Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and whole-heartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan is killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning author Elle Cosimano. (Summary back of book – Image is mine)
My Review: It’s a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by eight thirty AM on any given morning.
That is the first sentence of Finlay Donovan is Killing It and a great opening line. Author Elle Cosimano had successfully captured this mama’s attention in just twenty-one words. It may say something about the kind of day I was having at the time (craptastic), but I knew I would definitely be reading this book.
Finlay Donovan is living life in the weeds, stressed out, newly single, and barely making ends meet. The book she is supposed to be writing is going nowhere. and she needs money fast if she wants to keep the lights on and retain custody of her two small children. When an eavesdropping woman misinterprets a conversation between Finlay and her agent, a series of events are set into motion, and before she knows it, Finlay is up to her eyeballs in murder and mayhem with a body shoved in the back of her crumb-covered minivan. From there, it only gets worse — but at least it’s good material for her book!
Finlay Donovan is Killing It gives off major Stephanie Plum vibes, if Plum was a divorced, single mother, drowning in debt and moonlighting as a reluctant not-quite-assassin-for-hire. I’m not sure what I expected from the story, but it was definitely not a young mother disposing of dead bodies while simultaneously trying to solve multiple murders, write a book, pay the bills, and retain custody of her kids. Was the plot statistically probable? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Was it often wildly entertaining, somewhat dark, and occasionally hilarious? Absolutely. And, if occasionally I had trouble juggling some of the mysterious plot elements, well, it all made sense in the end.
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and while this book didn’t completely kill my slump, I did enjoy my time with it. I’m not in a huge hurry to read the next one, but the epilogue did make it rather tempting. Readers hoping for light-hearted murder mystery, rather than grit and gore, will find what they are looking for with Finlay.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For the Sensitive Reader: Some profanity. Some innuendo, crude language, and kissing (M/F). Occasional violence, including murder (no gore). Some discussion of sextortion and vague non-graphic description of explicit images on someone’s phone.
