Much better than the synopsis! This walks the fine line of serious stakes and zany behavior while being reasonable believable.

Did I enjoy it? Mostly. Do I think it's good? Not very. Maybe a good poolside read: easy, kind of funny, a bit stupid. The idea is good: single mom struggling with the bills, gets caught up in a mystery. But too much of it is implausible and the main character can be an idiot at times.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I absolutely love this series. Elle Cosimano can write a book! Looking forward to continuing the series especially with Vero, she is so fun!

Finlay is going thru a tough time: her husband left her & moved down the block with the realtor, she owes a new book to her publisher (like, yesterday), the nanny was let go by her ex and the bills are piling up. A meet up with her agent at a Panera leads to a misunderstanding as the woman eating at the next table assumes the conversation about bodies and murder indicate Finlay is a hitman. Desperate for money, she considers finding out more......a meet up at a bar leads to a dead man in her minivan.

This book is just so great. Unbelievable and funny. It sucked me right in and I couldn’t believe what was happening! I loved It!

Where it all began! The Finlay Donovan series is the ultimate comedy meets cozy mystery series. I soundly relate to her hot mess mom side so I can't help but cheer her (and Vero) on as hijinks and hilarity ensue. This book is perfect, escapist fun.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Oh my! Poor Finley really makes some BAD choices! I wanted to literally strangle her half the time but it was a fun, underdog story that by the end I really enjoyed! I will say the beginning is a bit slow but when things pick up look out you’re in for a wild ride!!

Thank you to Elle Cosimano, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Struggling single mom and novelist trying to figure out how she got wrapped up in a murder while her life around her is falling apart? Along with some comedy and dark humor.....Now that sounds like a good time! Sign me up!

Finlay Donovan, newly divorce author is just trying to make ends meet. We've all been there, right? How about being mistaken for a contract killer because someone overheard you plotting out our newest book to your agent?

Yeaaaa, I don't think too many of us have had that happen to us before..🤣

Imagining that whole scene play out was such a hilarious time in my mind! OMG, it seriously causes me to laugh out loud at the insanity that was laid out on the pages.

If you can enjoy a little dark humor, then I definitely recommend this book to you.

Find an accomplice to the real-life crime that she's suddenly in the middle of, Finlay turns to her freshly fired nanny to help her get out of this mess. I know you're thinking, "Uhh, her nanny just got fired. Why would she help her?" Chill out, her scum of an ex-husband fired her. Not Finlay.

Together, they go on a mission to clear their names and help solve this murder mystery.

Fast paced, witty and extremely hilarious, Finlay and nanny Vero were a force to be reckoned with their hilarious banter between each other and other characters was enough to make you want to flip through the pages faster and faster. The action scenes and drama were such a good time.

Who said chaos was a bad thing?

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for copies of the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

I have wanted to read this series for a while, and when I saw that the series was Read Now on NetGalley I decided it was time to give it a go. Finlay Donovan is a writer who is mistaken for a hitman and hijinks ensue with her nanny Vero. These books were perfect popcorn mysteries for me. I laughed, I was intrigued by the mystery aspect and I had a good time reading them! A perfect read when I needed something I didn’t have to think too hard about!

#bookstagram #mysteryreads #finlaydonovan

This book is a delightful mix of suspense, humor, and heart. The hilarious premise and lovable characters made this a total page-turner, and I can’t recommend it enough!

Fun quick read. Thanks for the advanced reader copy Netgalley! Just getting started with this author and enjoying the first book!

When I saw the entire series was available on NetGalley late last year, I decided it was a sign and it was time for me to read these books. I’ve read so many great reviews for each book, but I had initially passed on requesting them when this one first came out. Reading about a hot mess divorced mom solve murder mysteries sounded 1) too stressful when I was potty training a toddler while my older child was doing school online about a year into the pandemic and 2) probably not my cup of tea. I love cozies, and I like books with moms, and I like that Finlay’s an author, but I just had a feeling this wasn’t going to be for me. Turns out I was only half right, and the mystery solving part was probably the best. Everything else was mostly a miss with few hits.

Finlay Donovan is recently divorced after she caught her husband cheating with the woman he’s now engaged to. She has two young kids she seems to be struggling with wrangling, and she has looming deadlines as a romantic suspense author. With her agent, Sylvia, breathing down her neck for her non-existent manuscript, she meets Sylvia at a Panera and inadvertently gives the woman at the next table over the idea that she’s a hit woman. Things start to spiral out of control when the woman hires her to kill her husband and won’t take no for an answer. Things get dicey when she ends up with the target, drugged, in her van, and even worse when he winds up dead. With her nanny Vero on her side, the two women race to find out who actually killed the guy while keeping the corpse from the law’s eyes, but nothing’s easy when the Russian mafia is involved.

There’s a lot in Finlay Donovan is Killing It, and sometimes it made the whole book feel a little like a hot mess. There’s the divorced mother of two who is fighting her ex-husband and his fiancee for custody, Finlay trying to write her next manuscript, women who think Finlay’s a hit woman, Finlay and Vero trying to figure out who actually killed the first target, two love interests for Finlay, and the Russian mafia. Somehow, it all blends and mostly works, but it also felt a little overly bloated with things. I did like how Finlay figured out what to write about, but couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about how closely it mirrored her real life. It just looked too suspicious to me, but it neatly dealt with two of the things this novel works to handle.

I really liked the premise of this: author mistaken as a hit woman. I loved how Finlay tried to extricate herself from it and just ended up falling down a deeper hole. It did feel like it took a little long to get to the actual mystery solving, though. Finlay spent a ton of time working up to meeting the target and dealing with him. But it was kind of fun to watch her be reckless, though, as a mother myself, I kind of worried about that. After all, she is the mother of two young kids. What would happen if she were caught or if whoever killed the guy decided to get rid of her, too? There were just too many “what ifs” that should have stayed her hand, but maybe being a harried author with two young kids and an ex-husband demanding full custody would do that to a woman. It just felt like she was doing more mystery solving than mothering and instead foisting the actual care of her children onto everyone else. Then again, maybe my mothering style is just very different from hers.

Finlay’s not all terrible. I may disagree with her on the mothering part, but I did kind of like how gutsy she is. She has people to protect, and she does that. I just wish she would take more care with things instead of running with the first thing to pop into her head. She came off as a bit of a live wire to me, and I kind of grew exhausted watching her run around dealing with everything. Fortunately, she has Vero to bounce off of, though Vero often felt like even more of a live wire. She’s young and fun with some truly off the wall ideas, but she keeps things lively and entertaining. She’s also fantastic as the kids’ nanny, and I did love how she really cared for them and loved them. Her relationship with the kids was definitely a highlight. But she sometimes felt unpredictable, and I couldn’t figure out whether that was wise or foolish.

My biggest problem with this was the two love interest subplot. Julian is a law student working as a bartender. He’s young and hot and seems to get Finlay before he even knows who she is. Then there’s Detective Nick Anthony, who works with Finlay’s sister Georgia, a cop. He’s, of course, investigating the same case, and he clearly really likes Finlay. I did appreciate that he was more mature about things and seemed to understand that Finlay wasn’t quite as interested as he was, but, well, Finlay makes some steps with both men. I’m not fond of love triangles, and this one felt a little too pushy. There were times when I just wanted to yell at Finlay to get herself together before introducing a love interest into her life, because she’s definitely all over the place and often barely able to take care of herself and her kids.

But the mystery kept me hostage. I couldn’t wait to figure out what was really going on and what actually happened. With the Russian mafia involved, it felt like anything was possible. There are some really interesting characters linked up with them, including some ties a little closer to home for Finlay. It made things twisty and dangerous. I often found myself frustrated when Finlay was dealing with her real life because I just really wanted to get back to the mystery. I loved trying to figure out what happened and how, and I certainly couldn’t guess every part of it, which was really nice. This was probably my favorite part of the book, and I’m glad it didn’t disappoint.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It has a fantastic premise, but everything else was hit or miss for me. I found there just might have been too many things going on in this, but I loved the mystery and I loved watching Finlay and Vero run around madly trying to figure it out before Finlay ended up in really hot water. The addition of the Russian mafia was a nice touch, and I loved the complications Finlay’s personal life threw in. But I wasn’t a fan of Finlay, I didn’t like how it felt like she was foisting the care of her kids onto other people, and the two love interests just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I liked this book but couldn't quite bring myself to love it. It's a silly and often unrealistic story about a struggling writer and newly single mom who unwittingly becomes a hitwoman.

Finlay and Vero make quite the team and their friendship was fun to watch develop throughout the book.

I grew tired of reading about sagging diapers and sticky hands. I get it—I'm a mom, too, and I know how hectic life can be with small kids. But take the time to tend to your kids. I know she has wet wipes in her purse because she gave them to Julian to clean his hands.

It was an easy read, if not a bit long at times.

This book is about a writer who is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel. She is mistaken for a contract killer and the shenanigans begin! A fast, easy, entertaining read to start the new year. My only critique is that I didn’t really like the romance parts, but that’s just personal preference. Guess I’m not a fan of the “suspense romance” genre. 3.5 stars.

This mystery offers a refreshing and unique perspective. The protagonist is delightful and amusing to read. Her sidekick is equally entertaining, and their banter had me laughing out loud multiple times. The plot is clever and unexpected, keeping me engaged from beginning to end. The writing is exceptional and strong.

This review is entirely voluntary, and all opinions expressed reflect my personal views.

I really enjoyed this book and I laughed out loud at many parts. Finlay is a struggling author, soon to be divorced from her cheating ex who thinks she’s killed someone.
3.75 stars

What a lovely stressful funny sad story! Finlay is so down on her luck you don’t know how she’ll get out of the mess she finds herself in. Elle Cosimano has you guessing until the end on how Ginlay will fair. I’m so excited to read the next four in this series and find out what shenanigans Finlay gets into to break writers block.

The first in a popular series, FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT, introduces readers to a writer/murder-for-hire/desperate divorcé that uses her strange experiences to solve her writer’s block. Author Elle Cosimano writes a breezy, funny, bizarre tale of how to make money when nothing else appeals. Love interests and unexpected details drive the plot as Finlay establishes herself as best she can post-divorce. I read this book as an introduction to the series. But it’s not quite my cup of tea. I received my copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

The first book in the Finlay Donovan Series and it did not disappoint. A stressed-out mother and novelists gets tangled up in a real-life murder investigation and realizes that she would rather stick to the fictional crime.

Giving this 5 stars because I just really enjoyed the funny plot twists and the main character getting tangled up in a murder mystery (I mean, accidentally getting in the mess of mafia business would be terrifying)but I really enjoyed the woven storyline and the untangling of information along the way. Comic relief, budding romance post-divorce, loving family characters and a devoted sidekick, plus dogs and Panera throughout. Just fun!