I am wrapping up this fantastic tour today! 
Homicide in the House
(Washington Whodunit)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Washington D.C.
Camel Press (June 15, 2016)
Paperback: 258 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1603813334
Synopsis:
Kit Marshall has bounced back from her first brush with the law, when she was suspected of murdering her senator boss. Now she is working for a freshman congresswoman, Maeve Dixon, a young Gulf War veteran representing North Carolina. It’s February, and Kit is feeling out of sorts. A government shutdown has just been announced, wreaking havoc on the Hill, and Dan, Dixon’s chief of staff and Kit’s supervisor, is an inexperienced lightweight flying blind. Then there’s Kit’s distracted live-in boyfriend, Doug, who doesn’t seem any closer to popping the question. Kit’s best friend Meg is up to her eyeballs with her new beau and oversight committee job, and Clarence the beagle mix will certainly not win Capitol Canine if Meg has to campaign for him all by herself. Bad as things are now, they are about to get much worse.
Early one morning Representative Dixon is caught standing over the corpse of Jack Drysdale, the Speaker of the House’s top staffer, a man she argued with in front of the press the day before. The murder weapon was the Speaker’s gavel. This item was entrusted to Dixon at the time, leading the police to believe they’ve found their killer. To save her job, Kit must clear her boss’s name, and quickly. Dixon’s career may be over if the police declare her a suspect or an anonymous blogger known as Hill Rat breaks the story. Solving this murder will test Kit’s courage and all her fledgling powers of deduction as she roams a spooky, sparsely populated Capitol Hill looking for clues and sounding out suspects.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I absolutely loved this whodunit that could have been ripped from the headlines!
The government has shutdown because they can’t reach a budget agreement. Our protagonist Kit Marshall is now working for new congresswoman Maeve Dixon and trying to guide both her and her inexperienced and incompetent chief of staff (Kit’s supervisor) through the murky ways of Washington. Congressional staff is cut to the bare minimum so the buildings and connecting tunnels are pretty empty these days. When Maeve Dixon contacts Kit early one morning shouting she needs help and Kit needs to come right away, Kit never imagined she would find her boss standing over a dead body. A staffer that Dixon blew up at the day before. The evidence all points to the congresswoman but Kit smells a set up. She just needs to figure who gains by the staffer’s death and Dixon’s incarceration and of course do all the other work because her boss is a fool who has no idea what he is doing. Hopefully Maeve Dixon’s seat will not be in jeopardy when Kit figures everything out.
I like Kit, she is smart, thinks before she jumps, and she know Washington. She is much more confident in this story. Kit lives with her boyfriend and they have an adorable pepperoni loving dog named Clarence. He has a big funny part in this story.
I also admire Maeve Dixon, she is not only a new congresswoman, but she is also a Gulf War Veteran, still serving her country. She tries to stay on track to help bring an end to the government shutdown even when her colleagues shut her out because she is a suspect. She has an enormous weight upon her shoulders and handles it so well, even asking Kit to stop investigating because it puts her in danger.
Again all the characters and situations had those feelings of reality. You can tell the author has been a real part in the Washington political scene and has researched what she did not know diligently.
I do enjoy stories like these with the political twists. We also see cozy mysteries do not always have to be set in small towns. Great characters, chilling twists and action filled moments almost had smoke coming out of my Kindle Fire
Book 1, Stabbing in the Senate
About The Author
Colleen J. Shogan is a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She is the former deputy director of the Congressional Research Service and previously served as a staffer in the United States Senate. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American government at Georgetown University, Penn, and George Mason. Colleen is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her BA from Boston College and her doctorate from Yale. A member of Sisters in Crime, she lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband Rob Raffety and their rescue mutt, Conan. Her first book, Stabbing in the Senate
Author Links
Webpage – Facebook – Twitter – GoodReads
Praise for Homicide in the House
Homicide in the House by Colleen J Shogan meets all the requirements for a cozy mystery: an amateur sleuth and her trusty friends. Some lovable and not so lovable characters along with a critter and easy reading and I would vote yes to adding this to your reading list.
~fundinmentalI enjoyed learning about the inner workings of the Congress even down to explaining which is the best cafeteria for staffers.
~Author Teresa TrentKit is a great cozy sleuth. The mystery is well-written and had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys smart, fast-paced cozies (especially those with a non-traditional setting/theme).
~Brooke BlogsHOMICIDE IN THE HOUSE is an exciting whodunit that made turning each page a thrill.
~Lisa K’s Book ReviewsIf this were to actually happen right about now it would definitely be far more interesting in the halls of Congress. I genuinely enjoyed how the twists and turns were executed.
~Bookjunkie’s Book Blog
Purchase Links
B&N
Tour Participants
July 25 – Back Porchervations – Review
July 25 – Babs Book Bistro – Spotlight
July 26 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – Review
July 26 – Author Annette Drake’s blog – Interview
July 27 – fundinmental – Review
July 28 – Sleuth Cafe – Guest Post
July 28 – T’s Stuff – Spotlight
July 29 – Teresa Trent Author Site – Review
July 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – Guest Post
July 30 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Character Interview
July 31 – Lisa Ks Book Review – Review, Interview
August 1 – Bookjunkie’s Book Blog – Review
August 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 3 – Queen of All She Reads – Review
August 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Thank you for the giveaway. I’ve put this series on my wish list.
Do you foresee any trouble in the future coming up with stories as fanciful as the ripped headlines?
I was blessed with the opportunity to read the ARC of this book. It is superbly written. I loved getting an insider’s tour of the House vicariously. Really interesting.
This series sounds really good.
I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it. I’m sure this one will be as good.
Thanks for including it on your blog. robeader53@yahoo.com
This does sound quite contemporary in subject matter.
This would be a great book to add to my cozy challenge list. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
Really like that this series is set in Washington DC. So much history there and so many possibilities for a murder mystery series. Can’t wait to read.
would love to win this book!
Another one for the TBR pile. Thanks for this opportunity.
This sounds like an interesting story that I would enjoy reading.