Former Hill staffer pens ‘Stabbing in the Senate’ novel

A whodunit-style murder mystery is brewing in Congress, courtesy of a longtime Capitol Hill staffer.

Colleen Shogan is the author of “Stabbing in the Senate,” a book that follows a senator’s aide after she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her boss.

{mosads}While the story is pure fiction, Shogan, who worked for nearly three years as a legislative assistant for former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), says she pulled from her real-life experiences throughout a decade of work on Capitol Hill. 

And when Hogan, now deputy director of the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress, had to come up with the perfect murder weapon, some décor from her ex-boss’s office came to mind.

“Sen. Lieberman was obviously on the Armed Services Committee, and he had a lot of these models of different helicopters and other military aircraft, things like that, because of the role he played on Armed Services,” Shogan recalls. “They always kind of stuck at me being sort of imposing things to have around the office.

“So whenever I had to come up with a murder weapon — because I didn’t just want to use a knife because everybody knows you can’t really bring knives into congressional office buildings these days, you’re going to get stopped by security — I wanted to create something that would be realistic.”

The weapon of choice then became a stainless steel replica of an Army attack helicopter, like one that might have been found in Lieberman’s office.

Shogan describes the novel as “Nancy Drew meets ‘Madam Secretary’ ” but says her depiction of life on the Hill is more true to life than some of the popular television shows set in Washington.

“What I was trying to do is present a little more of a realistic portrayal of the pressures of people who work in Congress, the pressures they’re under. And most people who work in Congress just want to do a good job for their bosses, and they actually believe in what they’re trying to effectuate,” Shogan says.

Under a three-book contract with her publisher, Shogan just finished up her second novel. “Homicide in the House” is poised to be released in 2017.

“The characters are moving over, across the Capitol,” Shogan says with a laugh.