Unexpected Complications at Christmas
It is always a pleasure when the next Mrs. Claus Mystery lands at the top of my to be read pile. The world author Liz Ireland has created is magical. And I smiled my way through Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding, book seven in the series.
This series features the real Mrs. Claus. And this version of the North Pole is exactly what you would imagine. We’ve got elves, snowmen, and reindeer. Everything you’d expect for life with Santa. Of course, we also have murder and mayhem. This is a cozy mystery series, after all.
While we have visited April Claus and the rest of the cast for various other holidays, for this book it is once again Christmas, and April has a full schedule as always. That’s before someone leaves a baby elf on the doorstep of Castle Kringle asking April to care for her. April is willing to take that on, but she also sets out to find out how the baby came to be left on her doorstep.
Meanwhile, April has also added being stage manager for this season’s production of A Christmas Carol to her already busy schedule. But things take an unexpected turn when one of the elves in the cast dies after eating the figgy pudding April prepared for the rehearsal. Can she figure out what happened to her pudding and why?
The dualling plots didn’t quite work here. While I was invested in the mystery of the baby elf, it took a lot of time at the beginning of the book and that made the mystery surrounding the play take longer than it should have to really get cooking. The stories do come to a logical climax, and I set the book down satisfied.
Of course, the characters are still charming as always, and they kept me engaged the entire time. We’ve gotten to know quite a few supporting players over the course of the series, and they are all here and in fine form. I enjoyed getting to see what’s new with them as their characters and lives continue to grow. And the new characters were just as entertaining.
Plus there’s the humor. I couldn’t help but laugh as I was reading the book, and when I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling. Yes, this series is hyper cozy, so expect that when you pick it up, but it’s so warm and charming, it’s hard not to fall under the spell.
If you aren’t already enjoying these delightful mysteries, do yourself a favor and fix that right away. Fans will be charmed once again with this latest entry in the series.
Check out the rest of the Mrs. Claus Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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