Gore in the Garden by Colleen J. Shogan - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Colleen J. Shogan and her new book, “Gore in the Garden”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Colleen and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Gore in the Garden

by Colleen J. Shogan

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GENRE: Mystery

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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.

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EXCERPT TWO:

Sebastian, Doug, and I drifted back to the sidewalk outside the butterfly garden. “Tell me more about your friend Meg,” said Sebastian. His eyes sparkled with interest.

“She’s not dating these days,” I said quickly. “Let’s not go there.”

“Meg is attractive,” said Doug. “But I’m not sure she’s your type. I don’t see her taking to the streets anytime soon to protest the world’s injustices.”

“Not unless the protest was taking place inside Nordstrom’s,” I said. “If you could arrange that location for a demonstration, then you persuade her to make an appearance.”

Doug and Sebastian both chuckled. But their laughter was interrupted suddenly by a bloodcurdling scream from inside the conservatory.

“That sounds like Meg!” I exclaimed. “Come on.”

We rushed over to the entrance, pulled open the door, and entered the garden court. Meg was standing next to the blooming corpse flower. I didn’t even notice the odor because I was fixated on her terrified face.

I ran to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “Meg, what’s wrong? It looks like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Worse than that,” she sputtered, gesturing wildly behind her.

“Is something wrong inside the tropical rain forest?” I asked.

“You could say so,” Meg gasped. “Someone’s dead.”

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

Another exciting, intriguing, and enjoyable read in the Washington Whodunit Cozy Mystery Book Series!!!

This is the third book I’ve read in this book series.  I previously read, reviewed, and blogged about Colleen’s third book in this series, “Calamity at the Continental Club,” a couple years ago and Colleen’s fourth book in the series, “K Street Killing,” last year so I was very excited to read her latest installment in the series, “Gore in the Garden.”

I really enjoyed teaming up with Kit again and solving another mystery!

Kit has become one of my favorite amateur sleuths!!!

Again, I really liked the main characters!  I was so excited to see the whole crew back together!  I enjoyed Kit, her husband Doug, their adorable dog Clarence, her BFF Meg, her boss Congresswoman Maeve Dixon, and her interesting hippie younger brother Sebastian that creates some interesting and uncomfortable situations for her lol!!  I really get so invested in characters sometimes – especially in a book series, so it’s great to see them happy and still all together!  Also, the supporting characters were well-developed and amply played off the main cast.

This book has a creative story line, intriguing plot points, excellent mystery structured scenarios, fantastic writing style, well-developed characters, and keeps you fully engaged through the last page!

Without giving too much away, there is a scene in the book at the United States Botanic Garden in D.C. where the characters are gathered at an event and are awaiting a special viewing of the blooming of a corpse flower.  Now, the author does a great job at describing the details, however, I was very intrigued and just had to Google this flower.  Very interesting!  I read a couple articles and watched a few YouTube videos that showed that actual blooming which apparently it takes this flower 7-10 years to bloom!!!  And it’s named a corpse flower because it actually smells like decomp right as it’s about to bloom.  I LOVE books that teach me new things and this book not only educated me about this really intriguing flower, but it sparked my curiosity to even take it one step further and research it online!  Now I actually want to find a garden and attend such a viewing!

Again, I loved the D.C. backdrop in this book series that continued into this fifth book as the author shows her D.C. roots by throwing in so many references throughout the book since the book does take place there.  I have been to D.C. a few times and loved it.  So, I really enjoy when I read a book from there that the real D.C. is found in the pages – and it sure was!

There are some very predictable scenes.  However, there are still a few unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!

This is the fifth book in the Washington Whodunit Book Series.  Although, this book is part of a book series, it can absolutely be read on its own as a standalone.  As you can see, I started in the middle of the series, with book three, four, and now five and haven’t got lost yet lol!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in an intriguing, suspenseful, exciting, and enjoyable cozy mystery book.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R87I7M0V14Q7C

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AUTHOR BIO:

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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CONNECT WITH COLLEEN:

Website:

www.colleenshogan.com

Email:

washingtonwhodunit@gmail.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/washingtonwhodunit

Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/cshogan276

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/colleen-j-shogan

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1269678.Colleen_J_Shogan

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46001531-gore-in-the-garden

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2AHCYJV

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/2U5LKY4

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2L11B7C

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gore-in-the-garden-colleen-shogan/1131993549?ean=2940163246335

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gore-in-the-garden-colleen-shogan/1131993549?ean=9781603817233

Kobo eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gore-in-the-garden

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Gore-in-the-Garden-Colleen-Shogan/9781603817233

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Gore-Garden/Colleen-Shogan/9781603817233

Smashwords eBook:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/936838

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Colleen will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.