
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Mystery
Length: 368 pages
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
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 chaos: 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.
Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.

LOVE THE RIDICULOUSNESS.
I very much found this to be worth the bookstagram hype!
What really works for this book is if you can suspend some of your belief in how this entire plot works out. It’s going to seem utterly wild, but to me, that was the best part. I found myself laughing when I was explaining the plot to friends because it’s completely nonsensical. AND I LOVED THAT.
Finlay is a woman to cheer for. Down on her luck and looking for anything to pick her back up she ends up on this wild ride. Enter a babysitter with no filter and some hot guys on the side and I was into this suspenseful murder mystery.
Some of the pages were a bit slow. When the action is moving though it’s hard to put down. I thought this took turns I wasn’t quite expecting and that ENDING rocked me. Really didn’t see it coming and I’m excited to see what the sequel entails.
I would have loved even more larger look into the romantic sub-plot. Things move really quickly (but I think that’s the nature of this type of story?) so I wasn’t overly affected, just could’ve gotten to know the men more. A great, easy to read mystery novel that was different from those I’ve read before.
Overall audience notes:
- Mystery
- Language: some
- Romance: kisses, implied closed door scene
- Trigger/Content Warnings: a man who exhibits stalking behavior, manipulation, drugs & rapes women, blackmails (none of this is on page, but is discussed), murder, multiple cheating relationships

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