Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

Steam Rating: 🍆/5

Thank you to Minotaur Books for gifting me a review copy of Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano.

I absolutely flew through this book, I just could not put it down. I was hooked from the first page through to the last it was so entertaining.

Finn is struggling. She’s completely stressed out, her husband moved out and has proposed to his side-piece, she has bills piling up, no-one is buying her books, she can’t find a babysitter, and to top it off a lady tries to hire her to kill her husband…in a Panera.

I don’t want to give any of the story away, but let’s just say there are plenty of twists and turns and it moves FAST. It’s a mix of mystery, action, drama and romance all blended together in one delightful cocktail. There’s also a fun inception sort of vibe and I was certainly curious to know how much of the author’s real-life experiences went into this one. Luckily we got to talk to her for our book club, so I could ask!

Yes Finlay’s voice is really the author’s voice, but no she hasn’t murdered anyone—she has researched some pretty gruesome topics for books though. This is her first fun book, her others are very dark and serious, so as part of her research she’s even attended ‘writer’s police academy’ where they work in a forensic lab, do fingerprint analysis, SWAT simulations, and take all sorts of other classes. And because writing can be so solitary she tries to get out and do field research whenever she can (sheriffs ride along, tossing cells for contraband, searching the woods for unmarked graves…you know, the usual).

And, the best bit…she actually came up with this idea while in a Panera, talking through some grisly book scenes with her critique group (none other than Ashley Elston and Megan Miranda) and getting some funny looks from other customers.

Ok, back to the book. There are some definite Stephanie Plum and Where’d You Go, Bernadette vibes, which the author says is no accident because she’s a huge Janet Evanovich fan. She mentioned that while writing she had the TV series Dead to Me and Good Girls in mind too (both favorites of mine). This book definitely plays in the grey area between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Finn does some pretty terrible things, but her motives are mostly good—just enough to keep her likable really.

And good news, book two is in the works (although no release date yet) and it will also be published through Minotaur. Cosimano is hoping this will turn into a long-running series, so fingers crossed!

Synopsis:

IT’S MURDER BEING A HIT-MOM

"Getting the job done" for one single mom takes on a whole new meaning in Finlay Donovan is Killing It, a deliciously witty adult debut―the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning author Elle Cosimano.