When the police find a body on Finlay’s busybody neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty’s property, her life is turned upside down. Mrs. Haggerty decide to move in with her, her irksome, philandering ex-husband, Steven gets arrested for the murder, and past murders Finlay was involved in are brought back to light. She and her partner-in-crime, Vero didn’t commit the murders, but if the police dig too deep, they might think they did. Dealing with a semi-corrupt cop who will stop at nothing to pin the crime on Steven, Finlay and Vero team up with Finlay’s boyfriend to solve the crime. Will they clear Steven’s name? Who really committed the murder?
Narrator, Angela Dave does a great job of bringing the characters to life with her unique intonations and easy to distinguish voice. Her narrative pace fits well with the author’s writing style and adds depth to the book’s humor. The plot is humorous, engaging, and keeps the readers guessing what really happened. The characters are likable, well developed, and entertaining. Listeners who have liked the previous Donovan books or who like mystery, humor, and hijinks similar to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series will want to pick this one up. Although it is possible to listen to this out of order, the running subplot and related murder that resurface will make this book make more sense if listeners have read the others in the series. Recommended for most library collections.

I have been seriously missing out on these fun books! How is this the first Finley Donovan book that I’ve read?! I definitely need to go back and read the books before this one because they all tie together, however I was able to follow the story easily without prior knowledge of the storyline. Finley Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is a fun and witty mystery whose characters are thoroughly entertaining but also have depth. Finley is a divorced mom who has found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time too many times and also is too curious for her own good! When a body turns up in her elderly neighbors yard, Finley finds herself entangled in the case while housing that spunky and nosy neighbor. Finley relationship with her cop boyfriend is also very sweet and real as they learn to trust each other. I listened to the audiobook of it which was VERY well done. It flow from one chapter to the next was smooth and the characters were easily distinguishable by their voice acting alone. If you’ve been ready some serious and heavy stuff lately, this is a fun and sweet reprieve all while feeling very Nancy Drew.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this Copy to listen to in exchange for my honest review!

I am hoping by the time Finlay is done solving murders her son Zach will be less disgusting. I really dislike reading the parts about him. I also don't love the narration; I will use book format going forward.

Thanks NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC!

Another hilarious Finlay Donovan book! It's been a while since I read the last one, but the author makes quick work of catching you up and diving right into her next set of shenanigans. Who would think that a book about killers, evading the police, and covering up multiple crimes could be so much fun?

I love the witty banter and innuendo between the characters and how each time they take two steps forward they seem to take one step back. I blew this this book in just a few days, and can't wait to see what happens next. This is an auto-buy series for me.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is the fifth mystery in the Finlay Donovan series. Finally out of trouble with the mob and the troubles that have been following her around all Finlay Donovan wants is a few quiet days, but that’s not what she gets. Instead a body is found in her Finlay’s across the street neighbors backyard and Finlay is pulled into the case. When Mrs. Haggerty is cleared of suspicion she turns up on Finlay’s doorstep to stay, bringing more trouble with her. The last thing Finlay wants to do is get involved in another murder investigation, but here she is fully immersed in it. Will she be able to get to the bottom of it before it’s too late? Or will the killer or police get to her first?

I have been hooked on the hilarious mystery series since I read the first one and this one did not disappoint. I couldn’t put this book down as I followed Finlay and Vero in this latest installment. I’ve enjoyed all of these books, but I think this might have been my favorite yet. The characters in this series are great and I love following along with all of the craziness that surrounds Finlay. The characters are so strong and really drive this book. The mystery was a fun twist and different than what I’ve come to expect in this series. It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time. I really enjoy this series and can’t wait to see if anything will come next for Finlay and Vero!

Another great addition to the Finlay Donovan series! I love this series so much!
I really enjoyed the way this book kind of went back to the roots of the series. The vibe of the last two books (while still so good and a lot of fun) was different than the first two and this one brings it back.

I am curious to see how things play out with Nick, interesting turn of events there!

And the neighbor! She was so much more involved in this book and it was so fun to see everything she got herself into!

The cliffhanger ending has me excited to continue the series! Can’t wait!

Thank you NetGalley and the author for both the eARC and the ALC! The narrator was amazing as always! I couldn’t picture another voice for Finlay or Vero!

THIS BOOK IS NOW PUBLISHED, WOOHOO! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Angela Dawe hits another home run on the narration of the next installment in the Finlay Donovan series. Elle Cosimano did not disappoint with this one, though it did take me a bit to really sink into the plot of this. I had some mental catching up to do since it has been a minute since I read the last book in the series.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the book, the characters jump off the page with their larger-than-life personalities, and the novel even had me laughing out loud at some points. This is a series I envision myself reading through until the very end but I hope it never gets to that point. These books are a great break in between the more serious novels I gravitate toward. That's not to say the Finlay Donovan series doesn't carry its own weight- there is more than meets the eye to each of these books and I look forward to reading each one.

Finlay and Vero are back in full force helping their busy body neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, when a dead body is found buried in her back yard.

In this fifth book in the Finlay Donovan series, we pick up where we left off. This is definitely a book that you need to read the prior books is the series to understand all the characters and situations. However, I did feel that this one does a much better job at reminding you of the past than the last book, and for that I was thankful. This book felt more structured and organized than the last one, but still has the humor and crazy that is characteristic of the earlier books. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Mrs Haggerty! While it did end with a promise of more to come, I did appreciate closure to some of the story lines. Overall, a fun read that felt more grounded than the last one.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the ARC and MacMillan Audio (#MacAudio) for the ALC!

Finlay and Vero are back from their police academy adventures. Before they can settle in at home, the nosy neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, finds herself in need of a place to stay - so she makes herself at home in Finlay’s house. This complicates things quite a bit. Before she knows it, Finlay is running Mrs. Haggerty on her errands while her ex-husband Stephen falls under suspicion of murder.

This book is #5 in the series and for me, this one reminded me so much of why I fell in love with these characters in the first place. Finlay and Vero are the perfect team, and Finlay has grown so much from the jilted wife in the “wrong place at the wrong time” at the start of this series. Seeing her confidence blossom was so empowering, as were the adventures of Mrs. Haggerty - which I totally wasn't expecting.

Filled with the usual delicious banter and laugh-out-loud moments, this series is such a joy! And after the killer cliffhanger, I cannot wait to see what adventures are next for Finlay and Vero!

”Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave” is out now! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

(Listened to the ALC via NetGalley.)

Honestly, I haven’t loved the last few Finlay Donovan books so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pick this one up. I’m so glad I did! This is the perfect light read— a little mystery, a little romance and a lot of hilarious moments.

SMALL SPOILER:

I’m totally here for the Mrs. Haggarty redemption arc! The bejeweled ankle monitor was the cherry on top.


Not public:

The reason I didn’t give the book a 5 is because I feel like the plot and love interests are being stretched too thin. I love the characters but unfortunately there is too much of a good thing sometimes.. the wild turn of events to connect plot lines gets old.

The Finlay Donovan series just keeps getting better! I've enjoyed every installment, and this is no exception. Witty, hilarious, and suspenseful all at the same time. Keep 'em coming! I'll read every one.

I have enjoyed this entire series. I love the witty banter between the characters. I love how the writer includes the same characters and storylines in each book.. I laugh out loud at the situations that Finlay & Vero get into and wiggle themselves out of.

I didn’t think I would love book 5, but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think I needed a Mrs. Haggerty story, but again, pleasantly surprised! The characters and their relationships were great - both old and new. The story was left open for more books which I hope we get. I do wish we had a bit more Nick, but as always Finlay and Vero shine!

Finlay Donovan is another superb installment in this fabulous series. I absolutely loved it and I appreciate the author and envy her creativity. There are so many unbelievable twists and turns making it so entertaining. The humor is off the charts it's LOL funny.

I loved this quote, I am always saying something similar at work, so I was excited to see it here. "People rise to the expectations you have of them"

The audiobook was once again superb with the talented Angela Dawe narrating.

In the first four books of Finlay Donovan, there is an overarching plot/mystery that wraps up in book four before the hook of this particular book is delivered in the very last chapter. That hook being that there's a dead body found in Mrs. Haggerty's flower beds. Finlay, unsurprisingly, gets dragged into this situation and is trying to figure out what happened, while also dealing with Nick and how complicated it is to be committing crimes left and right while dating a detective. Especially when said detective is pretty ethical.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. For a while it was stressing me out significantly less than the first four books in the series because Finlay was keeping her crimes to misdemeanors, but, as always, she eventually levels up into felony land so I was stressed out for her. But the thing is, even when I'm stressed, with these books Cosimano perfectly manages to keep the humor and lightness present so that I'm always having a good time. I just kept texting one of my friends who has read the series like, "Finlay's doing it again." In all honesty, this book was probably one of my favorite installments in the series because of the forward progress in the romance department. I'm a big fan of Finlay and Nick and so I am hoping nothing really comes between them in the future. We'll see how that goes though, yeah? Because there will absolutely be a sixth book and I cannot wait for it either!

I always love the audio narration in these books and honestly, despite getting the e-ARC, usually wait to listen to the book because there's just something about Angela Dawe's narration of this series that really works for me. She hits the tone so perfectly so that despite being stressed about Finlay committing crimes, I'm still just having the best of times.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each book in the Finlay Donovan series! This one wasn’t my favorite in the series, but I did enjoy my time reading it. Mrs. Haggerty’s character was so funny and I was invested in how the story was going to end. Thank you for the advance reader copy!

I came across the first book in this series a few years ago when I was going through a hard time, and the hijinks of Finlay and Vero brought much-needed humor and solace to the point where I would save each following book in the series for a time when I knew I’d need it. And each book has been an escapism-filled balm. So reading the newest book in the series during a really hard week seems appropriate and fitting, and it couldn’t have come at a better (or worse?) time!

The book, like all of its predecessors, has hilariously uncomfortable situations, laugh-out-loud moments, and comeuppance served cold as Finlay deals with a husband behind bars, and intrusive houseguest, a won’t-take-no-for-an-answer literary agent, a mysterious body turning up on her street, and difficulty in deciding what to share or not to share with her police officer boyfriend. All of this, on top of being the frazzled single mother of a potty-training toddler and his in-trouble-at-school sister.

As expected, there were murder-related shenanigans, duplicity-related schemes, and secret-filled hijinks. The banter between Finlay and Vero never gets old, and I loved that we were treated to more of Cam and Mrs. Haggerty. There were also some moments of tenderness and progress that I’ve been waiting for when it comes to Finlay deciding whether or not to commit to her new relationship.

All in all, I’m (as always) excited for the next installment!

I went back and forth between the audio and ebook, because I love the narrator for this series. Angela Dawe does some fabulous voice acting throughout this series, and I especially love her voices for Vero and Sylvia. Thanks so much for the advanced editions of the book, Macmillan Audio, Elle Cosimano, and Netgalley!

Finlay Donovan and her live-in nanny/accountant/ride-or-die Vero are back home at last. They’ve been to the citizen’s police academy. They spent time in Atlantic City, getting themselves out of trouble with a dangerous loan shark. They helped take down a Russian crime gang. And now they’re back home for what may be their biggest challenge yet: potty training Finlay’s son.

Finlay is surprised when Mrs. Haggerty and her grandson show up on her doorstep. Mrs. Haggerty was known to everyone in the neighborhood as the woman with her eyes on everything. She watches everything that happens and writes it all down in her notebooks, along with dates, times, and license plate numbers. However, a man’s body had recently been found in her yard, and she was briefly in jail while the police investigated. Now she’s been released, and she’s on Finlay’s porch with luggage.

Her grandson explains that her water and heat are not on, and she needs a place to stay. She wants to stay close to her house, so she can keep an eye on it. Finlay takes pity on the older woman and tells them that Mrs. Haggerty can stay the night. But the next day, Mrs. Haggerty’s grandson has disappeared, and Mrs. Haggerty has made herself at home in Finlay’s bedroom, insisting that Finlay drive her to her book club but not come herself. Finlay’s patience is stretched by the woman, but when Finlay’s ex-husband is charged with the murder of the body from Mrs. Haggerty’s yard, Finlay knows she has to figure out who really killed the man.

With break-ins and pot brownies, a teenaged hacker who can be bought with a home-cooked meal, a young daughter who not is afraid to kick her bully in the tentacles and a naked toddler on the run, secret mailbox notes and an oversized eggplant, a producer who wants to make a television series of her book and an agent pushy enough not to take no for an answer, and the cop who knows she’s been lying to him but she’s falling for anyway, Finlay has a lot going on. But nothing is going to stop her from proving her ex-husband isn’t a killer. He’s made a lot of mistakes, but as far as Finlay knows (and she knows a lot), he’s never killed anyone.

So who did? And can Finlay and Vero find out before a killer turns on them?

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is another engaging mystery in Elle Cosimano’s amazing series about a divorced writer who is trying to start a new life for herself, but finds herself tripping over dead bodies. These novels are whip-smart and cleverly fun. Finlay handles it all with a level of grace, kindness, and quick thinking that I can only aspire to. There is action, there is romance, and there is a lot of genuine belly laughs. I did feel like this one was maybe a tiny bit milder than some of the other books, but then Finlay was back home, and I thought it was the perfect time in the series to take a breath at Finlay’s house before the next emergency.

I listened to the audio book for Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grace, narrated by Angela Dawe. Dawe understands Finlay’s voice, and brings the right amount of calm intelligence to her. The voice she uses for Vero is perfection, and I don’t think anyone else could possibly do Vero justice the way Dawe can. Her choices for all the characters, from the kids to Mrs. Haggerty, brings these stories to life. I love to read these books, but Dawe makes listening to them such a phenomenal experience that I hope all audio book lovers choose to listen to this one. It is perfection.

Egalleys for Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave were provided by Minotaur Books, and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Finlay Donovan is back for book #5! This time around the mystery involves her elderly neighbor Mrs. Haggerty when a body is discovered in her backyard. Finlay and Vero begin their own investigation when Finlay's ex-husband becomes a suspect. They need to clear his name in order to avoid having law enforcement dig into the events they've been wrapped up in during the first four books.

This series is a nice mix of cozy mystery, humor, and a little bit of romance. Books 2-3 had a lot going on with the Russian mob story line, and at times I found it almost hard to follow. I'm happy to say I enjoyed this one more than the last few in the series. Mrs. Haggerty is a really fun character, and the plotline with her book club was interesting. I definitely plan to continue this series!

4.25 STARS

Angela Dawe can do no wrong as the fantastic narrator of these books! I could listen to her talk for hours!

Okay this has been my favorite Finlay book so far! I have enjoyed all of the other books in this series, but they've always seemed just a touch too far out of reality for my liking. This book, while similar in that sense, still made me feel as though it could have been achievable. I loved that we got to know Maggie more and I thought her character presence was an absolute HOOT! I will definitely continue to keep up with the Finlay series because I am a sucker for a cheesy low-stakes mystery book. Also, I need to know more about what Nick & Finaly's relationship is going to look like after this book and all that happened in it!

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press for the advanced copy on NetGalley! 🤍