Finlay and Vero are back at it again in book #3!! These two get themselves into some hilarious situations which make for quite an entertaining read. I do have to say this is my least favorite in the series so far, but with that being said, it is still an extremely enjoyable book. The characters are all fantastic and well developed! The only negative of this book for me, is it is very unbelievable and has a lot of super far-fetched scenarios. I expect it to be some level of far-fetched because that’s what makes the book funny and light but this time, it was just too much. In the next book, I’m really hoping to see a bit more happen in Finlay and Vero’s love lives. I can’t wait to see what book #4 brings.

3 ⭐️

Unfortunately this is my least favorite of the series so far. The book has all the parts I still love like the humor, the dramatics, the over the top, the romance, and the mystery. However, I didn't really like the location this book takes place in (police academy). I also felt like with her asking so many questions the way she did how did no one suspect anything about them being involved sooner. It also has a feeling of it being dragged out. I feel like we could figure out the current mystery and have something new come up while Finlay is writing her books or researching for them. I don't know.

This book still has everything I love about the series but I was dragging through this one and wondering when it was going to end a lot.
I do love that Finlay is back with the cop. I didn't like the 3 different men being issues for her so I am hoping this one sticks.

Vero and Finlay continue to put themselves in another situation where they could get caught. This time they attend a citizen police training while trying to figure out who easy clean is.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and author Elle Cosimano for the advanced reader copy of this book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book

This is the third book in author ElleCosimano’s fun series about author turned killer-for-hire Finlay Donovan. It’s a fun series about how a misunderstanding leads to not only her involvement in several murders but also with the local Russian mafia. The series really relies on knowing what’s happened already. It’s not something a reader can easily pick up in the middle.

Finlay is still trying to figure out who EasyClean is for the head of the local Russian mafia, Feliks Zhirov. She also owes him money after she “borrowed” an Aston Martin from his car dealership and it came back riddled with bullets. Plus, her nanny/friend/accountant Vero Ruiz is keeping a secret and now owes a loan shark in Atlantic City $200,000. What’s a girl to do? Why, join the citizens academy of the local police department, of course!

Finlay is certain EasyClean is a police officer. What better way to root him or her out than to spend a week with the local police force? The two sign up, and their antics during the week provide a lot of unrealistic, escapist fun as they try to root out the killer, keep Finlay’s sister, Georgia (a police officer), and love interest Nick (also a police officer) from figuring out what they are up to. Also in the picture is Finlay’s ex-husband Steven, whom Finlay saved from EasyClean in the previous book. He’s convinced that Finlay saving him means she still loves him and wants to win her back. Plus, FInlay’s neighbor and her grandson have joined the citizens academy and Finlay is determined to beat them.

If you enjoy the Stephanie Plum series, this is right up that alley. Finlay is constantly in over her head and second-guessing every decision. I feel like screaming “What are you thinking?” at her, but it’s also a fun ride. Vero is at a crossroads as Finlay learns her secret, and Vero is panicked she will lose her friend when she finds out. Every plan they make falls apart spectacularly, and with a lot of laughs along the way.

You have to suspend disbelief with a series like this and just enjoy it. Nothing makes sense, really, but it’s a lot of fun. Vero’s childhood sweetheart shows up to try to help them out, and every time he shows up he seems to get hurt. It’s a comedy of errors, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Finlay is also trying to revise her next book and has writer’s block, while her agent is on her back to get it done. The problem is that she needs to throw caution to the wind both in her writing and in her life, and with all of the crises surrounding her, that’s hard to do.

Lots of characters from the previous books show up. We learn a little more about the hacker, Cam, who Finlay befriended and tried to protect. Nick’s partner, Joe, gets more in-depth here, as does Nick himself. He shows more of the side we’ve seen before that’s attracting Finlay but also forces her to hold back with him. Vero eventually gives her the pep-talk she needs about valuing herself, something she’s struggling with following her divorce. There are great moments like this in the middle of a lot of zany fun. And when does this woman sleep?

I enjoyed Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun quite a bit. It’s a fun bit of escapism that’s perfect when you need something light that will make you laugh. Think Lucy and Ethel meet Stephanie Plum.

Book #3 in this entertaining series. Finlay always manages to find her way into trouble and stumble out of trouble. Along the way, she uncovers enough drama to keep a soap opera running for many seasons. If you've not read this series, you are seriosly missing some excellent reading.

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

Finley has so much going on in her life I don't know how she keeps it all from unraveling. Vero has gone and found herself in trouble and now she isn't sure how to get out of it. Finley has decided to help her and that is just the beginning of the twisty windy road this book will take you on!

I loved it and so will you!

Once again, this series delivers! The plot is full of twists, and I couldn’t put it down. If you’re looking for a smart, funny, and engaging mystery, this one is definitely worth the read.

While still very entertaining, not much progress seems to have been made in fixing Vero's issue of needing money to pay off the loan shark, and Finlay is stuck again with figuring out how to finish her second assassin book. But still much hilarious situations with people ending up dead and Finlay left trying to figure out how to dispose of them, all the while trying to figure out who Easy Clean is and how to get out from under Felik's thumb. At least it mixes up locations when Finlay and Vero sign up for police academy camp. Lots of hot cops in this one, including the wonderful Nick. He definitely is the better choice for Finlay, even if Julian is so sweet.

Finlay is a very intriguing character and I do really like reading about her adventures though I definitely would not want to be her friend, since apparently she knows a lot of killers/criminals though she will do anything for her friends, even the occasional accidental murder!

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun.

This is book 3 in the series, and it picks up right where book 2 left off. I read books 2 and 3 back to back, so it was easy to remember details of what was going on.

I did a combination of digital copy and audio for this one. I enjoyed the audio, and I think I will do something similar when I continue the series.

This is the third book in this series. Thanks to Net Galley for giving us access to the first four books before reading the fifth, coming out in March. This is a series that definitely needs to be read in order. Each book flows from one to the next. It would be very difficult to make sense of this one without reading the first two. In this one, Finn and Vero are up to their usual antics, this time at the Police Academy. At the end there seems to be some closure, then wow another cliffhanger! Fun read.

Not really the continuation I was expecting, and honestly, it feels like each installment of this series only sours my opinion of the first book. As much as I enjoyed it, with each new situation Finlay finds herself in, I find myself asking: was she this stupid in the first one? if the charm of the first one was barely there in the second, it's nowhere to be found in this one, where we follow Finlay and Vero on a bizarre sidequest that does not at all feel like a proper follow-up to where the second book closed out. It really seemed like we might finally get some more development for Vero, but instead, she just gets put into a weird love triangle just like Finlay and with so much of the book focused on that I really could not care less. Why are they worrying so much about their love lives when everything else is at stake? Why is Vero acting so ditzy? The personality she presents in book one as someone calculated and cunning and just a little ruthless has seemingly disappeared into innuendo and I really don't find it interesting at all. I'm not a "prude" by any means and I would love to see Finlay explore her sexuality post-divorce but I just didn't really think that would become the focal point of the series and the balance between "steaminess" and the actual crime/mystery plot is so off. It doesn't help that Nick continues to be lifeless and also it continues to be weird to me how everyone around her acts like Finlay is stupid or can't make her own decisions regarding her romantic life and continues to push her towards Nick; I don't like how he doesn't really take a hint either and I really do not like how Finlay kept bringing up his "intoxicating man-smell" or "hormones" and otherwise being really weird about the whole thing. It just felt childish and forced and I don't understand how anyone can find that amusing or even attractive??

As for Vero's 'love' interests... Javi has personality, at least, but the stereotypes regarding him being ambiguously Latino and in the world of grand theft auto was pretty gross. The other part of the triangle (Vero/Ty) just felt pretty pointless and honestly feels like it also leaned into some stereotypes too. It was very weird. Also not a fan of the whole making-fun-of-a-man-wearing-women's underwear bit. It also felt pretty childish, and frankly, I feel like "immature" could be used to describe a lot of the plot and actions. Sometimes I forgot Finlay was a woman in her 30s with two children, given how she was acting half of the time.

The plot doesn't exactly make up for where the romance falls short, either. Once again, Finlay plays such a passive role in the story. I hate how she doesn't really "do" anything ever; things just happen around her, and she's pretty immediately absolved of any culpability in the narrative. I really wish she would play a more active role in her life instead of just constantly standing there. It's really difficult to care about her as a main character when she refuses to Actually, fully engage in anything. She's content to have "bad" people clean up her messes but is upset by the idea of doing any of it herself - or being associated with them. Which is annoying.

I really see the potential in this series, and I just wish it would live up to it. But maybe it's just me and I have certain expectations that it will never meet. I guess it's determined to be more "lighthearted" and let Finlay skate by being quirky and just present when things happen and never really confront her morality on things. Even when the book broaches topics like corrupt cops or the "poor image" of law enforcement we never dig deeper into WHY some cops are 'dirty' or people do not like or trust law enforcement. There continues to be a surface-level engagement with police that really grates at me, especially when the love interest is a cop who has Looked The Other Way because he found a woman attractive, and I'm just wondering why the author bothers to write at the edge of the world of crime and law enforcement without immersing into it fully. It just makes a very unsatisfying story. I don't know. Maybe I'm not the target audience for this.

I love that storylines are continued throughout the series. I off and on did an immersive read and enjoyed it. A great third installment in the series. Great pacing, keeps you interested and guessing. Love Vero. Thank you to Elle Cosimano, Net Galley and Minotaur Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book 3 in the Finlay Donovan series and it is just as great as the rest. Finlay now owes the Russian mob for saving the life of her ex-husband. All the while, Finlay is still trying to rock motherhood. Give it a read!

Finlay at a police academy is fun all by itself. But of course there is much more going on. Nick is running the course. Finlay and Vero have the high end car to deal with not to mention to money Vero owes. Finlay's book needs a better ending. And why did Stephen drop the kids off at Finlay's parents house. Will Nick finally declare his feelings for Finlay and why did Cam show up at the academy? This was a fun story. Note I did not read the books in order. I would recommend reading them in order to follow all the side stories.

I am so enjoying Finely and her adventures. Zany. Fun. These are characters that take the reader on a ride that lifts them away from their dullness. Awesome fun! Thanks #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

I’m loving this series, who doesn’t want to see Finlay in the Police Academy? I was a kid in the 80s, this is a dream come true! That movie was epic and imagining Finlay and Vero there was so much fun! So many antics, so much craziness!

Attending a citizen’s police academy to determine if one of the police officers is actually a contract killer on the orders of a mob boss? No problem, just another day for Finlay & Vero.

This author somehow makes these unbelievable storylines flow with a combination of humor, characters showing up where you don’t expect them, & the unique blend of criminal connections & family responsibilities/drama this single mom author & her nanny/bff have to deal with. Oh & of course there’s some romance for both Vero & Finlay (& no spoilers, but another woman in this story also may have something going with a coworker).

As I got to the end of this third installment in the series I kept thinking that THIS had to be the last reveal of big information, but I thought that several times because there was SO much packed into the last fourth of this book! I’m looking forward to reading the Vero background short story next to get more info on her origins, & then on to novel #4 to see what craziness they get up to next.

Thank you very much to NetGalley & Minotaur for making the entire series (thus far) briefly available for download in exchange for honest reviews!

The madcap adventures of Finley and Vero continue. I’m normally that person who puts aside a book if I couldn’t see it happening in real life, but not this one! Finley’s train wreck of a life is full of entertainment.

This series is so good!

This was another fun addition to the Finlay Donovan series! I found this book super bingeable just like the rest of the series so far. I love the refreshing mysteries and the funny plotlines of each book. The Citizens’ Police Academy was a unique setting for this book’s mysteries, which were just as entertaining as the other two books. Book 3 also offered more romance than the first two, which had me dying for more. Are you Team Nick or Team Julian? I’m Team Nick all the way. The plot twist at the end was completely unexpected – I thought I knew the answer then at the last minute, I learned I was totally wrong. This book ends with a cliffhanger like the other books in the series have so far and I’m excited to jump into the next book to see what happens.

Recommend?
Would I recommend this? Yes! I’m still highly recommending this series after finishing the third book. This book and the series are a great palette cleanser series to read in between more intense books. This series isn’t full of realistic plots and mysteries, which is what makes them so much fun to read – you truly get to escape for a little bit while reading.

Read If You Like…
• Cozy Mystery
• Love Triangle
• Single Mom
• Cliffhanger Ending
• Detective Series