I have been hearing about the Finaly Donovan series basically since it came out in 2021. At first, it didn’t seem like it was my thing (you know I’m more of a romance or YA girl), but as time has passed and people in my circle keep talking about it, I figured I should try. I got approved to read the fourth book in the series as an ARC, so I need to hurry up and breeze through the series before it comes out next month. Wish me luck!

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

I did read this a few weeks ago and haven’t had time to write my review down, but the fact that I don’t have too much to say about it after a short amount of time away from it (and no other books read) doesn’t bode well. I did enjoy the premise a lot (I mean, it’s funny that she’s mistaken for a contract killer in a Panera) and I didn’t see where the plot was going, so it kept me guessing throughout.

What didn’t work for me

The (lack of) humour: A lot of people were telling me this was laugh-out-loud funny…and it wasn’t.

Her parenting: I understand that the writer was trying to position Finlay as a bit of a mess of a person—but they didn’t have to make her a not-great parent too. She keeps saying she was doing all of this to keep custody of her kids, but she didn’t really *do* anything with them. They were always with Vero or her sister and she barely had time to feed them or clean them. I would have appreciated her character more if I felt like she was really doing it for the kids.

The men: This is not a love story—and I don’t think it needs to be. Every man Finlay meets is interested in her (including her ex-husband), and that’s just…boring.

What I liked

The premise: The fact that she’s a murder/suspense writer who gets mistaken for a contract killer who’s given an offer she can’t refuse is really clever. And the way the plot moves through the actual whodunnit is really well done. I didn’t see it coming!

Vero: Give me so much more Vero. I have started the second book and am intrigued by where the story might take her, but we all need a Vero in our lives—someone who would bury the body, no questions asked. I do wish they gave Vero and Finlay a little bit more of a backstory (together), but regardless of it feeling a bit unbelievable, I just love her.

3.5 STARS

“It’s a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by eight thirty A.M. on any given morning.” —Elle Cosimano, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It