Murder on the Toy Town Express: A Vintage Toy Shop Mystery

Just in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I never really grew up, so you can imagine how quickly I jumped at a cozy mystery set around a nostalgic toy shop. The first in the series was great, and I’m happy to report that Murder on the Toy Town Express is even better.The Toy and Train Expo has come to East Aurora, New York, and Liz McCall and her father, Hank, have set up a booth for their vintage toy shop, Well Played. Liz’s isn’t super happy when they find their location and discover they are located next to Craig McFadden’s comic book booth. Craig and Liz had gone to school together, and Craig has bullied her. She has done her best to avoid him as an adult, but the little bit they have interacted has shown that he hasn’t matured a whole lot.However, for this weekend, he’s buzzing about some big announcement he plans to make that morning. And he’s wearing a superhero costume that no one seems to recognize. Before he can make his announcement, he climbs up the scaffolding in the convention center and then plunges into the middle of an elaborate train display. No one else was up there, but something feels off to Hank, the retired chief of police. It appears that Liz’s family and friends are potentially connected in some way to the case, so she begins to investigate. But can she make sense of all that is happening?There really is a lot going on here to keep us entertained. There’s always some plot point or twist, and the various elements that come into this book are fun. We also get a strong sub-plot. The climax is well done and wraps everything up logically.The characters are great. Liz and Hank are the ones we see the most, but the rest of the supporting players are also strong. We are introduced to quite a few new characters here, and I really liked them. We don’t get to know all of them super well, but that’s just a function of how much page time they get.The first book of the series set up a romantic triangle. There are significant developments in it, here, and they also played into developing Liz better, which I loved. While the love triangle has gotten a bad name in cozy mysteries, this is one series where I think it is being handled well.I can’t leave out the humor. Hank loves puns, as you might have guessed from the name of the toy store. Since I love puns, the scenes where he uses some always made me laugh. There are some other funny events in this novel, and I laughed out loud several times while I was reading.Murder on the Toy Town Express is just plain fun, with a good mystery and characters you quickly come to love. Don’t hesitate to visit Liz today.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are very likable and the location is interesting. A vintage toy store brings back many memories of favorite toys in my childhood. I read the first book "Death of a Toy Soldier" and it too was so good. If you are a fan of puns you will love this series.

This is a fun Christmas murder mystery. It made me laugh, and just feel good. Growing up in WNY made it extra enjoyable for me.

liked because of area and not much gore but still a great mystery.

I enjoyed the setting of the toy and train show. I used to go to toy shows when I was a kid and teenager. The addition of comics to the show makes it unique - you don't see that much in cozies. I liked the part about the toy U.F.O. and the large "shape shifting" aliens. Another funny part was when there was a car crash. The driver got spooked. There's also some cats in the book, notably Othello the Tuxedo cat. I liked the family dynamic - Liz, her dad, and her sister-in-law. There is a bit of a love triangle but if you peek at the end, one suitor may be out of the running. This author also has a series called the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries under the name of Beverly Allen.I was surprised when Liz felt a bit of remorse and that she should have been nicer to Craig; he had bullied her terribly in the past, after all. He was the victim and that was fine with me. I liked the part about his costume and stunt.

Liz McCall has settled into her job as the manager of her father’s vintage toy shop in East Aurora, NY when the Train and Toy Show comes to town. Liz and her retired police officer father decide they will set up a booth at the show to showcase some of the toys from their shop. The show should be a lot of fun but Liz finds that her childhood bully, Craig McFadden, is also at the show and now their business competition with a booth set up right next to theirs.The show is going well when everyone spies Craig up in the rafters of the building walking around when suddenly he falls right into a display. Rushed off to the hospital everyone first thinks Craig’s publicity stunt just went wrong and he’s had a horrible accident. But when clues start pointing to there being more to Craig’s fall and possibly even her father as the real target Liz once again finds herself investigating the case.Murder on the Toy Town Express is the second book in the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series by Barbara Early. Each book in the series is a cozy mystery that features a different case so the books can pass as standalones if desired although there would be a slight bit of character building missing that occurred in the first book.This cozy series has all of the fun elements that I enjoy from the genre, likable characters and a fun, unique setting along with a believable investigation from our main character with a bit of help from her ex-police father. I would warn that while any romance is extremely background in the stories there is a bit of a love triangle angle with two potential romantic interests for Liz but it seems put in more for involvement with the case than an actual push towards romance. I’ll be looking forward to the next installment in the series and what’s in store for our characters in the future.I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I enjoyed the expansion of the series. The Vintage Toyshop becomes the base for the characters so it’s not limited to finding a body in the shop. The Toys are still present, providing nostalgic memories of past games and fads. Supporting characters are more fleshed out. The mystery was enjoyable. I want to read the next