Review: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Title: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Author:Elle Cosimano

Pub. Date: February 2nd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Mystery/Thriller

Format: Audiobook

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pages: 355 pages/9 hrs 59 min

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | LIBROFM | AMAZON

Characters: 7/10 Atmosphere: 0/10 Writing Style: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Intrigue: 0/10 Logic/Relationships: 10/10 Enjoyment: 6/10

Rating: 38/5.4 = ☆☆ 3 Stars☆☆╮

Rating system created by The Book Roast ╰☆☆ “𝐌𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧.” ☆☆╮

Finlay Donovan is a single mother of two who is struggling to launch her career as a Mystery/Thriller writer post divorce all the while being stripped of her nanny. We meet Finlay on a very chaotic morning as she tries to get her kids ready before a meeting with her agent since she is on deadline for a book. Findlay has an outspoken five year old who is pretty much getting into everything and anything she can when mom is not looking. During her meeting she discusses the premise of her novel and is overhead by a customer sitting nearby, this stranger misunderstands Finlay and believes her to be a hit-woman for hire. This woman approaches Finlay with the name of her husband on a piece of paper, she is offering Finlay a substantial amount of money (*Side note* Life after divorce has left Finlay in need of income since she hasn’t sold a book in quite a bit and her bills are stacking up) to kill and dispose of his body. Our MC is flabbergasted and immediately thinks to herself I can’t do this but those thoughts quickly change to well it wouldn’t hurt to find out why this woman wants her husband dead. Lots of Google searches and undercover nights while juggling the responsibilities of a single mom on deadline for a book, make for a mystery with lots of comedic scenes.

I enjoyed this fast paced witty audiobook, although I was convinced I’d end up loving it since it does have a ton of hype in the book community. There were some very funny laugh out loud moments but this is one where you want to suspend all disbelief and just enjoy the ride. Now, I don’t see this mentioned anywhere but since I listened to the audiobook I’ll just go ahead and say it…Finlay’s 5 year old was NOT my favorite, the voice she made really made me want to stop listening and switch to physical reading. A part of me believes she was intentionally making that voice to irritate Finlay but still I couldn’t help not being annoyed. There were some characters I loved like Finlay’s nanny turned sidekick Vero and the nosey neighborhood watch lady who keeps a log of comings/goings but we don’t get much of her. Personally, I feel our MC reads as very relatable when it comes to the aspects of handling motherhood and a career while also co-parenting in a difficult situation. We see her sort of unintentionally get her groove back when she’s dressing up for these undercover gigs. There are love interests that I felt would’ve been nice to see more chemistry between but I also appreciated that her romantic life wasn’t center stage to the plot. As for the general plot itself, it was entertaining seeing Finlay get into one messy situation after another wondering how she would dig her way out. If you enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala, then this would be a good fit for you. Will I be picking up Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead? how could I not after that epilogue which was *jaw dropping*

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