April Claus, married to the acting Santa, can’t wait to show off her new North Pole home to Claire, her old friend from Oregon. Things go a bit awry when a drone-deer smashes the winning ice sculpture. The real reindeer aren’t happy about the drones, and so they went on strike. Santa is wondering if he will have reindeer to pull his sleigh, an elf inventor is missing, April’s elf friend is arrested, and Claire is smitten with detective Jake Frost, a distant relation to Jack Frost. Yikes! Things are sure topsy-turvy in Santaland. And they are about to get even worse. This delightful Christmas tale is pure entertainment at its very best. Great characters, an imaginative plot, and wonderful writing make this entire series one of the best Christmas series around. ( )

If you are ready to kick back and get invested in a strange new, world, this is the book to do it. This is the third book in the series, and April is now accustomed to being Mrs. Claus. Her best friend from Oregon, Claire, is visiting for the big holiday, so with her, I learned about much of the magic of Christmastown and how Santaland operates. Reindeer worried about being replaced by drones, snowmen who slowly move and see all, and of course, the elves. When April's elf friend Juniper stumbles upon the body of another elf, April and Claire both rally to investigate. Really cute book and the world building was fantastic, What a great, fun story, I'd like to go back and check out the earlier two. ( )

This was a cute, cozy mystery. It was one of the slower moving cozy mysteries I have read this year but I would give another one of the books in this series a chance. I do hope Claire sticks around, as I like the wonderment she brings to the North Pole. ( )

I’m always excited when I see another Mrs. Claus Mystery by Liz Ireland has come out. Mrs. Claus and the Evil Elves actually takes place right before Christmas, so it’s even more Christmas-y than normal!

There is a lot of upheaval in Christmasland with all the new technology that is being introduced. The reindeer go on strike because of it, snowmen are taking their lives into their own hands, elves are being fired from their jobs, and the elite (Santa’s family) are still holding massive desert events and firework shows. This means it’s up to Mrs. Claus (once again) to find out who destroyed the first place ice sculptor and to get her bestie out of jail because she’s been accused of murder.

I love the way that Ireland is able to combine the cozy mystery genre with fantasy. Her world building is astounding and each book is even more detailed than the previous one. The details of the castle, village, and even the jail are so realistic and easy to visualize. I would love to see these books made into a TV series.

As for the characters we get to see a lot of characters from previous books and some new ones, including Mrs. Claus’s best friend from the regular world, Claire, who quickly adapts to all the quirkiness in the new world around her. Quasar, the reindeer, really shines in this book. And all the new technology, which to me is like another character, is really interesting and makes for some funny and crazy moments.
We are three books in now and we still haven’t gotten to know Santa that much, so I’m interested to see if that’ll be coming up in any of the future books.

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery that is a bit different, but still filled with so much delicious food, well developed characters, and gorgeous scenery, then you should put this series on your TBR pile! ( )