How to Have a Killer Time in D.C. covers a lot of bases. Magazine writer Oliver Popp’s assignment is to describe how to have a “killer time” in a city with a wonky reputation at best and somewhat scary, recently, at worst. And, yes, there is a murder in Sam Lumley’s debut “Oliver Popp’s Travel Guides to Murder” series. Personally, it’s “killer” but a little scary for Oliver to be confronted with murder and romance in one jam-backed week.

Young, gay, autistic journalist Oliver Popp is happiest when he can pregame everything, from his work at “Offbeat Traveler” to his well-orchestrated life in Oakland. His running route is a good example: his “breathing and moving were pretty automatic after so many years of covering the same route day after day.” Ramona, the editor in chief at “Offbeat Traveler” surprises him: “Oliver, we’re sending you on assignment. You’re ready.”

“We’re getting desperate pleas from the flacks in Washington, DC, to help them do a so-called ‘reset’ on the city’s tourism. I don’t know, I guess there was some brouhaha or something before the inauguration, and the last administration made people get mad when they thought of DC and hotels in the same sentence.” One hand released the phone to wave dismissively. “They’re struggling a bit. So you get to go and put a happy face on our nation’s capital. No political stuff. Just, like, restaurants and museums and boutiques. You know, the usual deal. Drea has the details.”

Drea, the managing editor, calms Oliver down: “Don’t worry. I have a detailed itinerary.” The more meticulous the better. Oliver still feels like a baby bird being pushed out of the nest. Drea senses Oliver is spiraling. She tells him that she has a DC-based photographer lined up: “He’s actually an old friend of mine from Howard. His name is Ricky Warner. He’s a really fun person—I think you’ll hit it off.”

Oliver goes on his habitual morning run before heading to the airport. “A sleek sedan, a Moonshot MS-100,” speeding and running red lights, almost takes him out. The so-called driver was looking down at his phone: Oliver “could see in its ambient light that he was using it with both hands.” On the plane to DC, Oliver runs into childhood friend Elise Perkins, who he remembers as a girl “surrounded by laughter, a bright, happy, gawky, goofy sun around whom others had orbited.” Other than a “suspicion of booze on her breath,” Elise is charming. She’s also traveling for business.

“So, you’ve heard of Moonshot Motors, right? Electric cars, Kelso King, self-driving, big hype, blah, blah, blah? I’m on the team developing the autonomous driving software.”



I flashed back to that’s morning’s near miss and might have blanched a little, but she seemed to take it as a sign that I was impressed.

Elise reminds Oliver that her specialty at MIT was AI. She tells him her mandate is to error proof the car, to make sure “the cars don’t make the mistakes twice.”

“I should hope so,” I blurted out. She gave me a quizzical look, and I explained, “I nearly got run over this morning by one of your cars, and I’m pretty sure it was driving itself. It was speeding and running red lights, too.”

Elise looks troubled and tells him it’s been happening a lot recently.

Oliver spots photographer Ricky when he gets to the baggage area, “sitting next to a large older woman, almost hidden behind her, and for some reason, he had sunglasses on even though he was indoors.” Weird. First Ricky walks quickly, then he slows down, almost causing Oliver to crash into him. Ricky apologizes, “I noticed someone working behind that counter that I . . . wanted to avoid. But I think we’re in the clear now.” Does Ricky have enemies? No, it’s just a person Ricky “kinda ghosted.” Ricky is outgoing, impulsive, gay, freewheeling, the antithesis of Oliver, who lives and breathes by his schedule.

Oliver and Ricky keep running into Elise; she’s the talk of the town because of her frank Congressional testimony on troubling issues surrounding the Moonshot vehicle. They’re invited to a swanky dinner/publicity event hosted by the Moonshot group—the star of the evening is the “entrepreneurial billionaire” owner, Texan Kelso King. It’s fiction imitating life. Sadly, that same night Elise is “struck dead by a speeding car,” a Moonshot. When Oliver and Ricky look at a tape of the death, they can’t understand why she didn’t scream when the car sped toward her.

Madcap murder investigating ensues. Oliver plays the part of the naïve ingenue (whatever works to filch a keycard out of a wallet) while Ricky taps into his vast network of former flirts and friends. Oliver and Ricky make a good pair: their different talents mesh together well. The not-so-thinly veiled famous people who grace the story add a shimmer of roman à clef. Ricky photographs Oliver’s adventures in DC in true cinéma verité style. What an unusual debut: readers will welcome the next chapter in “Oliver Popp’s Travel Guides to Murder.”

“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭.”

How To Have A Killer Time in DC is a wonderful launch to a new cozy mystery series!

Oliver Pope is comfortable with his life as a staff writer for a travel magazine, but getting the opportunity to travel to DC for his first feature article is irresistible. Enter flirty (and kind) freelance photographer, Ricky Warner, a chance encounter with an old acquaintance, a driverless car, an entrepreneurial billionaire, and a murder. Forget tourist attractions - Oliver and Ricky have a mystery to solve! I adore an amateur sleuth; Sam Lumley creates such a loveable one in Oliver, who happens to have autism and is gay, like the author himself. Ricky is sweet and enchanting, and treats Oliver with respect, offering help when things get too overwhelming for him. The romance between them develops at a believable pace. I appreciated that there is an undertone of attraction throughout the story, but that Lumley allows Oliver and Ricky’s friendship to grow rather than jumping into a relationship right away. The story is both mysterious and fun. There is a lot of humour sprinkled throughout - the number of connections Ricky has in DC due to previous hookups made me laugh. The descriptions made me feel like I was in Washington, which peaked my interest in going to visit someday, and the mystery is solid. It reminded me a lot of a favourite season 1 Murder, She Wrote episode where a driverless car also murders someone. Although there could’ve been a few more suspects to really make the ending more impactful, I truly enjoyed every page of this story.

How To Have A Killer Time In DC is a joyful mystery with two amateur sleuths that you’ll root for. I am so happy to see that it is the beginning of a series. I am looking forward to traveling again with Oliver and Ricky! Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the ARC!

I didn't love this novel, but I didn't hate it. It felt like it dragged a little bit at times, but overall it was a nice read.

The story might have been interesting if it weren't for the main love interest, he annoyed me and I didn't even want to read it.
The main character definitely deserved better attention.

This book was rather forgettable, if I’m to be completely honest. As this is a start to the series I’m hoping further books will grip me better but to start off the series I was not that engaged

How to Have a Killer Time in D.C. is book one in the new mystery series Oliver Popps’ Travel Guides to Murder by Sam Lumley, and I am here for it! This was just so much fun.

Oliver Popp is a 24-year-old gay autistic travel writer working for Offbeat Traveler magazine. Oliver likes his routine, and he is a little nervous about his first feature assignment taking him to Washington, D.C. He’s paired up with Ricky Warner, a gay flirty freelance photographer, who definitely lives life a bit more (ok, a lot more) impulsively than Oliver. It’s a delightful pairing.

On the flight to D.C., Oliver is seated next to an old acquaintance, Elise Perkins, who works for a company who designs and builds self-driving cars. She and her fellow employees are headed to D.C. for a congressional hearing. With Ricky’s encouragement, Oliver gets the go ahead to work on a story about the company and hearing. Little does Oliver know what he’s getting into – the hearing shakes up the Capitol in a big way. Not long after, Ricky and Oliver are out one evening and they witness a fatal accident involving these self-driving cars. Was it really an accident or possibly murder?

I grabbed this new mystery on audio and absolutely adored everything about it. Olivier is a kind soul, a main character I could (and did) easily root for. I loved his connections to his mom and friends. The odd couple-like pairing of Ricky and Oliver was so fun and I am still smiling thinking about them.

The mystery pulled me right in and it was especially fun to get an armchair tour of D.C. as Ricky and Oliver worked to uncover the truth. Cleverly plotted and expertly paced, I give this book all the heart eyes. The ending is wonderful, and I cannot wait for more featuring Oliver!

Oliver and Ricky have such an interesting dynamic and I really enjoyed that their chemistry and relationship plotline sort of took a backseat to the mystery/investigation. Yes, there was definitely something there and it added an additional layer to the story, but it wasn't the primary focus. I appreciated that it wasn't the focal point and gave the mystery an opportunity to take center stage.

This was a cozy adventure and I really thought that Oliver, as a character, was such a great protagonist to root for. There's some really great rep in this book with autism being a focal point. I loved getting that perspective and viewpoint and how Oliver navigated the world around him through that lens.

This book definitely falls into the cozy mystery category. The mystery was clever and I thought there were some high stakes for Oliver to solve it, though what's a mystery without some missteps along the way? Oliver and Ricky make a great pair and I would definitely continue the series.

I would recommend this to fans of the genre!

A fun story but ultimately not my favorite writing style. It's a quick read which makes it a great palette cleanser. Perfect for fans of the Finlay Donovan series!

I loved the diverse representation in this book, especially the autism representation in relation to shock, trauma, and death.

I really enjoyed the mix of romance and mystery in this book. The slow increase in tension as you get farther into the story is satisfying.

I especially loved the caretaking aspect in the romance, when the investigation gets more dangerous, and I like how Oliver is taken care of by Ricky without infantilizing him or his autism.

The one thing I would have loved is a more even pacing throughout the investigation. I felt that it dragged on a little bit in the beginning to the middle, and only picked up and got intense in the last quarter of the book.

Overall, this is a good entry point for readers wanting to get into murder mysteries, as it is not too violent or intense, but is still satisfying.

A huge thank you to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cozy MM adventure featuring a neurodivergent character that truly captivated me. It was a wonderful experience that reminded me of the beauty of diverse stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

How to Have a Killer Time in DC was such a satisfying and FUN read after getting through some dark thrillers. This cozy mystery not only has autism representation but LGBTQIA rep as well. Oliver is the autistic protagonist of the story, who must have everything scheduled down to the minute in order to feel safe and in control. He’s a writer for a travel magazine and has headed to Washington, D.C. for a regular travel piecce.

But on the plane to DC, he runs into his childhood friend, Elise, who just so happens to be a tech for an electric car company that sounds an awful lot like you-know-who’s personality and business. Soon, Oliver meets up with his freelance photographer, Ricky, whom he finds very attractive and doesn’t seem to live on any schedule.

When Elise is hit by an electric car that Oliver and Ricky are riding in, Oliver wants to get to the bottom of how the car could malfunction so badly, and who was responsible for Elise’s death.

I absolutely loved the fresh neurodivergent representation. That also goes hand in hand with the dialogue-driven writing; I’ve always been one to skim the long descriptive passages in a novel. How to Have a Killer Time in DC is a playful, character-focused mystery that blends discovering oneself and romance rather than an intense thriller. And I am here for it!

Oliver Popp is a 24-year-old staff writer for Offbeat Traveler magazine. He has mostly been doing small pieces, but he is now being sent to Washington, D.C., to write a feature story on the city’s travel trends. It could be a big break for Oliver, but he is nervous about the trip, knowing it will take him out of his routine and into a lot of new situations. Oliver’s autism often makes this type of situation particularly challenging, but he is determined to chart a clear plan and stick to his schedule to help keep things in his comfort zone.

While on the flight to D.C., Oliver encounters an old classmate, Elise Perkins. Elise works for Moonshot Motors and famous entrepreneur, Kelso King, on his self-driving car project. She is coming to town to testify before Congress about the cars, which some are saying are too dangerous. Oliver’s own near-miss encounter with one of the Moonshot vehicles makes him tend to agree that they aren’t nearly as safe as the company claims.

When Oliver arrives in D.C., it quickly becomes clear that his partner on the assignment, photographer Ricky Warner, is as impulsive and spontaneous as Oliver is structured. Ricky is also friendly, full of life — and seems to be flirting with Oliver. While Oliver has a strict itinerary he is supposed to follow, he finds himself surprised by his willingness to let Ricky tempt him to stray a bit from the structured plan. But Oliver’s schedule totally gets derailed when Elise ends up dead under circumstances Oliver and Ricky can’t help but find suspicious. Now, the men are tracing Elise’s steps and following leads all over the city in an attempt to figure out who might have killed her and why. It gives the men a chance to get to know one another even better and a bond begins to form between them. But with Oliver’s time in the city winding down and a killer still at large, it will take all they have to find out who is behind Elise’s murder before the killer sets their sights on them.

I really enjoyed this entertaining cozy mystery with a travelogue twist. It is the first book in Sam Lumley’s Oliver Popp’s Travel Guides to Murder series and appears to be the author’s debut work. As a lifelong resident of the DMV (that’s the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia metro area), I am always curious about books set here. I’m happy to say that Lumley did a really nice job with both getting the details right for the setting, as well as bringing the city and some of the surrounding area to life. Oliver and Ricky travel all over D.C., first capturing details for Oliver’s story, and later trying to track down Elise’s killer. Sometimes authors miss the mark with getting the specifics correct, but Lumley does a really nice job here and I could picture so many of the places the men visit from my own experiences. Lumley even captures the bit of rivalry between folks from Maryland and Virginia correctly (though I will argue that we Marylanders are the better drivers despite Ricky’s opinion, lol). At times, I wonder if there is perhaps a bit too much detail, actually. While as a native I enjoyed being able to follow along in my mind with Oliver and Ricky so closely, readers unfamiliar with the area may find they are less interested in all the specific street names or Metro stops, etc. But I still really appreciated the time the author has clearly taken here and Lumley not only brings the city to life, but uses it to great effect in building the story.

Oliver and Ricky make an appealing pair with an opposites attract vibe. Oliver is autistic (and Lumley is an own voices author) and so he is more comfortable with routine and knowing what to expect. Taking this assignment is somewhat stressful for Oliver, as he is encountering so much new and out of his control all at once, so his instinct is to rely on his schedule and his plans. Ricky is much more of a free spirit and he takes things as they come, so their approaches are somewhat at odds. Over the course of the story, we see Oliver become a little more comfortable with spontaneity, as well as enjoying the experiences he has with Ricky. At the same time, Ricky is careful to be aware of Oliver’s needs and tries not to push things too far, and he accepts responsibility if he ever crosses that line. We also learn more about Ricky, who has a Black father and a White mother, and who has never fully felt like he belongs in either world. Both men have had feelings of not quite fitting in, and it gives them a shared understanding that helps build their connection. The relationship ends with a happy for now, as Ricky and Oliver express an interest in seeing one another again, but we are still in the early stages of the relationship. Given the fact that these guys have only known one another a short time and live on opposite sides of the country, I think we leave them in a good place that feels right for their relationship. The story did feel like it ended a little abruptly, but I think overall it works.

The mystery comes together well and it kept me guessing, though after the reveal I could see where Lumley laid the groundwork well. I don’t want to give away too much detail on how Elise dies, but the mystery takes us further into Moonshot Motors, its founder, and their self-driving cars. Oliver and Ricky know so little about Elise or where she spent her last hours, so it takes some time to untangle what happened, especially since the police don’t seem all that concerned about investigating. I did find myself having to suspend a little disbelief at how easily the Moonshot folks were willing to spill corporate details about problems with the cars, etc, with Oliver and Ricky, especially knowing Oliver was a journalist. No one seemed to be particularly PR savvy (including the PR lead) and Elise tells Oliver details about the company’s safety record almost immediately after reconnecting with him. But overall, I think the mystery was interesting and the investigation makes great use of the city setting.

I found this one a lot of fun and a great start to a new series. I really like Oliver and Ricky as a couple and I am looking forward to the chance to follow along as their relationship grows. I am definitely excited for more adventures.

A solid cozy mystery debut featuring Oliver Popp, a gay young adult journalist with autism who travels to DC on his own for the first time to write a story about tourism in the city only to get caught up with his guide and together the two try to solve a murder involving legislation around self-driving cars. The main character was likable, the mystery was twisty and kept me entertained and I liked that there was also a little bit of romance and good anxiety rep. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun start to a new cozy series. I love DC and enjoyed the thought of someone traveling there for the first time to write an article for a travel magazine. I instantly loved Oliver and his drive and bravery stepping into new unknown situations.  For someone on his first assignment, I was proud of him for getting comfortable so quickly. I did wish there was a little more focus on the travel writer content/idea as that's what hooked me, but was quickly dropped.  It was a bit slow and dragged to get started, before a lot of the drama happened. 
I did appreciate the timely subject of the dangers of self driving cars and the company politics in the new tech company.  I didn't love the romance as much as I thought I would, and I think I just didn't feel any chemistry between the MCs and kind of didn't like their vibe together at all. Ricky treated Oliver pretty inappropriately pretty quickly and poor Oliver was so uncomfortable, I felt so bad.  It will be interesting to see if this is continued or not.  I was shocked by the reveal and the dramatic ending!

This really picks up after the 30% mark or so. It was a cute, cozy mystery that felt just the other side of absurd at times. Oliver and Ricky are quite charming with each other and I'm sure their relationship will be even more lovely in future installments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this caught me in the middle of a huge reading slump, so while normally it would’ve held my attention and kept me reading relatively quickly, it just didn’t.

I really enjoyed the premise and the autistic representation that the publishing world so desperately needs! The characters were super believable and well thought out, as well. It just wasn’t what I wanted to read at the moment, and I had to keep making myself; so I will definitely be giving this another read when I’m more in the mood!

Having your supervisor and your mom plot to set you up with someone while you're away for work is crazy work but hilariously ridiculous.

Oliver Popp is a very relatable character (even for those who might not be neurodivergent) and it was cute to see an early career freelance journalist set out on their first big scoop. Drea seemed like a very cool and understanding supervisor who instilled the tools in confidence in him to succeed. Alas, things always go awry when you want them to the least.

Ricky (or Tariq) was also an interesting character. We meet a ton of his hookups and dates and while they all kind of glare at him, it didn't seem like those relationships ended on horrible terms due to cheating or generally being an ass. I think that helped lower Olivers hesitance about him.

Together, they made for a wacky duo that were part detective, part journalists. I really enjoyed how the suspense and mystery aspect played out. We get a red Herring in the beginning regarding these fancy cars and then boom, we get the result of said cars and the aftermath. Having been the ones to witness such an event, I'm really shocked that the company didn't reach out more to check up on them! I know they suck but damn, where is the PR team?

The action/mystery elements of the story were executed well. Even those some parts were cheesy, our MCs acknowledged that and made light of it, making this title a very fun read. The plot twist at the end was good! For once, I was wrong about who I thought the culprit was but it was a satisfying discovery.

I also liked the inclusion of the instance when Ricky gets upset with Oliver for punching a cop. While it's very understandable why Oliver did that (and honestly, cops should listen sometimes,) Ricky calling him out and letting him know that was dangerous and could have ended differently was very realistic. This title briefly touched on race, but didn't make the whole story about race, which I'm so thankful for.

Lastly, the budding relationship between them was adorable. Ricky pushes Oliver's buttons so much, but that seemed to be what allowed Oliver to get out of his brain and connect with Ricky. I like that their relationship left off with an open ending.

I really enjoyed this read and am happy to see it's going to be a series. I am down to read all the others when they're published!

I wanted to like this more than I did. Fun gay murder mysteries are exactly my niche right now and I really thought this would be an easy 5 star for me. And part of the unfortunate thing is how every time I read Moonshot by brain subbed in Tesla and that is not the fault of the book at all. But part of it comes from not buying why our MC is continuing this at all. It also felt like half the time the MCs autism was only boiled down to 'can't tell when being flirted at' which, yeah, mood, but once or twice is enough to get it across. Other times I felt very connected as an autistic person myself. The mystery itself also felt a little lack luster, even at the climax I didn't feel like the stakes were high enough, and it felt so incredibly rushed that it fell flat when we final get to learn whodunit.

CW: Vehicular Homicide; Overstimulation (Autism)

This book was fine. Oliver Popp, a gay, autistic journalist, heads to D.C. to write a travel piece. Along the way, he runs into an old classmate – who later is killed after being hit by a self-driving car. He gets entangled (via work and later romantically) with a photographer named Ricky, a D.C. native. Together, they investigate the Tesla-esque company and its Musk-esque CEO, have run ins with Congressional folks, and flirt a lot. Like I said, it's perfectly fine. It just wasn’t that exciting for me or particularly memorable. I think fans of cozy mysteries may like it, as the investigation and its outcome were pretty good, and those who enjoy a side of romance will also be satisfied.

Oliver Popp likes three things: lists, plans, and knowing exactly what’s coming next. So when his travel writing gig sends him to Washington, DC, he’s ready with color-coded itineraries and an emergency granola stash. What he isn’t ready for? A murder, a mystery, and a photographer who’s as chaotic as he is charming!

Enter Ricky Warner: flirty, fast-talking, and somehow always covered in just the right amount of dog hair to be adorable. When the duo’s travel piece gets derailed by a suspicious hit-and-run (with a victim who really didn’t seem all that surprised to be hit), Oliver finds himself investigating a murder instead of reviewing museums. And while he’s at it, he might just fall into his first real crush, and his first unstructured weekend.

Delightfully weird, unexpectedly tender, and proof that sometimes the best adventures aren’t the ones you plan, this part cozy mystery, part coming-of-age novel is a must read for any romance and/or queer rom-com lover