Larceny at the Library: A Washington Whodunit

A reception at the Library of Congress, where an exhibit featuring everything Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets the night he was assassinated is about to open, kicks off Shogan’s workmanlike sixth Washington, D.C., mystery (after 2018’s K Street Killing). The following morning, library staffer Doug Hollingsworth discovers the bludgeoned corpse of assistant librarian Gustav Gaffney next to a rifled cache of Lincoln artifacts. The Librarian of Congress asks Doug’s wife, Kit Marshall, a Congressional chief of staff with a reputation as an amateur sleuth, to investigate. Doug is a suspect, but Kit learns that many people disliked Gaffney, including a library donor, a rare book specialist, and a congressman. In the end, the case hinges on figuring out whose alibis are trustworthy. Meanwhile, Kit and friends sample the capital’s best restaurants and ogle the Library of Congress’s architectural splendor. Fans of light traditional mysteries will be amused. Agent: Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary. (July)

Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated this was the fifth book in a series.