I usually don't enjoy books about single parents/divorced parents, but I found this a fun and enjoyable read.

I liked the writing style and the way the plot was executed.

I would recommend this to others.

I unfortunately had some technical issues and didn’t get the files on my Kindle before they were archived, so I started listening to the audiobooks, and I LOVE listening to the series on audio. The narrator is fantastic!

Finlay Donovan is Killing It is the first book (of six) in the series, a fun, funny, and fast-paced mystery series that follows a newly-single mother and suspense author, Finlay, and her nanny-turned-best-friend, Veronica (Vero), as they unintentionally find themselves sucked into the world of crime and a murder investigation. It’s full of wit and a bit of suspense and lots of action! I can listen to these books pretty quickly, which is great.

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books for the free copies of the Finlay Donovan series!

This one absolutely surprised me in the best way!! I'm kicking myself for taking so long to read it (I've been on a romantasy kick haha) but it's laugh-out-loud funny, clever and so refreshing to have a 31 year old FMC! Finn is so relatable, and moms everywhere will feel the struggle of juggling life, relationships and small kids. Throw in a murder mystery and it makes for a seriously great story!

I read this wonderful book in a day and loved every page of it. In a way, we're all Finlay Donovans, people whose lives spiral out of control fairly often and we do the best we can to duct tape our way through and past the problems. We need more humorous books like this in the world. Hoorah!

This one kept me laughing out loud and on the edge of my seat! Finlay Donovan is back in Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, and her chaotic life—balancing writing career, messy personal life, and accidental entanglement with hitmen—hits a whole new level of hilarious and high-stakes.

Elle Cosimano nails the blend of sharp wit and suspense. Finlay’s internal monologue is gold, and the pacing never lets up, with snappy dialogue and twists flying fast. Despite the chaos, she’s a lovable, relatable mess you can't help rooting for.

If you love darkly funny thrillers with a lead who’s juggling everything from childcare to contract killers—and actually pulls it off—this is a must-read.

This book was such a fun read!!! Truly every book in the series is a joy and makes me laugh out loud! If you grew up loving Nancy Drew and Babysitter’s Club, these books are for you!

Thank you to the author/publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this whole series! I think everyone should read these because they're so fun. Finlay is one that I have loved getting to know and the series was so much fun to dive into.

Thank you to #Netgalley for letting me re-read Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, the first in the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano. All opinions are my own. If you haven’t started reading these yet, I envy you for not having to endure the pain and agony of waiting for each book to come out. There are 5.5 already published (one is a novella) and the sixth will join us on March 10, 2026; cue the pain and agony of having to wait.

It was love at first line for me in this genre-bender. Is this a comedy? A thriller? A mystery? A romance? Yes to all. Finlay is a divorced mother and mystery novel author who gets involved in a mystery of her own. In this book we meet everyone, and it is fun going back to the beginning of so many relationships. I absolutely had no idea how this was going to end and at one point or another I suspected everyone. It kept me on my toes in the best of ways! This series is perfection to me.

I have also enjoyed this book on audio, and narrator Angela Dawe does an excellent job with the series. She differentiates the voices and characters perfectly, Vero being one of my favorites.

5/5 stars
10 hours at 1x on audio
Closed door
Location: Virginia

I love the idea of a book within a book and I also like a story that puts a spunky, funny, and resourceful main character against mildly frustrating people like Finlay’s ex-husband.

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

This book just kept getting more and more chaotic the more I read and I loved it! I couldn't believe how much bad luck Finlay kept having, from unpaid bills to misheard conversations she was having a terrible week or life in general. She gets sucked in to the world of hired hitmen and her life gets turned upside down. I loved all of the characters, even her jerk of an ex husband because he added to the story's chaotic-ness. How the whole story unraveled and came to an end was great and I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdness of it all. I loved both of the love interests and I'm torn with which one I want her with. She's funny, smart, and determined, I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Thank you to the publisher for providing this series in exchange for reviews. This was a realy fun book, and a great set up for the rest of the series! I'm looking forward to going down the Finlay rabbit hole!

Thank you for the early copy. I liked the setup and appreciated the writing style. It didn’t fully click for me in every chapter, but there was enough here to keep me reading. I think fans of the genre will find a lot to enjoy

Title: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
By: Elle Cosimano
Pub. Day: Feb. 2, 2021

Genre:
Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Humor, Book Club, Audiobook

Trigger Warnings:
Murder, Violence, Domestic Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Alcohol, Drugging

Summary/Review:
WOW! Now I understand all the Fanfare that surrounds this series! I loved every part of this novel.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It introduces us to Finlay, a relatable heroine for every woman. She's a wonderfully messy and unpredictably chaotic mom, who somehow manages to make everything that can go wrong… go wrong, and in the most humorously relatable way possible. Finlay is a struggling writer with a severe writer’s block, which only adds to her spiral of misfortunes.

Adding more character depth, Finlay’s a recent divorcee, stunned and shaken by the betrayal of her husband’s love affair. Now financially strapped, Finlay juggles the overwhelming challenges of caring for herself, and her children, while attempting to reclaim her self-worth, rebuild her life, and fight for custody of her children.

What makes Finlay Donovan Is Killing It truly unforgettable is how the novel balances the heaviness of heartbreak with the wittiness and laugh-out-loud memorable moments of the distinctive main character. It’s messy, it’s real, and it’s utterly impossible not to root for her chaotic journey toward healing and hope.

For anyone who’s ever faced setbacks, family drama, or creative frustration, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It offers a hilariously healing and deeply emotional journey. Highly Recommended!!! I can’t wait to continue reading this series!

Thank you to Elle Cosimano, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity of an Advanced Readers Copy. I am voluntarily leaving my review.

#FinlayDonovanIsKillingIt
#St.MartinsPress
#ElleCosimano
#advancedreadercopies
#NetGalley

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and for the complimentary e-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A divorced mother of two finds herself in the middle of crime world as she accepts by accident an offer to get rid of someone’s husband.

This book was great! I loved the relatable situations with kids and dialogues between the characters. Speaking of characters- every character is vivid and you learn to love or hate them pretty quick.

Finlay is always getting in trouble. From her messy divorce, and inability to manage finances, to mistakenly being hired as a murderer for hire, the book is full of Finlay’s problems. Her ex husband is engaged to a real estate agent suing for custody of the children. Her latest book deal is way overdue. How does she find herself involved with Russian gangsters? How can Finlay be so misunderstood?

Thank you to Net Galley for the copy of this book.

I really really liked this, i thought it was an interesting take on the cozy mystery. I also liked getting the whole series on netgalley, because it's been on my TBR for a while but I haven't gotten around to it and now I will probably finish it and promote it.

This was absolutely Hilarious, I binged it in 2 days! I loved the characters and the mishaps along the way. It had Real problems but also some Unbelievable ones which made it a fun listen.

This was such a fun book!!
I had seen great things about this whole series but never really read what they were about.
I enjoyed every moment of suspense and craziness Finlay got herself into in this book. Can’t wait to read the next one

Had a really good time with this one. Can’t wait to read more by Elle Cosimano! I didn’t find it as funny as as everyone claims it is but did have a fun time with it!

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

Finley Donovan is Killing it is the first book in a mystery series perfect for everyone who loves the hijinks of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum or the determination of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey. Newly divorced mom of two Finley is having a particularly awful day. Her older daughter just gave herself a haircut with the kitchen scissors and her younger son is liberally decorating with waffles and syrup. She’s late to a meeting with her long suffering agent about her next novel and the bills are piling up. When a mistreated wife overhears Finley’s conversation with her agent, she concludes that Finley is an assassin. Thus begins a comedy of errors with some very big stakes.