MRS. CLAUS AND THE FATAL FIGGY PUDDING

A foundling and a fig dessert drive April Claus’ latest adventures as she continues to navigate life at the North Pole.

Despite the challenges of living in a world peopled by frisky elves, talking reindeer, and the occasional inebriated snowman, April’s thrown herself wholeheartedly into her role as partner to St. Nick. She plays percussion in the Santaland Concert Band, writes clues for the Santaland scavenger hunt, and serves as stage manager for this year’s production of A Christmas Carol. And that’s all before someone leaves a baby elf on her doorstep accompanied by an anonymous note pleading with her to care for little August. Refusing to consign the tiny girl to the Home for Orphaned Elves, where an epidemic of eider pox is raging, she searches diligently for the foundling’s true parents while of course falling in love with Augie herself. April has always been an engaging protagonist, striving to fit into a world where Christmas lasts most of the year. But watching her work persistently to give Augie the best life possible catapults her appeal higher than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. April’s search takes her to hidden corners of Santaland, giving Ireland the space to showcase her elaborately detailed fantasy world and its colorful cast of characters. The murder that occurs onstage at a Christmas Carol rehearsal, when April supplies a prop pudding that poisons one of the elves, is little more than a distraction from the main mystery: Who are Augie’s parents, and what will happen to April’s world if and when she finds them?

Ireland’s latest trip to the North Pole will touch readers’ hearts while tickling their funny bones.