Death Of A Russian Doll
Vintage Toyshop Mystery, Book #3
Barbara Early
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Just in time for the holidays, fans of Leslie Meier and Vicki Delany are going to want to pick up the charming third installment in Barbara Early’s Vintage Toy Shop mysteries.

It’s all fun and games with toyshop owner Liz McCall until deadly secrets are unwrapped upon the eve of the holidays.

Who knew? Liz McCall is not thrilled when her boyfriend Police Chief Ken Young introduces her to his estranged wife Marya. The model-quality Russian immigrant, back in East Aurora to rekindle their romance, will be working as a hairstylist at the barber shop next door to Well Played, the toyshop Liz manages for her dad. When Marya offers to help with the shop’s doll rehab project, Liz can’t help but offer up only a weak smile, but her secret hesitations are for naught when Marya’s body is discovered in the barber shop with a hair dryer cord wrapped around her neck.

Liz’s dad, retired from the police force, is asked to investigate since Ken is the prime suspect.The whole town is abuzz with the scandal and Liz has a few questions of her own, wanting nothing more than to forget the loud argument she overheard between Marya and Ken the night before. There could have been other motives… Was Marya going to cut into a competing hairstylist business? Who is the bumbling private investigator hanging around and why won’t he explain himself?

All eyes are on Liz, including those of an odd matryoshka doll in the shop which seems to move of its own accord, to unravel this entertaining riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma that is Death of a Russian Doll, the third jolly Vintage Toy Shop mystery from Barbara Early. (Goodreads)


Review:

I just love this series: the characters, the setting and the mystery. Anyone who wants to get lost in an enjoyable read, this is your book.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I just love the relationship between Liz and her dad. Their bickering and banter and their one line jokes were so funny. All of the characters add so much to the story and I love getting to spend time with them.

The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it helped me form an explicit picture in my mind of the toy shop and the community.

The mystery is well plotted and had enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider. There were enough twists and turns and red herrings thrown in and the mystery was not an easy one to solve.

I would highly recommend this book (and series) to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I liked everything about this book and I am already looking forward to read the next one, when it is published.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

The plot of this could have gone the other way but Early has made it a cozy. Liz is working at her dad's toyshop and licking her wounds after discovering that her boyfriend Ken, the police chief, is still married to Marya. And then Marya moves back to town- and to the shop next to Liz. Geez. Liz does her best to deal with this, even working with Marya but then Marya is found dead in her hair salon and of course Liz and Ken are both suspects. What wasn't expected is that Liz's dad, a retired officer, will be the one to investigate. Early keeps this light, the characters are well written, and there's a good sense of place. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You'll be fine if you haven't read the earlier books in this series.

It's been a year since police chief Ken's wife Marya showed up, nipping Liz's romance with Ken in the bud. She hasn't completely recovered from the shock and hurt, but when Marya shows up murdered in the barbershop next to Well Played, Liz knows she and Ken will both be suspects. With her father stepping in as police chief, Liz begins to find an alternative suspect. But who in town knew Marya well enough to kill her?

The plot spends equal time digging into Marya's past while also attempting to figure out how what we learn can bring us any suspects. The result is a fast paced and fun mystery that leads to a logical solution. The characters are strong as always, and provide plenty of fun. I laughed at some of the situations and the puns we got over the course of the book. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark Baker return in a larger roll this time around. Add in the Christmas setting, and you've got a winner will many layers of fun.

Death of a Russian Doll: A Vintage Toyshop Mystery
By Barbara Early
Crooked Lane
October 2018

Review by Cynthia Chow

For someone with a fear of dolls – they always look as though they are nefariously planning to take over the world – working in a specialized toy store is probably not the ideal place of employment. It was a far too young viewing of a particularly traumatizing Twilight Zone episode that sparked Liz McCall’s phobia, but it’s something she’s going to have cope with as she continues work in her father’s Well Played vintage toyshop in East Aurora. Liz’s holiday spirit is being challenged as they assist in repairing and restoring dolls for needy children, especially when it means cooperating with new hair stylist Marya Young. Marya had recently been introduced to Liz as the wife of East Aurora Police Chief Ken Young, which was shocking not just because Liz was dating Ken, but because he had failed to mention that he had ever been married at all. It only gets worse when Liz overhears the couple fighting, with Marya turning up strangled to death by a hairdryer cord the following day. When the mayor temporarily suspends Ken due to his personal connection, it is Liz’s retired police chief father who must once again resume his duties to investigate the murder of the Russian émigré.

Liz had thought that with her father’s retirement she was finally through with worrying about his dangerous and stressful occupation, and now she must again deal not just with that but with the possibility that her ex could be arrested for murder. Ken always objected to Liz’s involvement in the past, but there’s no way she can sit on the sidelines with so much at stake. When Liz learns that a local private investigator was also interested in Marya’s activities, she manages to finagle her way in assisting, unexpectedly finding herself in the middle of senior speed dating and battling between Ken’s extremely protective guard-dog-like sisters. The arrival of an FBI accountant sparks up both the investigation and Liz’s interest, although she already has her hands full with a handsome prospective donor. When even Ken tosses out feelers about possibly restarting their relationship, it becomes of an example of when it rains, it floods.

The humor of this novel is outstanding, with Liz’s wry commentary and observations resulting in more than one laugh-out-loud moment. Liz and her father’s genuine appreciation for puns delivers some good-natured eye-rolling moments, although nothing can top the use of “Claus-trophobic.” They have a natural and respectful relationship with one another, which makes Liz’s concern with his resuming a law enforcement career understandable, as it stems from a lifetime of missed childhood events and fears for his safety. This balance of heartfelt emotions and humor ensures that this is yet another rewarding mystery by the author, who also writes under the name Beverly Allen. After all, who can resist a heroine who chugs cola and Pixy Sticks to stay awake, wears Wonder Woman and Batgirl pajamas, and is willing to use a grown man’s affection for My Little Pony as blackmail?

Liz McCall works in her father's toy shop and lives above it with her dad. She has a pretty decent life, and seems to be content, but she's had a rough love life. She broke up with her first love, Jack Wallace, in order to be with Police Chief Ken Young. However, just as Liz decided she made the right decision, Ken dropped a bomb...

It seems he had a wife he never told her about named Marya, and Liz felt betrayed. Needless to say, after that, she didn't want much to do with either one of them. But Liz and her sister-in-law Cathy are rehabbing dolls for needy children, and Liz, who hates dolls, doesn't want much to do with them. Cathy has help with the clothes and cleaning, but she doesn't know about doll hair - although she knows someone who does. That someone is Marya, so she asks her to help. To Liz's dismay, Marya shows up at the shop ready to start work, but it's apparent she doesn't like Liz.

When Marya is found murdered and Ken is the main suspect, he's temporarily removed from his job while her father Hank, former police chief, is asked to fill in until the case is solved. While she's worried for her dad, Liz decides if she can do a little digging on her own she'll be able to help. But will it be helping her dad or allow a murderer to kill again?...

I've read the first two books in the series, so if anyone hasn't read them, I'll try not to say too much rather than ruin it for anyone.

THIS IS A SPOILER AND CAN ONLY BE SEEN BY CLICKING ON IT:
I didn't care for the resolution of Liz's love life. I didn't like the fact that after being nice in the first two books Ken was being made to look like a real jerk toward the end, that Jack had moved on, and a new character was brought into the mix 'to make it all better.'
END OF SPOILER

Then there's Liz herself, who probably isn't mature enough to handle a relationship of any kind. She still lives with her dad (which pretty much kills the love life of any adult woman) and allows her father to cut her hair. (Really?) She wears cartoon-themed footed pajamas. (Honestly?) She allows her sister-in-law to fix her makeup and hair when she's going out, and even choose her clothes for her. This is an adult woman, not a five-year-old child. Yet it seems she's never gotten out of the childhood stage at all. I was choosing my own clothes (and can dress quite nicely for events) and wearing makeup when I was a teenager. Liz still isn't capable of these things, and we're supposed to believe that she's even capable of handling a relationship?

Unfortunately, because of the things I mentioned above, it detracted from the mystery. Every time it progressed, Liz did (or wore) something else that just seemed unreal. In real life, if a bunch of people saw her in those pajamas, they wouldn't think it was cute; they'd wonder what was wrong with her.

We were also given no clues at all to the killer until the very end. We weren't given a chance to figure it out for ourselves - which is why we read mysteries. Most of the book was centered on Liz and her love life; less on the mystery. Other than that, it was a decent cozy and can be read in one evening.

Christmas is on the horizon and Liz McCall has her hands full, physically and emotionally - she helps run the family's vintage toy store, Well Played and is working on a holiday project to rehab dolls for kids. That should be enough for anybody but, not in the world of Liz. Her boyfriend let her think that his ex was ex as in divorced, not in the sense of estranged. Huge difference and that's why he's now her ex boyfriend. On top of that, said estranged wife, a gorgeous Russian, no less, shows up in town, eager to rekindle the romantic sparks and reclaim her husband, Police Chief Ken Young. To make matters worse for Liz, Marya (the ex/estranged woman in question) is going to be working right next door at the hair salon and then she offers to help Liz with her doll project. Next thing Liz knows, Marya is found murdered and yep, all fingers start to point at Ken, The spouse is always prime suspect #1. As he is the police chief, too, he must step aside and Liz's father, the retired police chief, is called into the case. Of course, Liz becomes part of the investigation but not in the annoying fashion of so many amateur sleuths. She is her father's daughter and she knows the drill. She's also a bit of a chip off the old block, she's good at investigating. As for her personal life, will there be more romance for Liz? and with whom? Stay tuned for more to come - I hope we find out in the next book.
This is the third in the delightful series and, to get the most out of it, by all means read them all but, if you are new to the series, Death of a Russian Doll can be read as a stand alone. But be warned, you will want to go back and read the previous two mysteries. I will most definitely read the next book.

I really enjoy visiting Liz and her family at the Vintage Toyshop. This is book 3 in the Vintage Toyshop series. It is easily a stand alone cozy as the characters are introduced with plenty of background. As East Aurora prepares for Christmas Liz and her sister refurbishing old dolls to give to needy families. Ken's wife Marya, who Liz is the beautician next door offers to help. When she's found dead Ken becomes the main suspect as Liz's dad investigates the murder. The mystery is good, the characters are great and I love reminiscing about the old toys in the shop. Can't wait for # 4. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An absolutely delightful cozy mystery. Amusing and entertaining puns, references to vintage toys, and a bit of romance. Charming and engaging. I look forward to the next one.

This series is one of my favorites, and not just because I like vintage toys. It is a fun topic and unusual type of store. It is a business run by family members that support each other and enjoy working and socializing together. The author seamlessly connects personal lives and murder to a shocking conclusion.

Just as the vintage toy store, Well Played, is easy to visualize from the author's descriptions, the characters are so well embodied that I "saw" Liz listening at the wall in their new back room. I could see her spying on the barber shop like someone doing surgery through an electrical box hole. In short, the characters become real and this makes the book even better.

But you shouldn't take my word for it---what you really need to do is start at book one and read the series. Lots of chuckles as well as darn good mysteries that leave you wanting more.

Thank you to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Publishers for allowing me to read an ARC copy of Death of a Russian Doll. This review and contents are my personal comments and totally voluntary.

A nice and entertaining cozy. The book is well written, with a likeable cast of characters.
It's possible to read it as a standalone even if there are references to previous books.
The plot is sound, it kept me guessing till the end and it kept hooked till the last page.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Liz McCall's relationship with Police Chief Ken Young had abruptly ended when he introduced her to his estranged Russian immigrant wife Marya. Marya has come back to East Aurora to rekindle their romance and works as a hairstylist at the barber shop next door to the toyshop Liz manages for her retired cop dad. Liz is not happy when Marya offers to help with the shop’s doll rehab project. Then Ken finds Marya strangled dead in the barber shop. Since Ken is the prime suspect in Marya's murder, the mayor asks Liz’s dad to lead the investigation.

Marya had been giving discount coupons to seniors for her haircuts but has been pocketing thousands of dollars each month. Where has she been getting this money? Why is a PI watching Marya's workplace? Liz is busy asking questions as well as trying to fundraise money for the doll rehab project and dating 2 other men: FBI accountant Mark Baker and foundation owner Ian Browning.

This was a quick enjoyable read and another strong entry in the Vintage Toy Shop mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

4 stars
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. This was a pleasant easy cozy mystery with one murder and no graphic violence. It is book 3 in the series, but it read fine for me as a standalone. Liz McCall is getting over having a rude end to her romance with East Aurora Police Chief Ken Young(he was already married), when his wife is murdered. Ken and Liz both are suspects and Liz decides to investigate. Liz' dad is the retired police chief and he is named temporary police chief in order to conduct an impartial investigation. Liz does solve the case, with help from her dad, Lionel Kelley, local PI and an FBI accountant who is sweet on Liz.
I live in Western New York, which is why I decided to read this book. It is full of local references ,i.e., beef on weck, lake effect snowstorms and more.
Also, if you are a cat lover, this book is for you. One quote:
"When I finally dragged myself out of bed the next morning, Dad was already gone. He'd left half a pot of coffee and a plate of cold bacon on the counter covered with a paper towel. Or at least, that's what I think he'd been going for. I reality, I found a shredded paper towel on the floor and some ragged looking partial strips of bacon still on the plate, mingled with a few telltale black cat hairs."

I absolutely loved the cozy mystery, Death of a Russian Doll, which is the third installment of Barbara Early's Vintage Toy Shop Mysteries. Liz and her dad, Hank, as well as an assorted cast of amiable small town characters, are entertaining, imaginative and quite delightful. I loved the quirkiness, as well as the humor, which can always brighten a murderous plot. I'll definitely go back and read the prior two books in the series, as well as any other books from Barbara Early.
*I received an ARC of Death of a Russian Doll from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't my type of story. I didn't connect with the main character and I didn't enjoy the mystery part of the book.

cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, puntastic, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, suspense, twisty

Puntastic murder mystery with realistic characters and a sound plot that drew me in and hung on! The publisher's blurb is better than most and there's no need for spoilers. I'm not into plot summation and that would probably just diminish perception of the story anyway, so just stick your nose in and enjoy!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Death of a Russian doll is the third book in this series .
I was hooked on page one catching up with Liz ,Hank and family in the vintage toy shop.
I love all the humor between Hank and daughter Liz that makes up part of the story.
Enjoyed the plot and surprised who the killer was it certainly kept me guessing .
Many thanks to crookedlane books and nettgalley for letting me review this book by Barbara Early
Definitely will be looking out for her next book .

Although this is the third of a series, it was easy to pick up and enjoy. The author found a nice balance, filling you in on some details of previous books while not rehashing old stories.

Liz McCall is the daughter of a retired police officer who now owns a toy store. She works there with her sister-in-law Cathy who, I believe, is her best friend. Liz had not known that Ken Young was married when she was dating him and is still suffering from the betrayal she experienced when Marya, his Russian born wife comes to town. Well, in short order, Marya is murdered and Ken becomes the chief suspect. Although Liz is not interested in him romantically, Ken is her friend and she wants to learn who the real murderer is.

Meanwhile, Cathy has an idea to rehabilitate dolls and give them to needy children. To do this, the committee needs funds and they decide to approach a wealthy family in the town and ask for a donation.

The characters were well developed. I felt like I knew each one. The descriptions allowed me to picture each one. The dialog was consistent with each person's character.

My only problem with the book is that when I read, I mentally "hear" the words I am reading. I had a hard time with the Russian names. I was never sure how "Marya" should be pronounced. Should it be Mar-ee-ah? Or is it Ma-rye-ah? What does that "y" do to the name. Her sister's name of "Anechka" was much easier to determine.

I had never read a Barbara Early mystery before but now will be on the lookout for others.

This is the 3rd in the Vintage Toyshop mystery series. Liz McCall runs the Vintage Toy Store Well Played for her father retired police chief Hank. She tought her life was going pretty good until she finds out jer boyfriend the current police chief Ken is married and he neglected to tell her. So now she cannot seem to avoid them as Marya his Russian model looking wife is working right next store and offers to volunteer and work on the doll repair project for underprivileged kids. She also cannot help but overhear one heck of an argument with Ken one night and then Marya is found dead. Her Dad Hank is called back to active duty and Liz helps to find the real killer. This is the first book I had read in the series but plan to go back and read the other two. Love the style of writing and the humor interwoven with the mystery within a mystery. Glad Liz has a potential new love interest and look forward to the next in the series. Good read.

Death of a Russian Doll is the third installment in this cozy mystery series. This is the first one I have read and it was ok. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which was confusing. I really didn't warm up to Liz. Does she run the toy shop or is she a wannabe sleuth? I did like the cover and the few mentions of toys that I was familiar with. Other than that, there was nothing particularly interesting about the story or mystery; it was hum ho.

New favorite character! Liz is a no nonsense, straight-up, heroine! So very relatable with spot on character development. While she would never wish her ex boyfriend ‘s wife any ill will, she certainly goes above and beyond to help solve her murder to help prove that Police chief Ken, aka the ex didn’t do it. That doesn’t mean she will forgive his forgetting to mention that he had an estranged Russian bombshell for a wife. Besides, there are better slightly more mature fish in the sea whom even her former police chief father approves of. Speaking of former, Liz’s Dad is put back on active duty to head up the investigation which spurns Liz on even harder to help solve the mystery of the holiday who done it to the hairstylist. Her Dad is supposed to be enjoying his golden years as a rare and collectible toy seller, not giving Liz conniptions about his health and well being. Leave it to Liz though as she pieces the puzzle together.