5 ⭐️ The fifth installment of the Finlay Donovan series is almost here!

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner in crime Vero are finally done with murderers. That is until their neighbor from across Mrs. Haggerty the street is arrested after a body is discovered buried in her backyard.

The police quickly clear her, but her house is still an active crime scene. As the neighborhood busybody, Mrs. Haggerty needs to stay close to her house to keep an eye on things. So who does she stay with? Neither Finlay nor Vero are thrilled to have another house guest, but she’s moving in, and with that comes trouble.

My thoughts: I have not enjoyed a Finlay Donovan book this much since the very first book. I loved seeing all of our recurring characters come back in different ways. I loved how much of Nick we get in this book. I loved how much we got to learn about Mrs. Haggerty. It’s all just so fun.

Angela Dawe is a fantastic narrator. She knows these characters inside and out, and I love how unique her voice is for each one.

Overall, this book was fantastic! It leaves you on a cliffhanger, as per usual for this series. I cannot wait to see what the next installment of this amazing series will hold! 5 stars.

Angel Dawe does it again with another great narration of our favorite characters in the Finlay Donovan universe. This is definitely a series and should be read in order. It's also a good choice for audiobook listening- Angela Dawe gives distinct voice to each character, the plot pacing is just right, and there's an appropriate number of characters to follow.

Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series would likely enjoy the Finlay Donovan series. There's a hot cop, a dynamic duo of female leads with a strong and enviable friendship, mystery, and humor. And just like the Plum series, there's the meta-story of the main characters lives that does progress from book to book, albeit a bit too slow.

Book Review: Finley Donovan Digs Her Own Grave

Elle Cosimano delivers yet another fantastic installment in the Finley Donovan series, and Finley Donovan Digs Her Own Grave might just be the best one yet. Packed with humor, suspense, and the kind of chaotic charm that makes this series so addicting, this book had me hooked from start to finish.

One of the standout elements of this installment was getting to see more of Miss Hagerty. Her expanded role brought a new layer to the story, and it was fascinating to get a deeper look into her character. She’s always been an intriguing presence, but this time, she truly shines.

Delia and Zach continue to be chef’s kiss perfection. Their sibling antics feel so authentic and entertaining—Cosimano captures the essence of young kids and their never-ending ability to create the greatest (and most hilarious) problems.

And of course, Finley and Vero remain an unbeatable duo. Their partnership is the heart of the series, and once again, their misadventures had me laughing out loud. The blend of crime, comedy, and camaraderie is perfectly executed, making their dynamic as fun as ever.

With its sharp wit, lovable characters, and a plot that keeps you on your toes, Finley Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is an absolute must-read. I’m already counting down the days until the next book—because if this series has taught us anything, it’s that Finley’s troubles (and our entertainment) are far from over!

There's a dead body buried in Finlay's neighbors yard, and everyone in her circle is a suspect (including Finlay). Finlay and Vero work together to help find the killer in between tending to their busy-body neighbor, dodging Finlay's literary agent, and potty training.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is quite possibly my favorite book in the series. I never tire of Finlay and Vero's adventures and have so much fun putting the clues together. I found the scenes with Nick and Finlay quite entertaining and it's wonderful to see these two get closer and closer. This book had me laughing out loud and on the edge of my seat!

I enjoyed this on audio and can't say enough about Angela Dawe's narration. This is the first book in the series that I've utilized the audio version and now I feel like I need to go back to the beginning because of how effective Angela is!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio / Minotaur Books for this advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy of Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano Narrated by Angela Dawe in exchange for an honest review. It publishes March 4, 2025.
First off, I always enjoy Angela Dawe’s work, bringing Finlay and the crew to life!
This was an excellent installment in this series, the character development was so good, and it definitely keeps me coming back for more!
I really enjoyed the overall mystery, and getting to know more of neighbors and friends was great! If you’ve enjoyed any of the other books in the series, you’ll love this one, too!

✨Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano- 4⭐️

The 5th book of the Finlay Donovan series is such a fun, witty, fast-paced thriller. I love every book of this series and they always get me out of a reading slump. It gives Good Girls/Thelma and Louise vibes 💅🔪

Finlay is a single-mom of two young children who finds herself always tangled-up in the wrong side of the law with her nanny Vero. To add insult to injury, she’s dating a hot cop who knows she is hiding secrets.

In this book, a flood digs up a body in Finlay’s 80-year-old neighbor’s yard, her cheating ex-husband is blamed for the crime, and hilarity ensues when Finlay and Vero try to solve the case.

Make sure you pick this one up when it’s published on 3/4! And if you’re into audiobooks, Angela Dawe is fantastic!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

This series has truly redeemed itself! The past few books were packed with a lot of characters and overly complicated plots. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved them, but they were a bit harder to follow. This latest book, however, gets back to basics with all the sarcasm and crazy twists that I adore! It masterfully ties together the shenanigans of the past, delivering a girl-positive narrative I didn’t realize I needed. It’s amazing how, once you get to know someone, you can find so many similarities.

And of course, it’s a great reminder of how glad I am to be past the potty training days.

This has been posted to Goodreads.

Absolutely amazing!!! This series is definitely my favorite and this particular book was soooo good. I never wanted it to end. It might actually be my favorite for the whole series. Elle Cosimano is a genius and I will never get tired of these books. I can’t wait until the next one comes out.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I have said this with each book that is released, how are people not obsessing over this series!?!? It is laugh out funny and the situations Finlay and Vero find themselves are hilarious. Finlay and Vero's hijinks are literally the best part of the series, because their ride or die friendship is what keeps me reading.

This time a body shows up her in Mrs., Haggerty's garden bed and she is arrested until she has been cleared. As she is cleared Finlay's ex-husband Steven is now accused of the murder along with another affair. Mrs., Haggerty's house is has no power or heat and she had nowhere to go...Until Mrs., Haggerty shows up to Finlay's house asking for somewhere to stay because she needs to keep an eye on her house and refuses to stay with her grandson.

Finlay is sure that Steven didn't kill anyone, so Finlay and Vero once again try to solve the murder without getting arrested themselves all while juggling two kids and a boyfriend that is also a detective. Can she save her ex and keep her relationship with Nick and uncovered the real murderer?

Finlay's neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, is arrested after a body is found buried in her backyard. She's released a few days later but her house is an active crime scene so she ends up staying with Finlay until the house is released. Mrs. Haggerty is a huge help around Finlay's house but during her stay, Finlay discovers a lot about her elderly neighbor.

Funny as always, I love the antics of Finlay Donovan. This is the 5th book in the series and I just love the whole series. The books are a continuation from the previous story but can easily be read as a standalone as the author does a great job connecting the storylines and filling in what happened before. The book is hilarious with a lot of laugh out loud moments. I absolutely love the writing style and the narrator. Angela Dawe is the narrator for this book and she does a fantastic job defining the characters and bringing them to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love these series! This was my first audiobook in the Finlay series and I thought the narrator was fantastic!

Thank you goes out to NetGalley and Minotaur books (as well as MacMillon audio) for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The gang is back for the fifth Finlay Donovan series. As a whole this installment was better than the last one. Finally there is not an extremely story line. I loved that in this book we get to learn more about the cranky Mrs. Haggerty and see if her meddling gets Finalay and Vero into trouble. We also get to have more of the crazy kids of Finlay and Steven….they are truly insane and funny kids. We also get to meet a few new characters and have plenty of laughs along the way. I swear these Finlay and Vero are like a modern day Lucy and Ethel always getting themselves into crazy situations. The ending also leaves it open for another tale.

Finlay is back! I loved the 5th book in this cozy and entertaining mystery series. "Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave" kept me hooked from the start and I love the way it ended. The narrator did an awesome job too.

a certified banger!!!! this series has quickly become a comfort series for me and each installment just gets better and better!

i love the finlay and vero detective group more than life itself!! their friendship is the star of this series for me and their buddy comedy/investigative duo dynamic is so fun and wacky and everything that a cozy mystery series needs!

this installment in particular was everything i love in a finlay donovan book and more! we got quality finvero content, a great mystery, as well as incredible developments in the romantic relationships for our favorite amateur sleuths!!! two subplot ships in one book??? thank you so much

i also exclusively read this series via audio, so getting to listen to the audio of this book early was a dream! and can i just say Angela Dawe is that girl!!!!!! she does such an incredible job giving every character distinct voices and her cadence and delivery make the listening experience that much better.

i selfishly hope this series never ends bc i would read about finvero and co for the rest of my life!

thank you macmillan audio and netgalley for the ALC!! it's available everywhere on 3/4!

4⭐️

The perfect cozy mystery full of laughs, skeletons and murder! Finlay is back with her nanny/partner in crime Vero and unfortunately sucked into another murder. Book five in this series finds Finlay in a tricky spot as she tries to untangle the mystery. This is a perfect blend of mystery, hilarious banter and a little romance!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an arc!

I enjoyed this one! This might be my second favorite in the Finlay Donovan (after the first). The book starts right where the last ended, and instead of traipsing through multiple locations, things are fairly limited to a neighborhood. I felt this made it easier to follow. There weren’t as many people to keep track of (which helps when listening to the book) though I did miss not having as much of Finlay’s sister.
While I thought the stories for all were coming to a close the very last sentence said there may yet be more in store.

4.5 ⭐️

AUDIOBOOK:
9 hours 11 minutes at 1x, 6 hours 7 minutes at 1.5x or 5 hours, 15 minutes at 1.75x

How apropos that Janet Evanovich promotes this book on the cover~I have always said that these books were perfect for fans of her Stephanie Plum stories!

If you haven’t read any of the Finlay Donovan books yet- I do recommend that you read them in order-but you can click on my spoiler free review for the first book to get a hint of what to expect!
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3609201519

Each book ends with a cliffhanger, so we pick up right where we left off last time…

Finlay Donovan has just submitted her latest book-so she should have some time to relax, and maybe get to know her “hot cop boyfriend Nick” just a little bit better. But when a dead body is discovered in her nosy neighbor’s backyard, the neighbor-Mrs. Haggerty-will need Finlay and Vero’s help.

Initially, Mrs. Haggerty is the prime suspect.

Although SHE is quickly cleared by the police, her house, unfortunately, remains an active crime scene. With nowhere else to go she ends up moving into Finlay’s house temporarily-since she is right across the street-despite the fact that the two have not always seen eye to eye on things!

Instead of being a grateful guest, she is demanding grocery runs, and rides to her book club meetings, but she does chip in on home schooling and childcare while staying with Finlay and her scenes with Finlay’s children are some of the funniest in the book!

I have to admit, I haven’t had this much fun reading a Finlay Donovan book since the first one, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to continue the series. It had become too slapstick for me with all of the caricature mafia characters in books two through four-but once I heard that Mrs. Haggerty would be back-I was all in and she didn’t disappoint!
(She is a SCENE STEALER !)

As always-we have a cliffhanger at the end-so it does look like this series will continue…

I paired my reading with the AUDIOBOOK, narrated (as always) by the fabulous Angela Dawe.
This happens to be a series that I prefer LISTENING TO! 🎧

AVAILABLE MARCH 4, 2025

Thank You to Macmillan Audio for the early listen provided through NetGalley Shelf! As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Elle Cosimano for allowing me to listen to an audiobook ARC of Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave.

Final Review: 4.5 Stars

Elle Cosimano KILLS IT with this series. I have loved every installment of this series, and I think the books are just getting better and better. Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave was such a hit for me. It was funny, suspenseful, and a little sexy. I love getting to watch Finlay’s relationships grow with Detective Nick, Steven, Vero, and the kids! Delia and Zach added comedic relief and made me giggle at the irony of the situations Finlay finds herself in. It was so much fun getting to watch Finlay and Nick start to trust each other and develop their budding relationship. While also hunting down killers and keeping secrets. This has quickly become one of my favorite series and I highly recommend anyone who is interested in a fun mystery/thriller series to pick it up!

Finlay Donovan and her partner-in-crime, Vero, are no strangers to chaos, but they were hoping for a break from dead bodies—until one turns up in their nosy neighbor Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard. While she’s quickly cleared as a suspect, her house is still a crime scene, leaving her with nowhere to go but Finlay’s already hectic home. As much as Finlay and Vero want to avoid another murder investigation, trouble has a way of finding them, and this time, it’s right across the street.

Spending time with Finlay and Vero is like hanging out and drinking a glass of wine with your most chaotic but lovable friends. This book was fast-paced, filled with humor, mystery, and plenty of action—plus, that cliffhanger ending was something! The banter between all of the characters was as entertaining as ever. The story kept me hooked from start to finish, I finished it in one day. Picking up right after the fourth book, this one might just be my favorite in the series. A perfect mix of crime, romance, suspense, and fun!

I switched between reading and listening - I love the audio book of this and highly recommend listening!

Out on March 4, 2025! Thank you to the publisher @minotaur_books, @ellecosimano and @netgalley for an arc for an honest review!

Usually as a series goes on it becomes less and less appealing. This fifth book is just as good as the first. Elle Cosimano has done such a great job making her characters so likeable. With every book it is like I'm returning to visit old friends. And once again Angel Dawe provides excellent narration. I wish this series would be picked up as a movie series (preferably one starring Henry Cavill as Nick).
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.