The Fat Man: A Tale of North Pole Noir by Ken Harmon 288 pages
When Santa's elf, Gumdrop Coal of the coal patrol, who delivers coal to the naughty children on Santa's list becomes disillusioned with the increasing number of naughty kids he becomes a one elf vigilante and goes after the naughty kids parents for raising such vile little monsters. Unfortunately the first parent he goes after a former naughty list alumni and what was a road house beat down turns into a case of murder with Gumdrop going on the lam to prove he wasn't the murderer just the hooligan who beat the sugar plums out of the guy. It is a fun story with lots of Christmas characters and references throughout. A joyful read with lots of laughs and a wonderfully 1940s noir take on the story of Santa being misused and abandoned while Gumdrop does everything in his power to restore the fat man to his former beloved state. A great story I recommend for all ages. A dark twist on Santa's story but a brilliant one. A new holiday classic perhaps.
- Shirley J.
No comments:
Post a Comment