Dead as a Duck by Colleen J. Shogan (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

 

 

Dead as a Duck

by 

Colleen J. Shogan

 

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GENRE: Mystery/cozy mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Congressional staffer Kit Marshall is looking forward to a much-deserved summer vacation in the Outer Banks. When the mayor of the beach town turns up dead, Kit and her friends need to put their fun and relaxation on hold to help solve the crime.

 

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EXCERPT

 

 

 

Before I could answer, Tobias spoke up. “The mayor got clobbered, at least politically speaking. It was a real mess. Lots of people were yelling, including her brother.” He pointed at me again.

 

Gomez turned to me. “Is your brother still in town?”

 

“Yes, we’re on vacation together. We’ve rented a beach house in Duck for the week,” I said.

 

“Sebastian is my significant other,” said Lisa. “That’s how Kit and I know each other.”

 

Gomez chewed on the end of her pen. “That’s enough for now. Wait over there until I tell you otherwise.”

 

We walked back to our original location. “If Ronan was murdered, it probably happened sometime last night, don’t you think?”

 

“The medical examiner should be able to figure that out,” she said. “But yes, I would assume that would be the case. There’s a lot of people on this boardwalk when the restaurants and businesses are open. If someone tossed a body into the sound, someone would notice.”

 

“Then we don’t have anything to worry about.” I sighed in deep relief. “If it happened in the middle of the night, you can serve as Sebastian’s alibi.”

 

Lisa shifted from one foot to the other. “That’s going to be a problem.”

 

“What do you mean, Lisa?” I asked in a shaky voice.

 

“I woke up in the middle of the night and Sebastian wasn’t there,” said Lisa. “I don’t know where he went, but he wasn’t with me.”

 

 

Purchase Links:

 

Amazon

 

Barnes and Noble

 

Indigo

 

Apple books

 

Target

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at several universities and previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She is currently the Senior Vice President of the White House Historical Association.

Colleen 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. She splits her time between Arlington, Virginia and Duck, NC in the Outer Banks with her husband Rob and beagle mutt Conan.

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

 

3.75 stars

 

 

Dead as a Duck by Colleen J. Shogan is part of the ‘Washington Whodunit’ series and features the adventures of Kit Marshall, chief of staff for representative Maeve Dixon, and amateur sleuth. A “feeling out” stop for the congresswoman that is supposed to morph into a well-deserved vacation for Kit and her cohorts is complicated when her brother gets implicated in…what else? A murder!

 

This cozy mystery provides an armchair visit to a quaint seaside town in North Carolina named Duck. Glimpses of the fun activities to be had on a vacation that includes canines (despite one’s disappointing antipathy toward the beach) are interspersed with persistent investigation into the most recent murder to impact Kit and her crew. It’s fun to see Kit’s husband get more immersed in her propensity to solve murders, and I wholeheartedly approve of his decision about the subject of his next book.

 

I didn’t feel much connection to the secondary characters, but I had met several of them in previous stories, so it was good to get an update on where they were in their lives. I think this would be a perfect quick beach read for anyone who likes cozy mysteries and small-town stories.

 

 

A copy was provided for review