Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings: A Funny & Festive Christmas Cozy Mystery

by Liz Ireland

Overview

“Exceptional…the perfect holiday entertainment.”— Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
 
This Christmas season, travel to the North Pole you’ve never seen before—where Santa’s new wife, April Claus, is not only set on creating the perfect holiday—she’s also set on solving the perfect crime…
 
Love is full of surprises—though few compare to realizing that you’re marrying the real-life Santa. April Claus dearly loves her new husband, Nick, but adjusting to life in the North Pole is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous elf named Giblet Hollyberry is killed—felled by a black widow spider in his stocking—shortly after publicly arguing with Nick.
 
Christmastown is hardly a hotbed of crime, aside from mishaps caused by too much eggnog, but April disagrees with Constable Crinkle’s verdict of accidental death. As April sets out to find the culprit, it’ll mean putting the future of Christmas on the line—and hoping her own name isn’t on a lethal naughty list . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496726582
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Series:	A Mrs. Claus Mystery
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	59,320
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Liz Ireland is the author of many works of women's fiction, romance, and mystery. She also writes under the names Elizabeth Bass and Liz Freeland. Like her character April Claus, Liz spends too much time in concert bands. Originally from the United States, she now lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. She’s currently working on the next Mrs. Claus mystery.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/31/2020

Set at the North Pole, this exceptional series launch from Ireland (Three Bedrooms in Chelsea) features such delightful characters as Old Charlie, a snowman; Blitzen, a reindeer descended from the Blitzen of “The Night Before Christmas” fame; and Jingles, the elf steward at frigid Castle Kringle. All of them are potential perps in the murder of Giblet Hollyberry, a notoriously unpleasant elf, but the chief suspect is Nick Claus, the acting Santa of Santaland. Constable Crinkles is soon on the case, along with detective Jake Frost, but it’s going to be up to April Claus, Nick’s wife, to clear her husband’s name. Rumors have circulated since the death of Nick’s older brother, Chris Claus, that Nick had something to do with it, because he coveted Chris’s job as Santa, and now an elf is dead. April has only a few days to find the killer before Christmas. Meanwhile, she must cope with the quirks of the extended Claus family. This fun, well-plotted mystery is the perfect holiday entertainment. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Exceptional series launch…This fun, well-plotted mystery is the perfect holiday entertainment.”
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
 
“An Oregon innkeeper marries Santa Claus and probes killings at the North Pole.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-07-14
An Oregon innkeeper marries Santa Claus and probes killings at the North Pole.

After a whirlwind three-month courtship, April Claus finds herself in the frozen expanses with her husband, Nick, who recently replaced his older brother as the world’s one-and-only Santa after Chris died in a hunting accident. Since Santaland is a monarchy, Nick will serve as Santa only until Chris’ son Christopher turns 18; then Nick and April will be free to retire to Cloudberry Bay and run her hotel, the Coast Inn, full-time. In the meantime, they must live in Santaland’s castle with Nick's older sister, Lucia; his younger brother, Martin; Chris’ widow, Tiffany; and Pamela, the dowager Mrs. Claus, during the six-month run-up to Christmas before returning to the Coast Inn for April’s busy tourist season. While in Santaland, the Claus family is attended by a host of scurrying elves and talking reindeer whose job is to meet their every need. Irascible elf Giblet Hollyberry is killed early on, leaving April a mystery to solve. Aside from chronicling her heroine’s quest for Giblet’s killer, Ireland spends most of her time describing April’s myriad duties as Mrs. Claus, from presiding over the annual Reindeer Bell Choir concert to helping Pamela create a croquembouche replica of the castle. What she ignores, though, is exactly what would pique most readers’ curiosity most. How did April and Nick fall in love? How did he persuade her he was really Santa? Ireland doesn’t even give many physical details. Nick has a beard, but is he tall, dark, handsome? Does he shake when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly?

Readers who want to know what it’s like to get frisky with Santa will have to wait for the sequel.

Kirkus Reviews