MRS. CLAUS AND THE HALLOWEEN HOMICIDE

Ghosties and goblins invade the North Pole.

Only in Santaland would April Claus, wife of the big man himself, be considered a Southerner. The owner of a bed-and-breakfast in Cloudberry Bay, April has an agreement with Nick to spend four months of each year in Oregon. Now, as October rolls around, the tourist season in the Pacific Northwest is winding down. So the couple returns to their northern home, Castle Kringle, to prepare for the upcoming holiday season—which in Santaland means nothing but Christmas. April, who misses her hometown traditions, persuades Salty, the palace gardener, to grow pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns in the royal greenhouse. She gets her friend Juniper, Christmastown’s librarian, to read scary stories to the local children. She plans a costume parade and even trick-or-treating. Not everyone is happy with April’s innovations. Juniper gets threatening messages on the library’s Elfbook page. Cobbler Tiny Sparkletoe circulates a petition to ban April’s Southern festivities. And someone smashes every one of Salty’s Pumpkins. The protests escalate until Tiny is found flattened facedown inside a giant snow monster footprint. Constable Crinkles and his deputy, Ollie, are flummoxed. It isn’t until Nick calls on snowshoe gumshoe Jake Frost that Tiny’s killer is brought to justice.

Brings the Christmas cozy to dizzying new heights of cuteness.