Gore in the Garden Review Tour

Blurb:

After her boss narrowly escaped political defeat, Kit Marshall is settling into life as a busy congressional staffer. While attending an evening reception at the United States Botanic Garden, Kit’s best friend stumbles upon the body of a high-ranking government official. The chairwoman of a congressional committee asks Kit to investigate, and she finds herself once again in the thick of a murder investigation. The complications keep coming with the unexpected arrival of Kit’s younger brother Sebastian, a hippie protestor who seems more concerned about corporate greed than the professional problems he causes for his sister. To make matters even worse, the romantic lives of Kit’s closest friends are driving her crazy, diverting her attention from the mystery she’s been tasked to solve. The search for the killer requires her to tussle with an investigative journalist right out of a noir novel, a congresswoman fixated on getting a statue of James Madison installed on the Capitol grounds, and a bossy botanist who would do anything to protect the plants he loves. When the murderer sends a threatening message to Kit via a highly unusual delivery mechanism, Kit knows she must find the killer or risk the lives of her friends and loved ones.

Excerpt:

“So, why are we going to a garden to drink beer tonight, Kit? Has Doug’s trust fund dried up?” Sebastian gave me a playful punch on the arm to let me know he was yanking my chain.

I sighed for the umpteenth time before responding. “It’s my job, Sebastian. I’m the chief of staff for a member of the House of Representatives. She’s been assigned to a relatively obscure committee called House Administration. It oversees the legislative branch agencies and the Capitol Grounds.”

Sebastian considered my answer for a few moments before speaking. The snide tone was gone. “That’s actually kind of cool. So, your boss helps run Congress?”

“Partially. The Speaker appointed her to this committee because she’s smart and asks intelligent questions. The nice part about the assignment is that she gets invited to the best events on Capitol Hill. Like tonight.”

We’d just driven past the Washington Monument, on our way due east toward the Botanic Garden, which was situated at the base of the Hill between the Hirshhorn Museum and the Capitol Building.

 “Why is tonight so special again? There’s a special flower you want me to see?”

I punched his arm playfully. “Trust me, Sebastian. Aren’t you a fan of the Earth and everything natural? You’ll be right at home at the Botanic Garden,” I said. “But you’re right. You’ll see something amazing at the reception this evening.”

He cleared his throat. “And what exactly is this awe-inspiring specimen of the plant kingdom?”

In my most ominous voice, I answered my brother. “The corpse flower. We’re going to see the corpse flower.”

My Review:

4 stars

This is my third Washington Whodunnit mystery and the fifth in the series. I’ll admit, while I had some trouble understanding and connecting with the characters in the first book I read, by now, I’ve gotten to know Kit and her crew pretty well, so it was great getting to come back and see where they are after the last book left off. Kit in particular has grown on me, and I love how Doug joined Kit to help with her investigations now. I’m a sucker for partner-teams, and those two delivered.

In addition to revisiting familiar faces, we also get a new character in Kit’s brother, which added another fun, dysfunctional element to Kit’s posse, as well as new locations in Washington D.C., including the aforementioned Botanic Garden. As in the past two books, the descriptions of D.C. and the inner workings of Kit’s office were detailed and interesting, and really brought me into the story. Add to all that twists, turns, and intrigue, and this was a wonderful cozy mystery.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

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Author Bio and Links:

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. She conceived of the plot of her first novel one morning while taking a walk in her suburban Washington, D.C. neighborhood. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at numerous universities. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate. She’s currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress.

Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan. She is a member of Sisters in Crime. "Stabbing in the Senate" was awarded the Next Generation Indie prize for Best Mystery in 2016. "Homicide in the House" was a 2017 finalist for the RONE Award for Best Mystery. “Calamity at the Continental Club” was a 2018 finalist in the “best cozy mystery” at Killer Nashville.

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K Street Killing Review Tour

Blurb:

At a fancy Washington political fundraiser for Congresswoman Maeve Dixon, Kit and her best pal Meg do their best to woo wealthy lobbyists for campaign donations. When a powerful K Street tycoon mysteriously tumbles off the rooftop, Kit must spring into action to discover who killed the notorious Van Parker before Dixon's candidacy sputters.

Excerpt:

We squeezed around his computer as he pressed “play” on the YouTube video. The title of the video was “Personal Foul.” Not a good start. I braced myself.

Mack Hackensack’s face appeared on screen. Standing in the middle of a basketball court, he sported a UNC “Champions” polo shirt and wore a whistle around his beefy neck. An image of the American flag with an embroidered “USA” decorated his baseball hat. My politically astute brain churned. Without saying a word, the image conveyed “winner” and “patriot” in a single swoop.

But Coach didn’t stay silent for long. “I’ve always played by the rules. Work hard, play hard. Those are my values. I’m not afraid of making the tough calls or staying late for practice.” Then he walked toward center court, where the national championship trophy rested on a table.

He put his hand on the trophy before speaking again. “When my players do something wrong on the court, the referee calls a personal foul.”

Then the camera shot tightened. “The voters of the seventh district in North Carolina are the referees. Watch closely how my opponent, Maeve Dixon, plays the game.”

The image flashed to a still image of Maeve, standing in front of the Great Wall of China. His voice continued in the background. “While the people of North Carolina were struggling with the economic recession, where was Maeve Dixon? Traveling the world with her liberal colleagues.”

The next photo showed our boss in front of Big Ben. She was smiling for the camera, her brown hair whipping in the wind. “You deserve better than being represented by a member of Congress who treats her job like a vacation,” said the Coach.

“We shouldn’t have tweeted out pictures from her trip to London,” I muttered.

The ad returned to Coach Hackensack next to the trophy. “Voters, there’s only one smart choice.” He pointed to the camera and blew his whistle. “Call a personal foul on Maeve Dixon. Elect me as your next Congressman!”

After putting my head in my hands, I could only manage two words. “Game over.”

My Review:
3.5 stars

This is my second Kit Marshall mystery, the first being Calamity at the Continental Club. Even though this could work as a standalone, I would recommend reading the series in order, as I understood the characters more this time due to reading CCC. I’d had a hard time falling in love with the characters before, but getting to see them “down the road” so to speak and meet them again helped. I wasn’t as confused behind why the characters made the decisions they did (even if they didn’t always make sense).

This was an interesting mystery, containing even more fun facts about D.C. and the inner workings of the political system. I was surprised at how in-depth the details were, and they helped bring the story to life. And let’s not forget about the twists, turns, and fast-paced intrigue (politics), which made this book a fast read. If you’re looking for some light, summer detective reads, I would recommend giving this series a try.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

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Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.

Author Bio and Links:

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. She writes the Washington Whodunit series published by Camel Press and Harlequin. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at Yale, George Mason University, Georgetown, and Penn. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and is currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress, working on great programs such as the National Book Festival. Colleen won the Next Generation Indie Award for Best Mystery for her first novel, Stabbing in the Senate. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan.

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Calamity at the Continental Club

Blurb:

During the annual meeting of the Mayflower Society at Washington, D.C.’s Continental Club, Kit Marshall is pressed by her future mother-in-law to set a wedding date and choose a venue. A reprieve comes when the head of the society, a multimedia tycoon, is murdered. The prime suspect is Kit’s finance’s father. With the Hollingsworths’ reputations and freedom at stake, Kit sets out to find the real killer.

Excerpt:

My Fitbit buzzed, its annoying way of reminding me it was time to get moving. Somehow Gertrude Harper had managed to remain slim without jogging around Dupont Circle. I wasn’t so fortunate.

I turned away from her portrait to head back toward the main staircase. In the far corner of the room near the entrance to the club’s library, I spotted a man’s dress shoe. How odd. The Continental Club wasn’t the type of place where patrons had one too many glasses of wine and lost their footwear en route to bed. That went double for the Mayflower Society crowd who occupied the vast majority of suites inside the building.

Curiosity got the better of me. The library entrance was adjacent to another Continental Club treasure I’d wanted to check out, the bronze bust of Benjamin Franklin. During the Second World War, when the club met inside Dolley Madison’s former house, the Franklin statue adorned the room where key discussions about nuclear fission and the atomic bomb took place. Now it resided on a perfectly engineered pedestal in front of a prominent arched window, inviting photographers strolling along the nearby street to take advantage of the striking profile it provided when the light was just right.

I didn’t get much of a chance to admire Franklin or read the detailed inscription at the base of the statue. A guest who’d unwisely overindulged hadn’t abandoned his shoe the night before. Instead, the shoe belonged to a man whose body lay flat on the floor of the library.

My Review:
3.5 stars

This was an interesting mystery, containing some fun moments and fun facts about some famous D.C. sites. I enjoyed getting to travel around D.C. to places both familar and new to me, which enhanced the story for me. I also greatly enjoyed the twists and turns as well as the fast-paced intrigue, which made this book a fast read. In addition, I loved Clarence (I'm a sucker for detective animals, even unintended helpers).

However, I had a hard time falling in love with the other characters. Many of them, especially Kit, were overly pushy and overeager at times, making these amateur detectives seem too much of amateurs at times, not knowing when to let the police get involved or take a step back to evaluate their decisions, something vital in amateur detective stories. I understand they were meant to be amateurs, but even amateur detectives need to have more sense than Kit and the others displayed at times. I don't know if this is affected by the fact that I didn't read the first two books in this series, where Doug apparently disapproves of Kit's getting involved. That was not the case here, where he eagerly encouraged her to get involved, which I feel potentially took away a previous voice of reason responsible for raising objections and forcing the characters to think twice (which can bring about smarter/more realistic decisions). So even if the mysteries are stand alone, I would recommend reading the first books in the series as I might have felt a bit differently about the characters had I read them first. 

Overall though, this was a fun, quick read, good for fans of amateur detective novels.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

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Don’t forget to visit the remaining stops on the tour.

Author Bio and Links:

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. She writes the Washington Whodunit series published by Camel Press. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at Yale, George Mason University, Georgetown, and Penn. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate. She is currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress and works on great programs such as the National Book Festival. Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan.

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