Liz McCall has come to love running her father’s vintage toyshop back home in East Aurora, NY, so when the Train and Toy Show comes to town, she’s all aboard for a fun toy-filled weekend. The only hitch is that her childhood bully Craig McFadden, now local business rival, has set up a booth next to hers. But the fun and games are over when Craig falls from the ceiling in a publicity stunt gone wrong.
What was initially thought to be a fatal accident proves much more sinister. Pulled into the case by her feelings for both Ken, the police chief, and Jack, her high school sweetheart whose brother is one the prime suspects, Liz dives headfirst into the investigation. But as she digs deeper, she’s shocked to learn her father may have been the intended target.
The trouble train is barreling down and Liz may have just bought herself a first class ticket in Murder on the Toy Town Express, Barbara Early’s delightful second installment in her Vintage Toyshop mysteries.
Book 2 of the Vintage Toy Shop series was every bit as good as the first! This is shaping up to be a go-to series, and not just because I love the setting so much (and I'm with Liz about Sahlen's Hot Dogs, mmmm.) The twisty plot kept me guessing right up to the exciting ending, and there were a few "oh no way!" moments along the way. I love Liz's relationship with her dad, they make a great team and the running puns are always 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 felt bad for Liz in this one. I mean, what's wrong with a woman casually dating 2 guys? Apparently a lot, since Liz's family felt like they needed to nag her about it every 2 minutes. Can't a single girl have a little fun?
It was the plot that really stands out in this book, who killed Comic Book Craig and why? Craig wasn't a likeable guy by any means, and there were plenty of motives and suspects to keep me guessing, and the side plots added both a bit of fun and introduced new characters I hope to see more of in later books. The big plot twist at the end made for an exciting and satisfying conclusion and by the very last page, I was already dying (pun intended) to read the next book (October can't come soon enough!)
Reading updates
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28 January, 2018:
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28 January, 2018:
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Started reading
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28 January, 2018:
Finished reading
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28 January, 2018:
Reviewed