Liz McCall runs a vintage toy shop, Well Played, in East Aurora, NY along with her father. The duo have a booth at the Toy and Train Expo. Liz expects the show to be a busy, but enjoyable event. Until she sees an enemy from her past. Her childhood nemesis, Craig McFadden, has a booth for his comic book shop set up right next to them. And Craig is still a jerk. His employee, Maxine, seems very nice and definitely competent, which makes the situation a bit better.

Liz's dad says that he has spotted some rather shady looking people at the expo. Liz thinks it might just be his former law enforcement career making him see criminals in any large crowd.....but strange things start to happen, culminating in Craig taking a swan dive from the cat walk of the expo building into the train display below. Was his fall an accident? Or something more sinister?

I used to own a comic book shop so all the discussion of comics, grading and selling collectibles was enjoyable for me. :) The author did a great job of portraying the collector crowd....and how they behave, or misbehave, at an expo event. The collectibles market can be fickle. People sometimes think they have a high dollar item and get rather upset when you have to tell them it's a reprint or too damaged to be worth anything. All those reality shows that portray people finding gems worth thousands in their attics made everyone believe they had a mint hidden away in their home. :)

I love the idea of a retired police officer running a vintage toy shop with his daughter. The fact that the father still has his cop intuition was a great addition to the character. He notices people in the expo crowd behaving strangely.....and he was right! Liz is a strong, intelligent and determined main character. All of the side characters are believable and interesting. The toy and comic book background theme didn't overpower the mystery, but added to it. The mystery moved along at a good pace, with plenty of surprises and twists. I did not see the ending coming.....it caught me by surprise. But, it was one of those moments where I had to shake my head and say to myself that I should have seen it coming..... :) All in all, great cozy mystery!!

Murder on the Toy Town Express is the second book in the Vintage Toy Shop Mystery series. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.barbaraearly.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Title: Murder on the Toy Town Express: A Vintage Toyshop Mystery
Author: Barbara Early
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Cozy/Mystery

Liz McCall run’s her father’s vintage toy shop in East Aurora, NY, especially the old board game section. When the Train and Toy Show comes to town, she and her father are all set for the weekend. Along with every other toy and memorabilia shop in the area. She did not expect her childhood bully, Craig McFadden, to be there, less alone set up a booth right next to hers. When Craig falls to his death in the middle of the show, she jumps in and starts asking questions. Was it really an accident, or was it murder?

Everyone thought that Craig died in an accident while doing a promotion stunt. Her “friends” Ken, the police chief, and Jack, her high school sweetheart and his ex-con brother are not only involved but become suspects as well. When her father becomes enmeshed with the police investigation, Liz can’t wait to jump in and help. She soon realizes that her father may have been the actual target of the killer and not Craig. Can she unmask the killer before it’s too late?

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“Murder on the Toy Town Express” is the second book in Barbara Early’s, A Vintage Toyshop Mystery series. The story centers around Liz McCall and her former police officer father, Hank who owns a vintage toy shop. These two characters are wonderfully written and captivate the reader's imagination. Liz is a bit bossy and nosy; she didn’t inherit this trait from a stranger. Hank sticks his nose into police business at every chance. Keeping him “retired” isn’t easy. Liz, her brother, and her sister-in-law, Cathy are rarely successful at keeping him home and safe.

The love triangle aspect of the book is a bit tense. Liz can’t make up her mind if Ken and Jack are just friends or if they are something more. There are lots of twists and turns, and suspicions abound throughout the entire book. Relationship questions, family, and suspects, as well as the future, become paramount to the story. The questions that remain after the clues are collected will keep readers turning the page, and fill them with anticipation for the third installment.

Ms. Early has crafted a wonderfully exciting and impressive story. Murder on the Toy Town Express is well written, entertaining and filled with wonderful characters that are believable and likable with just enough human frailty to make them memorable. There are moments when the reader will laugh, be shocked, and become possessive of these characters.

This book and the series is happily recommended to readers of all types who enjoy their mystery with love and emotion mixed all together with crime and a location that is unusual and interesting. Readers of authors such as Vicki Delany or Leslie Meier will enjoy this book and this author.


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Liz McCall runs her father's vintage toyshop in East Aurora, New York. After a shooting that left Hank McCall unable to continue as chief of police, he decided to do what he'd always wanted, and the toy store achieved that. She and her dad are preparing for the Train and Toy Show. When they arrive at the convention hall, Liz, to her dismay, sees that Craig McFadden is at the table next to hers. Craig was a bully growing up and picked on her at school through the years. He left for awhile, but when he returned opened a comic book store. She also meets his new employee Maxine who seems nicer than Craig deserves.

But when she finally sees Craig he's dressed in some sort of odd costume with a cape and all she can find out from Maxine is that Craig has something he's going to do that will be a big surprise. Adding to this is the fact that Liz is torn between her high school sweetheart Jack, who's attending the show with his older brother Terry, an ex-con; and Ken Young, chief of police who still relies on her father's advice now and them. But when Craig's surprise is more than anyone bargained for - he falls from the catwalk onto a train set below - Liz has to wonder if he jumped, was pushed, or if this was a stunt gone terribly wrong. When it's believed to be murder that leaves only one thing to do...find the killer...

This is the second book in the series and could have been very good. I can say that I like the characters; Liz is smart and is able to notice details of things around her; her father is far too fond of puns if he's given the chance. (I did have to wonder, however, about the mother naming her son Kohl. She does realize that ancient Egyptians used it as makeup, and that it's still used as eyeliner, right?)

While Jack and Ken are both decent characters and seem to like one another, I also have to say that I absolutely abhor love triangles, and this book takes it to the max. Liz is a grown woman but can't decide which of two men she wants in her life. Just give each man a suit of armor and put them on trusty steeds with lances to joust while the woman dithers over who she wants the most and you can pretty much sum up love triangles.

In the end when the killer was finally revealed and the reasons given it was at least satisfying, but I also have to state that this is the second book I've read this week that gave us a cliffhanger and that's another thing I absolutely hate. I tend to call it 'holding the reader hostage' because if you want to know what happens then you have to read the next book. Now, this is fine if you're watching a television show and you know in about three months you'll find out what happens. But with books you could wait a year or more, and that's unfair to the reader. If you went to see a mystery at the theater and the ending left you with: 'if you want to find out the rest of the story you need to see the next film' you'd be livid. It pretty much sums up what I feel about cliffhangers.

I would have loved to give this book a better rating, but the things I mentioned disappointed me which is why I couldn't rate the book higher. I will read the next in the series because generally I read three books in a series before I make the decision to continue on or not. Hopefully the next will end the nonsense from this one. If not, she's lost me as a reader. ( )

I think I start every review of a cozy mystery pretty much along the same lines: they're either horrendous or wonderful, with very little in between. I've even started developing a list of Cozy Cardinal Sins and tropes. Such as - -

1) Heroine is a small business owner
This book/series: check – but it's okay. This little shop sounds like it would be viable in real life; it's run by family; it sells something that legitimately can be lucrative.

2) There's a love triangle
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Normally this is a bad, bad idea – but it works here. The heroine has genuine affection for both men in her life, and it's handled in a way that feels fairly realistic.

3) Heroine is surrounded by wise-cracking family, friends, and co-workers.
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Because it's funny. "'You have a mind like an elephant’s.' 'Yeah, wrinkled, gray, and way too much junk in the trunk. But that’s totally irrelephant.' I rolled my eyes and glared at him. Otherwise, he’d be making elephant jokes all day." That took the joke and pushed it too far – and it's so silly I had to smile.

4) Author thinks she's skilled at sharp, clever, witty
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Because she is. "Cathy’s fictional version was a little more embellished, containing spear guns, spies, bikinis, an occasional zombie, and a whole lot of steamy embraces. She insisted readers would need something spicier." "But Dad had spun his words as adeptly as some cult leader, playing on my pride, my craving for his approval, my sense of justice, and that infernal inherited curiosity. I said nothing, but my next sip of coffee tasted an awful lot like Kool-Aid." (It was Flavor Aid, but that's just quibbling.)

5) Author thinks she's skilled at metaphor and simile
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Because she is. I don't think I've ever come across a description of someone's "stomach tied into a macramé plant hanger" before, and I like it. Oh, and this is lovely: "Jack’s mother was a riddle wrapped in a lemon inside a porcupine." I want to use that in conversation. One more: "If he’d looked any more sheepish, he’d be eating grass in the fields and sprouting a thick wool coat."

6) The plot is filled with red herrings and has elements that are over the top, far-fetched
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Because Barbara Early can write. And she can plot. She can throw in a few left turns and wacky bits, and fold it into a story that hangs together and comes to a satisfying conclusion.

7) At least as important as the plot (if not more important) is the cast of characters
This book/series: check – but it's okay. Because these characters have a depth that you don't usually see in a light read. The family that runs the toy shop at the center of the series has a legitimate history, and it's not all Norman Rockwell and jokes. These folks have been through stuff, and Barbara Early obviously feels a real warmth towards them. The beauty is that she writes them so well that I do too.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. ( )

This was a cute mystery, I really liked the setting/murder occurred off site, at the well attended Train and Toy Show. That setting brought about many red herrings for the murder, why certain people would have been there at all made for interesting reading. I like Liz McCall and her relationship with her family, especially retired police chief father Hank. The romantic triangle seemed like it was playing a kind of bit role, and I was worried it would fall into a Lake Eden type quandary. Still not sure how that particular thing will play out, but hopefully it will take more of a back seat to the story next time. This is definitely a series I will continue to check out at my library, the vintage toy info is quite fun. ( )