I never saw an amateur sleuth so eager to investigate a crime as Congressional staffer Kit Marshall. Colleen J. Shogan’s Calamity at the Continental Club, the third Washington Whodunit, provides D.C.’s buildings for Kit’s playground as she and her friends look for a killer.
Kit is a reluctant participant in the Mayflower Society’s annual meeting at the Continental Club. She and her fiancé, Doug Hollingsworth, are guests of his upper-crust parents. While Doug’s father loves history, and enjoys the talks and camaraderie, he’s always hoped to be elected president of the society. Doug’s mother, Buffy, is hoping the luxurious club will become the setting for Kit and Doug’s wedding, and she has wedding plans in mind. But, everything comes to a screeching halt when the current president, a multimedia tycoon, is murdered. And, Doug’s father, Winston, appears to be the perfect suspect.
While Doug has always disapproved of Kit’s tendency to get involved in murder investigations, this time he’s as eager as she is. Together with a couple of her friends from the Congressional staff, the couple question suspects while touring Mount Vernon and the National Archives, and investigate poisons at the Smithsonian. Even so, it’s their dog, Clarence, who finds the final piece in the puzzle. Who, besides Winston Hollingsworth, had the opportunity to kill Grayson Bancroft?
While the mystery itself was interesting, and I appreciated the information about the D.C. sites, I wasn’t a fan of Kit Marshall. She and her friends were just too eager to butt into the murder investigation, before the police even had a chance. While others may appreciate the over-the-top amateur sleuth in Calamity at the Continental Club, she wasn’t one of my favorite characters in a mystery.
Colleen J. Shogan’s website is www.colleenshogan.com
Calamity at the Continental Club by Colleen J. Shogan. Camel Press. 2017. ISBN 9781603813358 (paperback), 256p.
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FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.
