Jeff Guinn is a terrific writer of nonfiction historical events and biographies. I thoroughly enjoyed his books on Jim Jones and on Bonnie & Clyde. But it was painfully apparent to me, early on in this book, that this talent doesn’t translate well to the telling of fictional stories. At least not fictional stories about Santa and Mrs. Claus. I tried to soldier on through this book, because I needed it for Square 3 of The 16 Tasks of the Festive Season (Book themes for St. Martin’s Day: Read a story dealing with an act of selfless generosity (like St. Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar)), but I just can’t keep punching myself in the head like this. I had to stop. I can’t even work up the energy to detail the many ways in which this book continually failed me. Just take my word for it: Read the hell out of Mr. Guinn’s nonfiction books – I’m eyeballing the one on Charles Manson right now – but don’t spend your time or energy on this set of “fanciful” Christmas stories.

DNF. I gave it 2 stars only because I was able to make through 41% of the book (that’s 4 ½ hours of listening!) before giving up.

Audiobook, purchased via Audible. Susan Denaker’s smarmy & self-righteous tone certainly seemed to suit the character as written, but damn.
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Loved the history and the characters, wasnt as enthralled as I was with the first one. Maybe I'll pick up the third book next year. ( )

A night of fun and music at a town festival turns into a morning of sorrow when one of the band members is found murdered. The band, made up of locals, had reunited after many years, and was a surprise act that everyone loved. When Mike is murdered, no one can believe that anyone could have hated the popular and beloved dentist. It must have been a home robbery gone wrong. Only it wasn’t. And while Marcus, as the lead detective, is working the case, and Kathleen, professional librarian and amateur sleuth, is helping him, it is really the magical cats, Hercules and Owen, who are the key to solving the murder. It’s a well-written and engrossing mystery, peopled with likable characters and amazing cats, and one that will keep readers guessing who the murderer is. This series never gets old, and each book is a great addition. ( )

This is a follow-up to Guinn's "Autobiography of Santa Claus," which I haven't read. This "autobiographical" work tells the story of how Mrs. Claus "saved" Christmas during the time of Cromwell's rule in England in 1647. The only reason I finished the book, was because I was interested in the historical facts.

Mrs. Claus is alone in England (with the exception of a couple of Santa's helpers) during the English Civil War. Santa Claus is in the New World establishing Christmas traditions there. Mrs. Claus stayed behind in England because she "sensed" the Puritans meant to do away with Christmas "forever."

I didn't enjoy this book much. The sentence structure was simplistic and the characters were one-dimensional. I'm not sure who Guinn thought his audience was. It was too plodding and slow for a juvenile audience and too elementary for adults. Again, I only finished it because I was interested in the historical aspects, but I really wanted to just put it down and re-read "Skipping Christmas'' by John Grisham. ( )

Guinn follows up a fine effort of melding history, mythology, and faith in "Autobiography of Santa Claus" with a tedious and forced effort in "Mrs. Claus". In trying to set the historical stage, he variously repeats himself, gets off onto tangents, uses a hammer to make his point about women's equality, and, generally, makes the story hard to follow. This makes it tough reading for the child who would appreciate hearing Mrs. Claus's own story, while making it no fun for the adult, either. Still, the whole concept of the Claus's autobiographies is well thought out, and, if you are patient with the writing, it does provide a fine account of what England was going through during and after the Civil War. ( )