*thank you to Netgalley and Endeavour Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.
This wasn't for me. Once Id read chapter 1, which was only very short, my first thoughts were, 'what the hell?' I just did not enjoy this unfortunately.

The toy cupboard by alan scholefield.
When Jo Townsend spies a strange man taking photos of her running her stall in Camden Lock Market, she is shaken up to say the least. But her attempts to put the strange incident aside are undermined when she is assaulted upon her return home by an unknown assailant – who is looking for her husband, Mike.
Absolutely fantastic read.
I really enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down. Loved the story. Didn't expect it to go like that though. I loved the ending too. Perfect. 5*.

Unfortunately not for me. This is a republished book from the 1980's had this been clear in the description I would not have requested a copy.

DNF, may have been great, but after 15% I just wasn't engaged in the book.

3.5 Stars


Along came a spider who sat down beside her

Jo Townsend is being followed. She's absolutely sure of it and he's taking pictures of her with his camera.

And when another man breaks into her house and wants to know where her husband is, she is scared to death. Her husband, as far as she knows, is on a trip searching for antiques. But is that really where he is? And does he know this man who is looking for him?

Facing her husband with a barrage of questions, he admits that he has obtained a statuette on the black market and the man is looking for it. Seems that Mike didn't exactly get it legally.

He talks Jo into smuggling the item into France, where Jo lived as a child. And being forced to stay in her childhood home brings back memories she'd rather not deal with.

Lots of twists and turns along the way make this a most interesting tale. There are many revelations about the family dynamics ... Jo, her husband Mike, her sister Flora. The two strange men that have entered her world. One wants something from her ... the other wants to take care of her. Throw in a somewhat corrupt cop .... and I was hooked on the story.

The history of the toy cupboard was a puzzle and I was happy to see it solved. It's a short fiction - less than 200 pages - and although not a spectacular psychological thriller, it's still worth reading.

Many thanks to the author / Endeavour Press / Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unsolicited, unbiased, and entirely my own.