Christmas is almost upon us! Are you ready? Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but, after four years of doing nothing but math, she developed a sudden allergy (I do not blame her). Barbara decided to try another profession. She was a secretary, school teacher, pastor's wife, and an amatuer puppeteer. Then she began writing cozy mysteries which allowed her to come up with creative ways to murder people. Barbara lives with her husband in Western New York, where she enjoys cooking, crafting, classic movies, campy seventies shows, board games and posting pictures of her four cats on Facebook. Barbara writes A Vintage Toy Shop Mystery series and under the pen name Beverly Allen she writes A Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries.
Death of a Russian Doll by Barbara Early takes us back to East Aurora, New York where Liz McCall manages
the family’s vintage toy shop, Well Played.
Liz is not pleased when her beau, Chief of Police Ken Young introduces her
to his estranged wife, Marya (he really should have mentioned that he was
married). The toy shop has taken on the
project of refurbishing dolls to give to children in need for Christmas and
they are seeking volunteers to fix hair, paint faces, and knit clothing. Marya, a hairdresser who works at the barber
shop next to Well Played, offers to do the hair much to Liz’s dismay (what is a
girl to do but smile and say thank you).
Liz is disturbed late one evening when police arrive at the barber shop
next door. Detective Howard Reynolds informs
Liz that Marya was found dead by Ken with a hair dryer cord wrapped around her
neck. Ken is at the top of the suspect
list thanks to the loud argument he had with Marya the day before she
died. Liz’s dad and former police chief,
Hank McCall is asked to investigate the murder and Ken is suspended from duty. Liz works with Ken to gather clues and find
Marya’s killer. In addition, Liz needs
to find a sponsor for the doll project and something strange is happening with
the matryoshka dolls in the shop. Join
Liz on her latest case in Death of a Russian Doll.
Death of a Russian Doll by Barbara Early is the third A Vintage Toy Shop Mystery. I recommend reading the series in order. Otherwise, you will be missing some of the
background information on the main characters.
Liz McCall becomes embroiled in another murder investigation when Ken
Young, the local chief of police and her beau, is accused of murdering his
Russian wife, Marya. Liz has been dating
Ken for a while and this is the first she has heard about Ken being married. While Liz’s father is in charge of the
investigation, Liz has no intention of sitting out the case despite the extra
workload at the shop plus finding a sponsor for the doll project. I like the vintage toy shop owned by the
McCall family called Well Played. I
enjoy the inclusion of the toys carried in the shop (a nice variety that bring
back memories). The mystery was complex
but with a simple solution. I like how
the whodunit is multifaceted. I would
have preferred more active investigating by Liz and less romance. It seems that Liz has accumulated three romantic
interests (I am not kidding). There was
too much time devoted to romance and not enough to the mystery. Death of a Russian Doll was an entertaining
cozy mystery with good characters, a charming setting, fun toys, family, food, humor,
and an intriguing mystery. Death of a Russian Doll has damaged dolls, a stream of suitors, mystifying Matryoshka dolls,
treasured toys, mysterious mate, and meddlesome family members.
There is Christmas in Death of a Russian Doll so it is a good story to read during the holiday season. Death of a Toy Soldier and Murder on the Toy Town Express are the first two books in A Vintage Toy Shop Mysteries. You can find Death of a Russian Doll here on Amazon* (Amazon UK). Thank you for joining me today. I hope the rest of your day is restful and happy. Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott. It is the third A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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