The Toymakers was a book of three thirds, or maybe just a very defined beginning, middle and end. Robert Dinsdale opens on the story of an enchanted toy shop and the people who work there. Beneath exceptional cosy Christmas vibes are character dramas to draw the reader deeper into the world. These aren’t ground-breaking, but the sibling relationship between Kaspar and Emil was particularly juicy. (It evoked the same kind of tension as the sisters in Roses & Rot.)

The outbreak of war makes an abrupt and devastating interruption just at the point you might think Robert Dinsdale might be wrapping up with a happy ending. For a while, it felt like he’d started a completely different story (albeit with the same characters) and it wasn’t immediately obvious why the two needed to be presented together. How or if this would ever tie back into the narrative at the beginning of the book was left in doubt for an uncomfortably long time.

Once Kaspar returned, it became more obvious what these disparate ideas had to do with each other. The Toymakers spans a much greater historical period (1906 to 1953) than is obvious from the very close-focused beginning. The Toymakers was one complete experience, but it certainly didn’t always feel like it.

That’s three paragraphs on the structure of the book and very little about writing style or character, but maybe it will do as a first foray back into the role of reviewer.

I'll release this on my way to a 90s escape room.