Mrs. Claus #5
As August comes to a close, I’m sure we’re all sick of the summer heat and more than ready for cooler weather. Liz Ireland takes readers on a winter vacation in Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s, the fifth book in the Mrs. Claus series. The fantastical town of Santaland is where April, the current Mrs. Claus, makes her home with the current Santa, Nick. The whole town is alive with Christmas cheer as Nick is about to head out on his yearly excursion. All the elves are ready for the celebrations, already singing carols, well into eggnog, dancing with abandon. April is a little less enthusiastic simply because she worries about Nick making it home safely. He’s done the trip plenty of times, but the idea of him rocketing about the world in an old sleigh without seatbelts and only flying reindeer to keep it steady has April uneasy.
She doesn’t have long to ruminate on the safety of good ol’ Saint Nick for long. Three strangers are brought into town, having been found injured and unconscious in the frozen wilderness outside of Santaland. One of the big rules of Santaland: no one talks about Santaland. It is imperative that it is kept secret from the outside world, which is a little hard when three strangers can’t leave town due to their injuries, one of which was possibly caused by a resident of Santaland. April has to command and help the residents to act normal, and to disguise the town as best as possible, so if the uninvited guests wake up and look outside they won’t think they are in the magical home of Santa himself. Naturally, this proves to be rather difficult. From talking Snowmen to Christmas-flare loving Elves, April has to remain on constant alert. Then one of the guests succumbs to their injuries, and now they also have to solve a murder. Constable Crinkles is loath to think any member of Santaland could be responsible, but he won’t stop April from investigating and will also help her as much as he can.
The whimsical world of Santaland will delight readers. The cold atmosphere is also a lovely escape from the summer heat. I enjoyed watching April try and figure out how to best explain and work with the Elves to help them ‘normalize’ Santaland and themselves. They mean well, but understanding the darker side of humanity can be a bit challenging for the cheery Santalanders. Luckily the other Claus family members are present and able to help April. Not only just wandering around to show ‘normal’ sized humans are present, but also to investigate who could have committed murder. I suggest Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s for long time readers of the Mrs. Claus series – it’s a wonderful fifth addition. For first time readers, the book has a lot of characters and lore that might be better enjoyed if you read the previous four books first. However, starting with Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s would at least entice readers to read the previous books and see how April ended up in Santaland, and learn more about it as well. – Carla Schantz