Finlay and Vero are back again! Man do I love this series! It had me hooked from the very beginning. I love what a fun team the two of them make. While I enjoyed this one a lot, it wasn’t a 5 star for me like the first two were. I think the Felix drama has to end. It’s getting a little played out, and something new would definitely make this series more fun. Overall still a wonderful read.

This book is some of the most fun you can have reading. Finlay Donovan is back with her nanny, Vero. These two get into more messes and yet seem to have more fun doing it. This time, they find themselves staying at the police academy's citizens training camp for the week. They now suspect that the contract killer they are looking for is a cop and they hope that being in the mix with the police will help them figure out who their suspect is.

I laughed so many times throughout this book. Cosimano's writing of Finlay and Vero was already full of witty banter, but this book levels it up from the first two. I was hooked from page one. I love the aspect of women supporting women, even through the craziest of scenarios. Their friendship is irresistible, even when they disagree. And then there's Nick. I already adored him, but this book made me fall deeply in love. He's good and kind when you want him to be and gruff when you prefer that. I love how he loves Finlay even when he suspects she's up to no good.

Full of adventures and a riotous cast, Finlay Donovan is the perfect escape from a dull day. It will burst any reading slump and make you wanting more from this fantastic author. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

In the latest installment, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Finlay is back in yet another another mess with her nanny/sidekick, Vero, trying to find a contract killer as a favor to the Russian mobster she angered by destroying his fancy car. Yup, we are still talking about a stay at home single mom of two little kids mixed in with the mob and a slew of criminals. The same slapstick comedy, miscommunications and overall totally over the top goofiness is back. It is always fun to be back in Finlay’s absurd world, even as it gets repetitive and predictable, it is still just as entertaining. And this book has been set up for book 4 so get ready for more.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Like Finlay who admitted she was in a slump due to her break up with Julien, so was the plot to Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the series. It just felt a little flat.

My loves:
• Finlay and Vero’s typical shenanigans
• the concept of going to a police academy
• the love interest for Vero
• the next book sounds promising

My dislikes:
• the love triangle between Fin/Nick/Steven felt forced. We don’t need another triangle.
• no resolution to the Felix drama. It’s time for it to end.
• I’m Team Julian. I accepted the break up from Knocks Em Dead so to have him show up for a few pages was cruel.
• Easy Clean’s identity is super predictable.

Recommendation: Read for a super fun, light story.

Oh and one more thing, it’s never going to work between Finn and Nick. She has too many secrets to carry this whole relationship through. I could rant on this for a long time especially as Team Julian but I digress…(😅😂).

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

I honestly love this series! I was worried the third book would be a little dull but was curious what the plot would be, and it’s great! It’s a quick read and you instantly get pulled into their universe and feel connected to the characters. I love the humor in the book. And I’m a bit sad I finished it in one day, I want more!

I absolutely loved diving back into the crazy world of Finlay and Vero and seeing the antics they get up to in this installment of the Finlay Donovan series. This book does a great job of recapping the events of the previous two books in a way that feels natural to the narrative and not just dumping all of the information on you.

This third book starts to head in a little bit more far fetched direction, but it works really well with these characters. I’ve come to expect crazy, outlandish things from Finlay and I know they will continue as the series progresses. We made good progress in figuring out a few of the mysteries left over from the previous books and have some new ones to figure out going forward. I can’t wait until the next book is released to get more answers!

I loved this book. It's my favorite after the first. I was dying for Finlay and Nick to finally get together and I liked that we had some lingering questions answered (even though it brought more up for me). I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want this to end. I can't wait to see where book four takes us and what else Finlay gets up to.

I really enjoyed this installment of this series! I found myself laughing out loud a good bit and was surprised at some of the outcomes. Definitely think this one was better than the last, but not as good as the first. Still looking forward to more adventures from Finlay and Vero!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC on the newest Finlay escapade. I'm not sure how Cosimano does it, but somehow every time I open her books, I cannot put them down.
Finlay is involved in another mess with her trusty sidekick/nanny Vero. Following the events of the last book, Finlay is tasked with discovering who EasyClean is from a Russian mob boss and taking him out at the same time tamping down her serious attraction to Nick, the hottie cop who is starring in her much overdue manuscript. There's just one small issue (well...more than one) Finlay is sure that EasyClean is a dirty cop. Yikes! On the case, Vero and Finlay enroll themselves in civilian police academy to try and smoke EC out. And because nothing is ever easy, massive amounts of hilarious chaos ensues.
Cosimano has done it again and sucked me into this series. I love reading the crazy antics of Finlay & Vero, I can almost see them as a modern day Laverne & Shirley/Lucy & Ethel. This book keeps me chuckling and flipping pages so fast I finished this in a day. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-galley of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun.

Elle Cosimano knocked it out of the park again, I loved the first two Finlay books and was excited to get my hands on the third.

Between Finlay and Vero's escapades, the reader truly never knows what trouble or what dead bodies will pop up. In book three, Vero and Finlay are off to a week at the citizens' policy academy, so surely nothing can go wrong with a constant policy presence. Think again. As Finlay and Vero go through the rigors of policy academy, they hit one road block after another in their hunt for EZClean. Will they make it out of policy academy in one piece? Or will EZClean get the drop on them first?

Finlay and Vero's world is never dull, that's for sure!

I enjoyed being back with our favorite mom+accountant/nanny duo. This one picks up right where book 2 left off, but with a fun premise of being mostly set at a citizen police academy. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book and thought it was smart of Cosimano to put all of her characters (mostly) together in one place for an enxtended period of time. Tension!

My biggest qualm is that the storyline started to get a bit redundant and formulaic for me, and I wished we had a different conflict from book 2. The major conflict stemmed from something that started at the beginning of book 2, so it was just a lot of reading to get to the resolution.

I always appreciate the escape these books provide. And by the looks of it, we'll get a book 4 (maybe?).

Thanks so much to Minotaur and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Elle Cosimano does it again! Over the past year, cozy mysteries have become quite popular but I can’t possibly see anything ever topping the Finlay Donovan series. In book three, Finlay and Vero get roped into attending a police academy for civilians run by none other than Nick, Finlay’s on again/off again romantic interest who she has to work overtime to keep her extracurricular activities secret from. We also get to learn more of Vero’s backstory and I especially love her increasingly entertaining interactions with her ex-love interest Javi. In the beginning of the book, Finlay and Vero find themselves still entangled with Feliks and the Russian mob after he hires them to investigate and carry out a hit for him. Adding to that, Vero has found herself in some hot water with a loan shark who’s ready to collect. And as if all of that weren’t enough, Finlay still has to take care of her kids, rewrite the end of her newest novel, and contend with her annoying ex-husband. If you haven’t had the chance to read this series yet, I cannot recommend it enough! You’ll find yourself endlessly amused by the situations Finlay and Vero find themselves in (I would honestly love to see this adapted!), engrossed in the mysteries they’re constantly on the fringes of, and rooting for Finlay and Vero to be open to the possibility of romantic love again. Finlay and Vero’s friendship remains firmly at the heart of the story and if you’re like me, you’ll always find yourself wishing for more time with them at the end of each book. My only wish is that Elle Cosimano could write more installments faster- a year between books is killer!

I feel like each Finlay book gets more unhinged than the previous one. This book definitely requires a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, but what can I say, I REALLY enjoyed it. It was probably my favorite of the series, with higher stakes, and a mystery that kept me flipping the pages.

I would actually recommend reading the other books in the series before starting this one, I even felt like I missed a few things because it had been a year since I read the previous book.

👍
+ The intrigue/mystery was high with this one. I really had no idea who the person she was looking for was. It kept me guessing the whole time. And there was a constant worry that she was gonna get caught since she’s surrounded by police for most of the book.
+ I loved that we got more of the romance. In the first book, I was pretty split on who I wanted her to end up with, but I’m liking the direction that this is going in. I just want Finlay to finally just let herself enjoy it, which she kinda finally does.
+ At the center of the story though, as always, is the bromance between Finlay and Vero, two very flawed women, supporting each other, but also getting each other constantly in trouble. Finlay really has a knack for doing things that will get her further into the trouble she was trying to get out of.
+ Ended with a really good cliffhanger, and I’m loving the path it seems to be going down especially in regards to the ex husband, so I already can’t wait for the next book.
+ This is definitely a book that is really over the top, a lot of hijinks, shenanigans, hard to believe plot lines ensue, possibly more than the previous books.

👎 There wasn't anything I explicitly disliked in this book. FYI, there are A LOT of cops and cop plot lines in it.

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

This is the third in the series. Finlay and Vero were at a weeklong police camp which is like a summer camp feel but with boot camp. There are funny situations, romantic moments and clues to detect- all under the guise of researching for her next book.
I entered my husband's chili recipe awhile ago. Excited to see who she picks for her finished book.
Have you read these books yet?

Thank you stmartinspress and minotaur_books and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

This is third book in this series and I think it’s best to start at the beginning of the series so that you get to know Finlay and Vero from the beginning. The situations they find themselves in are just mind boggling and totally unrealistic, but oh so entertaining. Their friendship and support of one another is both heartwarming and often hilarious. This book blends suspense, humor and a little romance. Finlay and Vero are dealing with a Russian mobster, an Atlantic City loan shark, a hired assassin and crooked cops. This series is just pure entertainment,

💜𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲💜
FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: thriller/mystery
𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4 ⭐️
📖 304 pages
🥳 𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 1/31/2023

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗹𝗮𝘆!

Oh Finlay 😂- this duo does it again! I just love Finlay and Vero s’much! Their adventures never cease to make me laugh and the trouble those two can talk their way out of is just👌🏼

The bathroom 🚽 stall scene 😂, what an opening, IYKYK. The sexual tension between Finlay and hot cop👮🏻‍♂️ 🤫

I love a book within a book and this one did not disappoint. It’s a series like any other and I’m so happy there will be a # 4!

This one follows Finlay and Vero as they navigate their way into finding the killer at the police academy. What ensues is endless chaos, wild adventure, and nail biting suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

💭 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝘁?

Thank you @stmartinspress @minotaurbooks & @ellecosimano for this #gifted digital ARC!!

Finlay and Vero are back in the third release of the Finlay Donovan series with an all-new adventure, and it's filled with the hijinks we've all come to love from these characters!

Trouble has a way of finding Finlay Donovan—from sneaky assassins to shady loansharks to slick detectives, Finlay and Vera bob and weave their way from one hilariously over-the-top scenario to another. With their usual slapstick aplomb, they find the clues they need just in time to solve the case.

Things may be looking up for Finlay and her ex, but that ship has sailed, and hot detective Nick is on the case (as is young bartending lawyer Julian). Throw in her two kids and a stint at the citizen police academy, and Finlay has her hands more than full yet again.

I have enjoyed the audiobooks for each book in this series, and returning narrator Angela Dawe does an excellent job with each character she portrays. It makes for a fun afternoon of listening to these accidental lawbreakers who always seem to come out on the right side of the law and the people who help them whether they want to or not.

Needless to say, shenanigans and revelations abound in this installment. There's also the perfect set-up for book 4, and I can't wait for more!

Finlay Donovan is stuck. Her latest novel has been rejected by her publisher until she adds more spice to the parts that need the spice. When her lead character and the hot cop finally find themselves alone on a beach together, she has a tsunami hit from out of nowhere. She just can’t figure out how to write the romance between these two characters. But she needs to. She and her nanny/accountant Veronica need the money.

Vero has been accused of stealing money from a sorority where she went to college, and she claims that she’s innocent. But that didn’t stop her from going to Atlantic City to borrow money from a loan shark to try to win the amount she had supposedly stolen. However, that plan didn’t go so well, and now she owes $250 thousand to a man who is not interested in setting up a payment plan.

The Russian mobster who has been keeping an eye on her work, Feliks, is somehow up-to-date even on Vero’s financial woes, so he sends his attorney to help Finlay and Vero out when they create a mess at Vero’s cousin’s auto salvage yard. A mobster may have been chasing them and got caught under a stack of car chassis. Before Finlay and Vero could decide what to do, Feliks’ attorney had shown up with a cadre of cleaners to help out and to offer them a large cash incentive to complete one small task for Feliks. All they have to do is find out who is the contract killer going by EasyClean and take care of him. Or her. That’s all.

The problem? Finlay and Vero don’t know who EasyClean is. They’ve been trying to figure that out ever since Finlay found out that EasyClean had agreed to kill her ex-husband by someone who had posted the job on a suburban mom message board. But a hot tip has them thinking the killer could be someone on the police force, so when the opportunity comes up to spend a week at citizen’s police academy, they sign up. The classes and activities can help Finlay with the romantic suspense books she writes, and maybe spending a week close to hot cop Nick will help her write her find the right spice blend for her bland scenes.

Of course, it could also put them in the sights of a contract killer who may still want her out of the way. Figuring out who EasyClean is could make them a threat to her (his?) business, but not figuring out who EasyClean is will definitely make a dangerous Russian mobster angry. What’s a suburban mom supposed to do to keep her two young kids safe, protect her accountant/nanny from the hands of an increasingly desperate loan shark, shield her ex-husband from those who want him dead, rewrite her latest novel, and find love with a hot cop? Well, whatever that is, Finlay is going to have to figure it out very quickly.

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is the third novel in this quirky series that follows a mom into a dangerous underground community of contract killers, mobsters, dirty cops, and degenerate ex-husbands. Author Elle Cosimano blends humor, action, and romance with fun twists and lovely surprises to tell the story of a woman who stumbled into danger and has had to use her wits to keep herself and her family safe ever since.

I think Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun should come with a warning label. I read a lot, but I also have some attention issues. I tend to read a few pages and then check my emails or get a snack or whatever. I would read a few pages of this one, and suddenly 30 or 40 minutes were gone. If you’re cooking or doing laundry or needing to stop at some point to pick your kids up, then set a timer for yourself, or if you’re anything like me, you’ll get lost in the book until something big pulls you out of the action. I loved the idea of the citizen’s police academy, and I felt like the pacing of this book, the timing of the actions, and the moments of humor and romance were perfect. I would not change a single thing about this book. I loved every second of it.

Egalleys for Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun were provided by Minotaur Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Finlay and Vero are back! This time, they're trying to find a way to pay off Vero's poker debt, as well as find out who EasyClean is, now that they are indebted to Zhirov. To "lay low" and try to figure out which dirty cop EazyClean is, Finlay and Vero go on a weeklong citizens' police training. Of course, there are plenty of hijinks and humor as only these two can muster!

I think this was my favorite in the Finlay Donovan series so far. I felt like removing Finlay and Vero from their day-to-day allowed the pacing to move faster. I'm also really glad that things progressed with Finlay and one of her many love interests in this book. I always enjoy the cast of characters in this series, and this book was no exception. I really didn't see the twist towards the end coming and was totally surprised. Of course this ended on a cliffhanger, so we'll be back for another go around with Finlay and I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Happy pub to day to Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by the amazing @ellecosimano! If you’re a fan of the series, I guarantee you’re going to enjoy this third installment where writer/mom Finlay and her nanny/accountant Vero go to police school for writers and law enforcement enthusiasts. And if you’re not a fan

of the series, I can only assume you haven’t read it yet.

Possible book 1 and 2 spoilers in the next paragraph, since the series is not really stand-alone:
Finlay and Vero are trying to uncover the identity of Easy Clean, a killer for hire who tried to off Finlay’s ex-husband Stephen, and the head of the Russian Mob is waiting for their report. Plus Vero is being pursued by a loan shark. To stay safe, they sign up to go to police school, which kills two birds with one stone because they believe Easy Clean is someone on the force. Finlay is also navigating her will-they-or-won’t-they relationship with Nick, the inspiration for the hot cop in her new novel. The one her agent warns her won’t sell if Finlay doesn’t add some steam.

And hilarity ensues.

This series is, at it’s core, a testament to the power of female friendships and I adore the way Cosimano handles that theme in these books. There are also plenty of cringey and relatable mom moments and a bit of romance for both our main characters.

The book ends with another doozy of a cliffhanger, and I will say the Finlay cliffhangers are killing me. I have no doubt the author is writing as fast as she can, but I’m not sure I can wait another year to find out what happens.

This is the first in the series that I listened to (shocking, I know), and I’m so grateful to @macmillan.audio for an ALC of this one and to @minotaur books for an e-copy that I could reference. The audio is super fun and the narrator definitely does a great job of handling the humor and gravity of the situations Finlay and Vero find themselves in.