Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

When we first met, my husband thought I was a little more, hmmm, how do I put it...upscale.  I was wearing a shirt that had a word on it followed by CC.  He thought it meant country club.  How posh!  Big surprise for him when he found out it meant community college, while a nice school, a far cry from posh.  We were engaged for several months before our wedding date.  During that time, we were able to go home to my parents in New York for Christmas.  As always, my parents went all out.  Presents were thigh high under the tree and that didn't count those from Santa.  Naturally, with all those gifts comes lots of gift-wrapping paper.  To think we behaved in a ladylike manner precisely, graciously, reservedly opening our gifts like posh people, was not to be.  That image pretty much dissolved when my dad dragged a full-size metal trash can up the stairs and into the center of the living room.  Yep, one of the smelly cans that sat out for the trash collection.  So much for the "country club set".  Funny thing is, we really did belong to a country club.  I took golf, tennis, and dance lessons there.  Oh well.

I recently read Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland. This is the story of April Claus, who is Santa's wife.  Santa is out delivering gifts when three strangers are found outside of Santaland.  They are lost in the frozen wilderness after being stranded during a scientific expedition.  One of the strangers is murdered while staying in Santaland. The reader is along for the ride as Mrs. Claus and cast solve the mystery.  The story is complicated as the Santaland residents don't want their existence to be discovered.  Everyone; elves, reindeer and talking snowmen, must pretend to be part of a normal Canadian town, hiding their true identities.

This book was lots of fun.  Loaded with charming characters and an easy to picture location, it is super creative.  This would make a great holiday read, definitely taking your stress level down while increasing your holiday spirit.  A win all the way around.

Many thanks to NetGalley and, the always kind and generous, Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy.  I'll never look at Santa the same way.