Murder on the Toy Town Express by Barbara Early

This book was both fun and nostalgic, and if you love old toys, games, and mysteries, "Murder on the Toy Town Express" is for you. Well Played is the toy store owned by Liz McCall's "retired" police detective father, Hank McCall, and Liz has her hands full keeping the store running while also trying to prevent Hank from still trying to investigate crimes. When a suspicious death occurs at a Train and Toy Exhibition where Well Played has a booth, Liz's dad is brought into the investigation, and Liz decides she needs to help her father turn up clues and solve the mystery so he can get back to the business at hand. This book has engaging characters as well as "memories" of all the fun games we played growing up. The toy store hosts a game night where residents of the town come to play a selection of the many vintage games the store has in stock just for that purpose. From Risk to Clue to Mousetrap and many others, a fun time is guaranteed, along with lots of town gossip. The town residents are interesting and quirky and fun to get to know. A particularly funny part of the book occurs at a "Clean Queen" party hosted by the Mayor's wife, and had me laughing out loud. "Murder at the Toy Town Express" is the second book in Barbara Early's Vintage Toyshop Mysteries, but can definitely stand alone and does not contain any spoilers from the first book. If you love old games and a mystery that will definitely keep you guessing until the end, this book is for you.