Death of a Toy Soldier by Barbara Early

I finished Death of a Toy Soldier by Barbara Early at 9:30 pm last night.  I have my friend Doward to thank for the wonderful gift of this book through our Halloween Book Exchange, he  kindly ordered it for me and I delighted in devouring it. The cover I would like to start with first and tell you it is one of my favorites for its simplicity and perfectly cozy and yet mysterious look. Its whimsical and fun and still spooky, quite like the book. I do love it when the book cover works so well with the story. Then there is the story, and it is a good one. I love the relationship and complicated history of a Police Chief who has had to retire after being injured in the line of duty, and he opens a store filled with vintage toys. I myself am a huge fan of dolls and toys vintage or just well loved and I have been known to rescue dolls, ponies and so much more from yard sales, and thrift stores alike, only in my world the My Little Ponies I loved don't seem to multiply as they do in this series (okay that line is from book two which I read earlier this year and loved!) There are some great lines in this book. I laughed out loud more than once and I did not want to put the book down. I was thinking about it when I was not reading it and anxious to get back to it, more to learn about Liz and her Dad, and just more about the store as well. The mysteries I also enjoyed and yet had not figured out before the reveal. As much as I wanted to find out who did it, I was enjoying the book so much that I did not want to know, because then it would end. But when I got to that part I was thrilled the book had a few more chapters to go and I finished the book feeling like I had been part of the community and maybe even a minor staff member at the store. 

This was a great read and I am so thankful to Doward for ordering this one for me. Put this on your holiday to be read list for sure! 

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.

You can find Death of a Toy Soldier by Barbara Early on Amazon by clicking here. 
Thank you so much for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com