Fun! I loved it! Quirky characters! Santaland! Santa Claus. Sugarplums! Candy canes! Elves! Flying reindeer! And, oh, yeah, murder.
April and Nick have been married a year-and-a-half and she's still not quite adjusted to life in Santaland. Come on. How long would it take you to adjust to being Mrs Claus and living amidst talking snowmen, elves, not just flying but talking reindeer with an attitude, and getting about in a reindeer powered sled?
Life in Santaland isn't all sugarplums and candy canes, however. Something is afoot. The reindeer are on strike. Then, a kamikazee drone reindeer crashes into a stunning ice sculpture. It's towing a banner saying: "This is just the beginning!!!" The beginning of what? Where did it come from? Is that a threat? Who controlled it? April vows to find out. Then things get worse. Someone is found murdered.
Ironically, I found myself so caught up in the whimsy of the delightful world Liz Ireland has created for us that I almost forgot about the murder at times. I mean, drone reindeer? Clogging elves? A robot elf servant in the Claus castle? Antler toupees? Snowmen on hover-boards? Talking snowmen, at that? How do you put a living snowman back together after they've, well, been powderized by a crash on said hover-board? All this and more, oh, so much more, while April is entertaining Claire, a friend from Oregon who arrives disbelieving. Can you blame her? At least she likes the cold. She also makes a great ice cream.
The mystery starts with a missing man, er, elf, Blinky. He's a bit, well, odd. An eccentric genius, let's say, and has had a habit of going off alone at times. This time, however, he has a girlfriend, Juniper. At least she thinks she's his girlfriend. She hasn't heard from him and is worried. April isn't so sure but wants to support Juniper, even when Juniper is arrested for killing a long time friend with a crush on her. If you're going to be arrested, however, I must admit that Santaland sounds like the best place to be arrested and spend your time in jail.
I don't want to give away any more of the plot or the delight that is Santaland, so won't detail the plot further. Let's just say, Santaland is both everything we ever imagined the North Pole to be like and nothing like our dreams. The reindeer are competitive, we've all heard of those reindeer games, but resent the gradual intrusion of technology into their world. Heck, so do many of the residents. The reindeer aren't the only ones who might lose their jobs. April's experiences with the robot maid are a perfect illustration of what can go wrong, not to mention that the sedentary snowmen are hardly cut out for nimbly guiding hover-boards. That said, even 12 year-old Christopher Claus, who will take over as Santa when he is 21, wants a robot for Christmas. Nick is sort of a Santa Regent, so to speak.
Is the murder related to the encroachment of technology into Santaland? Are the competitive reindeer causing the problems? What would Christmas be like without reindeer? Will Nick, er, Santa be able to soothe nerves and bring all the factions together in time for Christmas Eve? Even Pamela, the usually serene grand dame elder Mrs. Claus, dumps food over someone's head. Whoa.
They've called in detective Jake Frost to help. Although this is my first read of this series, it's obvious he's known to both Nick and April and, oh, my, visiting Claire is entranced on first sight. Will April be able to solve the murder, attend all the ceremonial festivities, soothe her reindeer friends, keep her red suited husband safe, and referee Claire's attraction to Jake, not to mention the fireworks display that sounds a bit, well, overboard? You're just going to have to read the book. Set aside your rational self, buy into the fantasy, and enjoy a great mystery with some of the quirkiest characters you can imagine. Fun!
Thank you, thank you, #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for taking me away on a fun, imaginary trip to Santaland. Murder aside, I want to go back! Thanks for introducing me to this series.
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