Jane Reads: Calamity at the Continental Club by Colleen J. Shogan

The Blurb

The Mayflower Society is about to hold its annual meeting at Washington D.C.’s swanky gathering place for the elite, the Continental Club. That means Kit Marshall’s upper-crust future in-laws, Buffy and Winston Hollingsworth, are coming for a visit. Annoyed that Kit has not set a date to marry Doug, Buffy wants her to commit to a high society wedding at the club. Kit, though chief of staff for a congresswoman, feels uncomfortable with Buffy and Winston’s crowd.

Kit receives an unexpected reprieve in the form of murder. En route to her morning jog, she encounters the corpse of the leader of the Mayflower Society, conservative multimedia tycoon Grayson Bancroft. On the security cameras, no one was seen entering or leaving the club, which means the culprit had to be an overnight guest. Little love was lost on Bancroft, but the police have their prime suspect: Doug’s father.

Buffy and Winston, formerly disdainful of Kit’s sleuthing, urge her to investigate. With her future in-laws’ freedom and reputations at stake, Kit sets out once again to solve a murder mystery, this time aided by her fiancé Doug in addition to her friends Meg and Trevor and her dog Clarence. Her search for clues will take her from the club to the Smithsonian Museum, the National Archives, and Mount Vernon.

Book 3 of the Washington Whodunit series, which began with Stabbing in the Senate and continued with Homicide in the House [reviewed here].

Calamity at the Continental Club by Colleen J. Shogan
Series: A Washington Whodunit, #3

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: July 15, 2017

Publisher: Camel Press

Paperback: 272 pages

ISBN-10: 1603813357
ISBN-13: 978-1603813358

eBook File Size: 2141 KB

ASIN: B073QZ622R

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM! | Goodreads

The Guest Post

In Calamity at the Continental Club, the third book in the Washington Whodunit mystery series, amateur sleuth extraordinaire Kit Marshall finds herself in new territory. A congressional staffer, Kit knows the world of Capitol Hill like the back of her hand. But when a cultural philanthropist Grayson Bancroft is murdered, Kit needs to solve the crime to make sure her future father-in-law isn’t falsely accused.

The suspects are members in an exclusive historical society, and the clues lead Kit to a number of famous Washington, D.C. cultural institutions. I’ve visited each of these locations many times, and I include a number of details in my book. If you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods, here’s some of the not-to-miss gems:

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: First, this place gets CROWDED very quickly. It’s best to arrive right when the museum opens. Most visitors rush upstairs to see the Hope Diamond. It’s worth it, although it can be hard to get a good look at the gem since so many people surround it with iPhones and cameras. One of my favorite exhibits is the nature photography display on the second floor. It’s an annual competition of the world’s best nature photographers and the shots they capture are truly out of this world. Also, don’t miss the Sant Ocean Hall on the first floor — it’s hard to miss the 45-foot replica of a whale hanging from the ceiling!

National Archives: The lines are also long to see the Declaration of Independence and the original copy of the Constitution. However, reservations for visiting the Archives can be made ahead of time. So if you’re planning a trip to Washington, it’s worth going online and paying a small fee ($1.50) for a timed ticket. With so much focus on American founding documents, visitors may miss the 1297 copy of the Magna Carta, which is also on display at the Archives.

Mount Vernon: George Washington’s home is located 15 miles south of Washington, D.C. It’s definitely worth the trip to visit our first president’s estate. There’s so much to see and explore, it’s worth an entire day. Arriving early is always a plus, since lines to take the tour of the mansion can grow long in the summer months. The new educational center provides interactive exhibits and exact replication statues of Washington throughout his life. No visit can be complete without a walk to George and Martha Washington’s tomb. Be sure to check out the online calendar to find out which special tours might be offered. Even dogs are welcome!

If a trip to Washington, D.C. isn’t in the immediate future, check out Calamity at the Continental Club to learn more about these fascinating historical locations — while helping Kit solve her latest mystery!

Stay tuned for my review of Calamity at the Continental Club on September 25,

plus an excerpt and another giveaway!

The Author

About Colleen J. Shogan

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 and as the Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service. She’s currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress, working on great outreach initiatives such as the National Book Festival. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob Raffety and their beagle mutt, Conan.

Find Colleen on the web at

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