The Demise of Santa Claus

I recently finished reading a new novel, published by a former co-worker of mine. The book is Santa Claus is Dead by Jason Twede. It was originally published late last December, and is expected in wider release this coming holiday season.

The story takes the form of a murder mystery. In that, it is somewhat formulaic. The main characters are Susie Thomspon, an 11 year old girl that Santa has invited to the North Pole for Christmas; Johnny Iceberg, North Pole Police Department detective, and solver of the only previous murder case in North Pole history; and Paul Penguin, Johnny's partner.

The story begins with Susie staying with Mrs. Claus, the young trophy wife of Santa's remarriage. Santa had big plans to revamp Christmas to increase his profits, to all appearances. This causes Susie to become very disillusioned with Santa (and very angry with him). Santa's body is found, Susie is blamed, and the investigation begins. Johnny and Paul are assigned to the case. Johnny is the typical divorced, down-on-his-luck, break-the-rules detective, while Paul plays the foil as the devoted family bird (yes, he literally is a penguin) and straight-liner.

As the story develops, different North Pole factions are revealed and explored as having possible connections to the killing. The North Pole is populated by elves, animals, snowmen, and humans, and each group has members who stand to gain by Santa's demise. It is in this area that the story achieves its originality. Twede develops the non-traditional character groups in a very compelling way. His depiction of the race of snowmen is very imaginative, and it is almost worth reading the book for this alone.

The story does start slowly, but builds momentum and suspense steadily throughout until it reaches a rather exciting pace. The real culprit is not entirely a surprise, but you will not likely guess correctly until the novel nears its conclusion. The story ends with a very promising turn of events for Johnny.

Another thing to note is the story's incorporation of Christian images. Look for a milk-and-cookies Last Supper with Santa and his reindeer. Also note the disappearance of Santa's body after some days pass. An interview of the author reveals that these images were intentional, and lend to the interesting twist that leaves the story with a very touching conclusion.

The book, as I said above, is in part formula and in part rather original and imaginative. It is no Tolkien or Rowling, but it is certainly a fun read. Its rating caused something of a deliberation for me, as it deserves somewhere between three and four antelopes, and I've decided not to use halves. Notes: Rating revised per user comment. I will now sometimes use "baby" antelopes in lieu of halves. Many thanks to tjunker for the new ratings image!