Thanks so much to the author, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book, as well as Macmillan Audio for the gifted advanced audio copy, in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: murder/death, violence

The Finlay Donovan books have become one of my absolute favorite series, so it's no surprise that I loved this book! It was a perfect way to start off my year of reading.

As always, Finlay and Vero have gotten themselves into a sticky situation. Nobody is shocked here. So what better place to hide out and do some snooping for a week than a live-in civilians police training camp, right? Right!

I already love this series, so of course I loved the characters. We get to see a bit more of Javi this time around, and we get some more background on him and other secondary characters from the previous books - including teen hacker Cam, and Nick's grumpy partner, Joey. I always really enjoy more character driven stories, so one of my favorite things about reading a series is learning more and more about characters as you go along, so this book really delivered for me in that respect.

Of course some of the situations that Finlay and Vero find themselves in in this book are a bit silly and unbelievable, but that's definitely nothing new to this series. Besides, if I wanted 100% believability I'd read true crime instead of romantic thrillers. I'm here because I want to see the characters outsmart the people around them, and see how they get out of the ridiculous corners they've been backed into, and hopefully seal it all up with a kiss.

Overall I would (and already have been) highly recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers. These books are a bit some high-stake, but at the same time they feel light and fun and like I can read them when I'm tired after a long day at work. Which is a perfect middle ground, if you ask me! I think that the perfect way to read this book would be buddy-reading it with one or two of your closest girl friends, sitting together and passing a bottle of wine (or whisky) between you, in true Fin and Vero style.

Y’all, these two are up to their impossible shenanigans again and I AM HERE FOR IT! Since book one, I’ve been along for the ride as Finlay and Vero get themselves into one mess after another and YET ALWAYS find their way out. I’m going with women’s intuition as their super power. Never doubt a women’s ability to get things done 😆

Between a mob boss calling in favors, a looming book deadline, a overbearing ex-husband, raising her kids, and her budding relationship with hot cop Nick, Finlay finds herself in over her head.

The end result is a laugh out loud whodunit that I binged read. Book 4 is sure to bring the drama and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more HEA for Finlay.

I LOVED this book! Finlay and Vero are back and up to their eyeballs in antics and adversaries!

Picking up right where book 2 left off, Finlay and Vero and still indebted to Russian mobster Feliks and trying to figure out who EasyClean is when the opportunity comes up for them to attend a week-long citizen's police academy. Thinking they'll be safer in that environment, the two sign on, but danger and hijinks follow Finlay and Vero wherever they go.

One of my favorite series; I always look forward to each new installment! Cosimano is a gifted writer who has created a wildly entertaining and funny series with heart. Finlay and Vero are strong female characters with hilarious banter who love each other dearly, and their friendship is one of the series' strengths. Being each other's ride-or-die is both literal and hilarious with these two! This book delves more into Vero's backstory and Finlay's feelings for Nick while delivering on the suspense and ongoing cat-and-mouse game Finlay and Vero are mixed up in. The twisty plot is well-paced, and the mysteries are deepening. I'm having so much fun that I probably miss clues, but I do not care! I'll be along for the ride as long as this delightfully comedic series goes! I recommend reading the books in order to catch everything and avoid spoilers. Plus, it is just so much fun!

Huge thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press Minotaur books for the opportunity to read this ARC--I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I will never tire of Fin and Vero. Never.

In this third installment, Finlay and Vero attend a Citizens Police Academy course (for research purposes only, of course.) We get to see Nick teach classes while Vero and Fin are, once again, ensnared by Felix's metaphoric claws.

I laughed out loud. I love them.

FINLAY DOES IT AGAIN! :) I LOVE LOVE this series and the newest installment did not disappoint! Finlay will make you laugh and keep you on the edge of your seat.. she also leaves you wanting to know more! Can't wait for the *hopeful* next installment!

Well, this was another highly enjoyable romp with Finlay Donovan! JUMPS THE GUN felt like a bit of an interlude between the previous two books and the next, as it was (slightly) less murdery than book #1 and #2 and included a lot more character/relationship development. Either way I can't wait for the next instalment!

Full of impossible situations and a good dose of humour (and romance!) Elle Coimano continues to prove herself as an auto buy author.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my #arc!

Killing It was one of my favourite books of 2021. Knocks 'Em Dead was okay but nothing special. Unfortunately Jumps The Gun wasn't to my taste at all. I found it to be very boring and I finally stopped at 40%. Other reviews state the book ends with a cliffhanger but I won't be back for book four.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, St. Martin's Press.

Elle Cosimano has done it again! With the magic from book 1 recaptured, I cruised through Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun in a matter of days. I love the new tension we get from Vero and someone I'll leave unnamed for potential spoilers sakes, some fantastic twists that I absolutely did not see coming, and our beloved Finlay doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, as usual.

We get to follow Finlay and Vero as they attend a citizens police training camp and all the chaos that comes with it. (I'll be you can guess who's running this training camp...) I laughed, I gasped, I had to stop listening right before bed (because I am a COMPLETE chicken), and I loved every moment.

The narrator does a great job bringing this hilariously mysterious story to life! I can't wait for book 4!

*One pretty spicy fade to black scene, strong language (more than the previous books), with innuendo and suggestive language

Thanks so much to @netgalley, @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio, and @ellecosimano for my complimentary alc and arc of this delightful book. All opinions here are my own.

This book was everything. Like always Finlay and Vero are up to some wild stuff and this time Vero is in a little trouble, and some other demons from book 1 & 2 have come through as well. And of course these women were put on to a new task, they need to find out who is Easyclean. And we are OFF, and of course there is a ton of humor, and some “research” and some romance, this book also had a sprinkle of drama, it had it all….. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Whew, another fun book of twists 'n' turns from Elle Cosimano! The Finlay Donovan series has really turned into her breakout hit, and I can totally see why. The characters are kooky, the mystery really can go anywhere, and the banter is excellent.

What I struggled with in this particular book (though this started to be evident in the second novel in this series) is that 1) there are just sooooo many characters to keep track of (and this addition brought in even more folks), and 2) Cosimano doesn't always do the most thorough job getting readers up to speed on what transpired in the previous book at the start. As such, the first half of this novel dragged for me a liiiiittle bit, as it took quite a few chapters to fully reacquaint myself with all of the characters as well as Finlay and Vero's various hijinks.

That said, I'm already counting down the days until I can get my hands on a copy of the fourth book! Elle Cosimano really knows how to end on a cliffhanger...

“I dug my mittens from the pockets of my coat and drew them on, wishing I had been prepared with something more Temperance Brennan and less Bernie Sanders.”

A hugely anticipated third installment for me and it did not disappoint! Full of dramatic steps that Finlay has to take while trying to solve a major mystery to keep herself alive. The quote above just seems like the perfect way to describe how messy Finlay can be, in the best way, of course. As with the first two books, you suspend disbelief a little and just enjoy the ride.

I desperately want to continue reading the next book even though this one doesn’t even officially publish until the end of January. I’ve been reading these as ARCs (since I can’t wait for the pubdates) but since I want everyone I know to read them I have to get my hands on physical copies!

📚Read this if you like:
⁃ Finlay Donovan
⁃ Procedural/Mysteries
⁃ A flair for the dramatic

My rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

The third installment of the Finlay Donovan series and the original story is STILL not wrapped up. I love the first book, grateful for a second and am kind of tired of the same mystery continuing on for the third book..
I still love the characters and the writing, but this one lacked the continuous humor and suspense that the 2 other books had. I feel like it's becoming more and more unrealistic as the story line continues. In one scene the "bad guy" who escaped prison, walks straight into the police compound to meet Finlay.. Isn't that the last place he would go? I was also weary of the setting from the beginning. This novel takes place at a citizens police academy turned summer camp. All our cop characters are there. I don't work for law enforcement, but isn't it more likely they would be working their typical jobs instead of all being pulled to work a police academy for the entire week?

Next book has to be the final installment and particularly interesting for me to pick it up.

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. I was slightly disappointed with the second book in the series, and so I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but I really wanted to know how things would go with Finlay and Vero, so I gave it a chance. I am glad that I did.
Although Finlay and Vero jump headlong into some crazy situations that require a slight suspension of belief (and that they could probably avoid if they would just take a second to think, "Is this really a good idea? Is there an alternative that would make more sense?!"), this is still a fun quick read. I enjoyed the setting of the Citizens' Police Academy and the fact that we as readers finally got to spend more time with Nick.
If you have enjoyed the previous installments of this series, I would definitely check this book out. HOWEVER, I will say that if you haven't read the first two books, you will be completely lost if you jump in here. Read the series in order.

Finlay is, once again, in a pickle, when her and Vero, her accomplice, destroy a luxury car and the Russian mob pays to replace it: now she owes them. Feliks asks her to find who EasyClean, a contract killer, is, before the cops.
This mystery on the cozy side is book 3 in the Finlay Donovan series. It's a fun read, with lol moments. I loved to see Finlay's adventures with Vero. You truly have to suspend disbelief, as it is sometimes way over the top, and there are a lot of coincidences, but I gladly did for this one. I loved the side characters, there is a lot of action, and beware that it ends with a cliffhanger. I liked this one, but the first book of the series was still my favorite.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks, NetGalley,

I don't know what it is about Finlay and Vero but I can't get enough of them. Their relationship is really what makes this series work. We all have a ride-or-die/partner-in-crime best friend that would literally help you hide a body and that is what makes this book so great...Also because the bodies keep piling up. I love how they are trying to constantly get out of trouble and end up in more bad situations. I had no clue who EasyClean which is always a bonus when reading a mystery. I tagged this as a cozy novel because there are discussions of intimacy but it is never described in detail just hinted at in funny ways such as having dessert. If you haven't read this book do it!

When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.

Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in the police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.

Another fabulous, fun, and unputdownable book in the Finlay series. The second I finished this one I wanted to read the next! I can't wait!

Unfortunately, "Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun" doesn't meet with standard set by its predecessors. The plot dragged, Finlay and Vero's usual hijinks were contrived and inconsistent, and subplots were added leaving lots of loose ends.

I anxiously await the fourth edition.

I am a big fan of the Finlay Donovan series! This third installment of the series seemed to bog down a little for me in the middle. Maybe I was a little tired of some of the characters. I’m happy that it picked up toward the end, and I am looking forward to reading more about the adventures of Finlay and Vero.

Finlay is back in action! She's still trying to figure out exactly who tried to kill her husband while dodging the Russian mob. She and Vero go "undercover" to a civilian cop academy to try and locate EasyClean, who they are sure is part of their local police force. But while at the academy, can Findlay juggle investigating, her ex, her kids, AND the hot cop?

I can't lie, the first Findlay book was just amazing--I lived in the Fairfax county area in 2008-2009, so recognizing some of the landmarks was a lot of fun. Add in dabbling in writing and 2 kids of my own, and I could practically *be* Findlay...well, except my husband isn't a cheating slime. Anyway, enter the Russian mob. And I just...don't like this aspect of the Findlay Donovan books. I keep hoping that the next book will wrap up her involvement with them, but no, she just keeps getting in deeper and deeper. It's just not for me. I thought this series was going to be lighthearted capers (Findlay literally kills no one in book 1 yet everyone keeps dying in strange turns of events and I was just LIVING for it), ex drama, new relationship drama, roommate drama. You know, fun cozy mystery hijinks. But the Russian mob just...isn't lighthearted fun.

Will I keep reading the series? Probably, Findlay and Vero as characters are a lot of fun to read about. I'll just continue to be salty about the Russian mob..

I love this series! This book was just as good as the first two. Finlay's life is, of course, chaotic. But I believe she loves her life that way and doesn't want to change it. The triangle, or quad if you count Stephen, has been put to rest! I can't wait for the next book.