provides readers with a fresh twist on the amateur-sleuth story.”
—Booklist on Bloom and Doom

“Captivated my attention from the very first page...Beverly Allen writes wonderfully engaging characters in a lovely small-town setting...A thoroughly entertaining and engaging mystery! I can’t wait for the next one!”
—Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of On Borrowed Time on Bloom and Doom

“It’s an engaging bouquet of mayhem and murder. What a delight for cozy readers!”
—Erika Chase, national bestselling author of the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries on Bloom and Doom

From the Publisher

10/15/2016
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.

Library Journal

2016-07-20
A retired police chief still has a nose for crime.When an injury forced Hank McCall to retire, he sank his savings into Well Played, a vintage toy and game shop in East Aurora, New York. His daughter, Liz, who lives with him over the shop, helps run it along with other family members. Soon after a nameless man brings in some antique toys to be appraised, his body is found in the shop, killed by a lawn dart. Unfortunately, a blow to the head has left Hank, who was present at the time, with no recollection of what happened, so new police chief Ken Young has to consider him a suspect. Hank and Liz start sleuthing in an attempt to find the real killer even though Hank can’t be certain that he’s innocent. The dead man, a home health aid separated from his wife and eight children, was very religious and apparently trustworthy, but the vintage toys he wanted appraised seem to have been stolen from one of his clients, Sy DuPont, a grouchy old man whose family was squabbling over his possessions even before his recent death. It’s a major shock to them to find that the very young woman he recently married is interested in his house only because she thinks it’s haunted. Both the new chief and Liz’s old boyfriend Jack Wallace take a romantic interest in Liz—but Jack, a nephew of Sy DuPont, is interested in the case as well. Armed with gossip and inside information from Hank’s old friends and years of information collected by Sy’s next-door neighbors, a pair of snoopy spinsters, Liz begins to build a list of suspects in the hope of clearing her dad’s name.This well-turned mystery, first in a new cozy series, is filled with interesting characters, old-fashioned gaming lore, and a million puns.

Kirkus Reviews