Finlay Donovan is truly the gift that keeps on giving 😂 I can’t get enough of the ridiculousness that these women get themselves into. I was so pumped to nab this one early via NetGalley. Could have been a five star, but one star removed because the slow burn with officer nick is just too damn slow, and because the whole police academy premise is utterly ridiculous. But I am always left guessing until the end, and this one clearly sets up a fourth book. I’m here for it!

She's back - Finlay Donovan and her shenanigans!

In book #3, Finlay finds herself, and Vera, camped out for a week of civilian training at the police academy. Their week in nothing but mayhem as they try to secure the funds necessary to get Vera out of trouble from the book #2. And, add to the chaos is Nick, the trusty police officer who pines for Finlay and Russian Mob Boss, Felik, who wants her to locate the contract killer.

The hilarious situations throughout the book make for quite an entertaining read. Take the opening chapter, who hasn't crawled under a bathroom stall door to retrieve a child - I'm raising my hand! While not my favorite from the series, I look forward to a book #4 after this ending.

See you in Atlantic City!

Thank you MacMillan Audio and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy of this novel in paperback and on audio. Rating 3.5

Aww man. I hate to say it, but I just didn’t love this one. I have been a huge fan of the Finlay Donovan series from the beginning, but I really struggled to finish this one. Honestly, if it hadn’t been part of this series, I would have DNF. I’m sorry. I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t.

BUT I TRULY HOPE YOU DO!! Read it if you love the series and let me know what you think.

My thanks to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

Elle has done it again. I’m not a big series kind of person. I feel like when you get to the second, or even third book, they become repetitive and boring. I haven’t experienced that with this series yet. Finlay and her partner in crime, Vero are such likable characters and these books keep me entertained and laughing!

This was such a fun addition to the series! I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than the second one. This one felt a lot more organized and a little less over the top which was my main complaints with the second one. I thought the setting of the police academy was a lot of fun and made it that much better. I was second guessing the ending the entire time and didn’t see the twist coming which I always love! Can’t wait for the next one!

This is the third book in the series and I think it’s my favorite! The first book we got to know our characters and go on a wild ride with them, the second book we learned a little more and this one—we learned even more about the secondary characters and things got even crazier! Highly recommend! I listened to the audio version and the narrator is the best- she gets into the story and does different, distinct voices for each character. Cannot say enough good things about this book series!!

BUCKLE UP, Buttercup . . . Get ready for a WILD ride!

Ellie Cosimano returns with her popular series (Finlay Donovan #3) FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN —the gang is back for another highly entertaining laugh-out-loud crime series!

Two of my favorite amateur sleuths return, Finlay and Vero. Romance, action, mishaps, mayhem, and lots of LAUGHS!

Finlay Donovan is a writer and is under a lot of pressure and stress with her deadlines. Her nanny, Vero—partner in crime sidekick— is wickedly funny, sarcastic, and always in trouble.

Finlay is having issues making her romantic suspense novels sizzle while being a frazzled divorced mother of two children while skirting the law.

If you have read the other books in the series, you know about Feliks Zhirov, the Russian mobster, and the pressure to identify EasyClean, the online contract killer.

Feliks is privy to their dark buried secrets and is holding the information over their head to blackmail (threatening) them into helping him identify Mr. EasyClean, a contract killer who may or may not be a dirty cop.

Vero has borrowed $200K from a loan shark to pay off her creditors and needs to sell the Aston Martin (Vero/Finn).

Rumor has it, EasyClean is a member of the Fairfax County Police Department.

Finn and Vero accept an invitation to the citizens' police academy, hoping to get a closer look at the most likely suspects. So cool!

👮‍♂️ 🚓Of course, hottie Detective Nicholas Anthony is the academy's coordinator. Finn tries to avoid him because she tends to be on the wrong side of the law with her shenanigans. (think Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli).

Will Finn and Vero survive boot camp? The identity of EasyClean?

As always, sassy, funny, witty, sexy, and full of madness and entertainment! Cosimano is clever and witty, and I love her banter among the highly relatable characters.

The characters are a riot. Just like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, you have this great cast of characters, and as always, I always get the audiobook of both Janet and Elle's books. Between the literary agent, Sylvia and Vero, you will laugh out loud.

🔉 🎧As always, I love the audiobook, and the narrator, Angela Dawe, is fantastic! She makes the book. Like Stephanie Plum, Lorelei King, the narrator as Angela Dawe is to Finlay series. Both fantastic!

Between the murder, madness, mystery, the hot guys, the funny literary agent, and the entire cast—Keep them coming.

Nick, the hot cop love interest
Javi, Vero’s friend
Georgia, Finlay’s sister, and a police officer
Joey, Nick’s current partner, is he a good buy or a bad guy?
Charlie, a retired cop and Nick’s former partner
Steven, Finlay’s ex-husband
Julian, a young lawyer love interest
Mrs. Haggerty (the community busybody)
Sylvia, the pushy literary agent

I am in this for the long haul, so if Evanovich can pull out 29++ and spin-off, I am ready for more Finlay!

Highly creative and fresh, I highly recommend this series. Have read the previous two, and this one is just as spectacular! If you enjoy well-written comedies and zany resourceful women sleuths, this one is for you!

Can't wait for BOOK FOUR!

🎁🧧Thanks a million for the two gifts: #MacmillanAudio for ALC and #StMartins Press #Minotaur Books #Netgalley for an ARC.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins.com | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 31, 2022
My Rating: 5 🌟Stars
Jan 2023 Must-Read Books

#SMPInfluencers #MinotaurInfluencers #JDCMustReadBooks #ElleCosimano #bookblogger #FinlayDonovanJumpstheGun #FinlayDonovan #Legal #humor #WomenSlueths #LawyersCriminalHumor #Suspense #domestic #audiobook #AngelaDawe #HumorousFiction #MurderThrillers #jan2023books

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a gifted copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano.

Finlay Donovan and her sidekick, Vero, are back for the third book in this hilarious series. Can they get themselves into more trouble? They are attending a citizen's police academy while attempting to hide from the Russian mob. How much more trouble could they possibly get into?

These books are a lot of fun to read. Vero is my favorite character. She's a blunt, to the point, and no-nonsense character. She doesn't disappoint! I cheered for the girls, I laughed with them and at them and I tried warning them to no avail.

The ending is perfect and leaves you eagerly anticipating Book 4 in the series. I'm looking forward to many more books in this series!

Enthusiastically recommend!

Thanks @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Elle Cosimano’s third book in the Finlay Donovan romantic suspense series, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. It releases on January 31, 2023.

The third book starts with Finlay’s babysitter/friend/accountant Vero hiding from some thugs from Atlantic City. Through some accidents, another person is killed and they only have a few days to discover the identity of a contract killer who has tried to kill Finlay’s ex-husband several times. There are many twists and turns and Cosimano keeps it moving quickly and engagingly.
I felt sorry for Finlay’s love interest who has been pining for her for several books. I just didn’t buy that he would still be interested in her after she rebuffs him so many times.

I recommend it for fans of suspense, but the romance subplot is probably the weakest link in it.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥 (closed door)
Tropes: hero in danger, pining

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy of Finaly Donovan Jumps the Gun! I enjoyed the third installment of the adventures of Finlay and Vero. I can really see this story being made into a TV show, lots of drama and action, and of course, laughs! My only recommendation to readers is to read this series close to one another, I tend to forget a lot of the story between books and reading them one after another would help keep the story flowing.

Finlay and Vero had me laughing out loud again! I enjoyed this adventure and the hijinks. The idea of a week long citizens police academy is so fun as Finlay and Vero work to get themselves out of their situations, but it sometimes feel like they just dug a bigger hole! ha! This is a great third book in the series! Fans that love the first two books will enjoy this one just as much!
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur books for the opportunity to read this book! It is out January 31st 2023

4 Stars!

This book felt very different from the previous two, but also gave me the crazy shenanigans and panic attacks as the first. Finlay and Vero are back and are still stuck in this insane web of lies and murder and mobs and hitmen and dirty cops and cops we have dirty thoughts about.

AND JUST IMAGINE, all of those hi-jinx BUT AT A POLICE ACADEMY FOR A WHOLE DANG WEEK. The TENSION. Plus, we have our favorite hot detective and FINALLY FINALLY we get a steam scene with him and OMG WORTH IT.

BUT THAT ENDING!!!!!! JUST WHEN I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY AND TIDY ENDING NOOOOOOOOOO WE ARE HEADED OFF TO ATLANTIC CITY TO GET WRAPPED BACK UP IN MORE CRIME. And I PERSONALLY cannot wait.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Finlay Donovan books, and this one was no exception!

Vero and Finlay are just too funny and the things they get themselves into are crazy!

I found myself laughing out loud multiple times while reading this book.

I think that the scenarios that Finlay and Vero got into throughout the course of this book were more realistic than the previous book.

My review will be posted on my instagram (Bookmarkedfavs) tomorrow, Dec. 30!

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Elle Cosimano for an advance listening copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun in exchange for an honest review. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in The Finlay Donovan series thus far and this one stole the show for me! I found myself completely immersed in Finlay and Veros escapades and loved all that each supporting character added to the story as well. Every piece of this puzzle fell perfectly into place and left me NEEDING another book- that ending though! . This one comes out on 1.31.23 and deserves a spot on everyones bookshelf!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is our third adventure with Finlay by Elle Cosimano.

"finlay owes a favor to the Russian mob boss, Feliks. He wants her to find a contract killer before the police do. But the killer might be an officer.
Luckily, hot cop Nick, has started a citizen's police academy. The pressure from Feliks and Finlay's looming book deadline convince her and Vero to get involved. It's the perfect cover to ferret out an assassin, find some time with Nick and finish her book by deadline."

Finlay reminds me so much of Stephanie Plum. There are lots of insane characters and situations. Finlay is making things up as she goes along. Especially as she finds out even more secrets about Vero. There are plenty of red herrings and some inspiration for her book.
There is a cliffhanger which seems to be the way EC sets up the next book. I'm not really a fan of leaving a storyline hanging, but there it is.

Fans of the first two books will enjoy this one

Finlay and Vero are back in the latest installment of the Finlay Donovan series. I accidentally thought this was the last one for the series but am pleasantly surprised to see it is not! In this one we start right just a bit from where we left off. Finlay and Vero are still knee deep with the Russian mob, Steven is still driving Finlay up a wall, Nick is still around being all smoky hot pining for Finn and they are still trying to figure out how to pay back Vero's loan sharks. In her professional life Finn is being roasted by her agent as her editor isn't pleased with the proposed ending in her latest novel. Due to this and needing to figure out who EasyClean is (and quick) the ladies sign up for a week-long citizen's police academy. They figure it's the perfect way to figure out which cop is dirty, cure her writer's block and see more of Nick ;)

This may be my favorite of the 3 now! The comedy in this one really comes from their time at the police academy. The situations the two got themselves in had me laughing out loud. All the cops and participants (Finn, Vero, Mrs. Haggerty and more), stay on the campus creating really great dynamics. Think summer camp for adults.There's also a hint of a locked room mystery in this one and overall just a lot of fun to read. A few loose ends get tied up in this one as well but based on the last page we aren't done yet! Thank you Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is out Jan 31st!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC! In this third outing in the Finlay Donovan series, Finlay goes to a police boot camp to suss out the crooked cop (who shot at Finlay and her ex). She also has to deal with her feelings for Nick and more secrets emerge from Vero's past. It's a fun and fast-paced story, but not quite as memorable as the first two.

Book 3 in this series has Finlay participating in some “hands-on” training at a Citizen’s Police Academy. This was another fantastic story in Finlay’s messed-up world and I loved every minute of it. Vero is the best side-kick character and Finlay is so relatable when it comes to a single mom trying to make ends meet in whatever way possible.

I love this series and with the cliff- hanger ending of this one, I can’t wait for the next.

Elle Cosimano has created such depth and richness in these characters over the last three books that they could literally be written staring at a blank white wall for fifty pages and I would still be intrigued, charmed, and at the edge of my seat.

I laughed, I gasped, I cheered like a crazy person when YOU KNOW WHO and YOU KNOW WHO finally did YOU KNOW WHAT, and ultimately, I loved it like I knew I would.

This hit. Completely.

Finlay and Vero are back for a new adventure in book 3 in the series. Finlay and Vero are fun characters and there are always scenes that make me LOL. This is good, because the plot of this book is the most preposterous of the 3. If you've read the first 2 books in the series, then you know it's all about Fin and Vero getting themselves into dangerous situations and how they get out of them. Now, they are in debt to the mob and they find themselves in deeper danger than ever before. Finlay has been tasked with identifying the assassin Easy Clean by Feliks, the Russian mob boss. Plus, they are doing it all amidst a group of police officers, some of whom may be in with the mob as well. All of this while Finlay is also trying to finish her latest novel. She just can't get the romance between the assassin and the hot cop right in the her novel. Perhaps, after she spends more time with real-life hot cop Nick, Fin will figure it out.

Fin and Vero are our heroes in this series, and it's so much fun to ride along with them. How these two never get caught is preposterous, but that's the whole point! I would recommend reading the series from the beginning, or you will miss out on a lot of the references and background material. And this book has an ending that will lead us right into book #4. I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.