Jeanne
of the Bookblog of the
Bristol Library is back this week with her latest in her Treadmill Book
Review series. Even before starting this series of columns last May she had
reviewed a lot of books here. You can
find her other reviews here by using the search function here on the blog.
Treadmill
Books: Vintage Toyshop Mystery series by
Barbara Early
When Liz McCall found out her father had opened a
vintage toyshop, she had mixed emotions.
On the one hand, she was happy he had purpose again after having to
retire from the police force after an injury.
On the other hand… a toy shop?
Sure, the whole family had loved toys and games, but her father has put
all his savings into this venture and there’s a good chance it won’t succeed.
Things only get worse when a man who had been trying
to sell her father some vintage toys is found murdered inside the shop. And unfortunately, it appears her father
might have had something to do with his death.
That’s the set up for the first book in the series, Death
of a Toy Soldier. Like many first in series books, this one is designed to
introduce characters and setting and as such, can drag a bit at times. Liz’s father, Hank, loves puns and the first
book is peppered with them. I enjoy
puns, but it got a bit much at times.
The puns are still present but toned down in the second book. Liz also
has the cozy standard two boyfriends she is trying to choose between, one of
whom is (of course) a policeman.
The vintage toys make an enjoyable backdrop. Of course to those of a Certain Age, the toys
named are fond childhood memories. . . or memories of their own children’s
childhoods. Interesting bits of history
and toy valuation are thrown in with the nostalgia.
While the first book didn’t wow me, I had read one
of Early’s other series (Bridal
Shop Bouquet Mysteries, written under the name Beverly Allen) and
thought the series delightful after a similarly slow start.
History seems to be repeating itself, because once
again I found the second installment, Murder on the Toy Town Express,
was better paced and generally more entertaining. The author seems more comfortable with both
setting and characters, making the latter more likeable for me. The primary
setting for the second book was a toy/train/comic book show where Liz and Hank
were hawking their wares alongside a neighboring shop owner—an annoying and
abrasive man who, in good cozy fashion,
has “Potential Victim” written all over him. There were some nice twists
and turns in the plot, and there are indications that the two boyfriend paradox
may come to an end. (I base this on Liz’s awareness of the situation, not the
teaser bit at the end of the book.) I
find I’ll be looking forward to Death of a Russian Doll, due out in
October 2018.
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