Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead, the thrilling and hilarious follow-up to Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, delivers another wild ride full of suspense, laughter, and unexpected twists. In this sequel, Finlay is once again juggling the chaos of her personal life, struggling to finish her novel, and navigating the perils of single motherhood. Fortunately, she has her trusty (and slightly mysterious) live-in nanny, Vero, to help her through the madness—but this time, Finlay's world is about to get even more complicated.

When Finlay's ex-husband, Steven, becomes the target of an assassination plot, Finlay finds herself once again swept up in a web of danger and deception. As she races to keep him alive, she’s forced to deal with hitwomen posing as soccer moms, an increasingly dangerous connection to the Russian mob, and the looming deadline for her next book, which she’s nowhere near finishing. Add in the return of Detective Nick Anthony, who seems determined to rekindle his relationship with Finlay, and the stakes have never been higher.

Cosimano's trademark blend of humor, suspense, and heart shines in this sequel. Finlay is as endearing and relatable as ever—her quick wit, desperate determination, and willingness to bend the law for the sake of her family make her a heroine readers can't help but root for. The plot is fast-paced, with unexpected twists at every turn, and the mix of absurdity and danger keeps the tension high from start to finish.

What makes this installment stand out even more is the deeper exploration of Finlay’s relationships—particularly with Vero, who is keeping some secrets of her own, and the simmering tension with Detective Nick Anthony. Their interactions add both emotional depth and humor to the story, making Finlay’s chaotic life feel grounded in real, relatable connections.

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead is a brilliant continuation of the series, maintaining the perfect balance of heart-pounding suspense and laugh-out-loud moments. Elle Cosimano has crafted a sequel that not only matches the excitement of the first book but surpasses it in both humor and complexity. Fans of the first book will devour this one, and those new to the series will quickly fall in love with Finlay and her unpredictable, hilarious world. It’s a must-read for anyone looking for a fun, fast-paced mystery with a side of humor and heart.

This is a quick and easy read, the pacing is good and the characters developed more. More tricky situations that are unbelievable but that doesn’t make you not want to read. Some suspense, of course humor, and just a lot of fun!

Another great book! I love Vero & Finlay’s friendship but I really hate Finlay’s ex-husband. The quality did go down slightly from the first one but it was still very enjoyable!

This book kept me hooked and I didn’t suspect the twist at the end! I’ve enjoyed this series and think it’s unique. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Fun cozy mystery series, domestic trials, uncooperative husband, unexpected mishaps, and a good dose of humor.

Another fun book in the Finlay Donovan series, I laughed, gasped, held my breath and cringed but in a good way throughout this book. I can’t wait to see what Finn, Hot Cop, Mrs. H and Vero get up to next!

Finlay Donovan's life is going a little better, but its far from perfect. She and her live-in nanny Vera have begun to recover from the events of the first novel, when they find that Finlay's ex-husband Steven comes up on a forum for women who want to get back at men who wronged them. They think someone might want him dead. Meanwhile, she is balancing a love triangle with a law student and a cop, she has not escaped her ties to the Russian mob, and Vera is keeping secrets.

Once again, Elle Cosimano delivered a fun, suspenseful adventure with Finlay Donovan in over her head. This book expanded on the characters from the first, but makes sure not to resolve everything to ensure the story can continue into the next book. That left me feeling a little lacking at the end of the books, but I did have fun watching Finlay and Vera try their best to stop an assassin, only to get caught in incredibly dangerous situations they are wholly unprepared for. It was an enjoyable ride that does make me want to check out the next book in the series, even if I was not as enthralled with this second step.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead in exchange for an honest review.

The sequel to Finlay Donovan is Killing It did not disappoint. Finlay discovers someone wants her ex-husband dead and she is determined to find out who for the sake of her children. Fast paced, entertaining.

Finlay Donovan is back! With a threat to her ex-husband’s life on a dark web forum, Finlay has to run fast and hard to keep him safe and find out who wants him dead! Is she a killer? No but she has to fake it until she can figure out what’s going on and form a plan to stop it. While all the bad guys are closing in she also needs to figure out her relationships with Julian and Nick. It’s going to be a busy day!
This story picks up right where the last one ended. Finlay can’t figure out how to get out of the trouble from book one and now the trouble is multiplying. Vero has secrets of her own that might just hurt Finlay if they can’t find a solution. That’s assuming Vero ever comes clean. Finlay remains a thorn in Theresa’s side (well deserved if you ask me). The mob boss, Feliks, wants Finlay to help him with a problem and she can’t see a way out of it. And it that isn’t enough, Easy Clean thinks Finlay is trying to steal their hit jobs. Finlay is no hitman but no one seems to want to believe it!
This book has a lot of good elements but I thought parts of it were boring or ludicrous. I feel like the author had a good idea but some of the elements are so unbelievable that they made the story too silly. I’ll give a good example. Finlay is either a disaster or she’s irresistible. She cannot be both. I understood at the beginning of book one that she was beaten down after finding her husband cheating but that is also when Julian and Nick decided she was irresistible. Why? I just can’t figure it out. And please don’t tell me that she’s beautiful and that’s why they pursue her because that’s not good enough.
The conclusion of the hit on Steven is actually good. I didn’t see it coming and yet it makes a lot of sense. I have an idea of who might be Easy Clean assuming it’s a character that’s been introduced already. I don’t know how long it will be before the author does a reveal but it will be interesting to see if I’m right.
I can’t help thinking that Finlay could have avoided all of this by just telling the truth at the very beginning of book one but I feel like that is sort of the point. The only positive of all the hijinks is that her ex-husband gets knocked down a notch or two as he deserves. This is a contemporary book that is part of a series. You have to read this series in order. I will likely read more from this author in the future just to see where the author takes the story.

Elle Cosimano has done it again with Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead, her sequel to Finlay Donovan is Killing It. The first book had me laughing out loud from the first line.This one picks up where the last book left off, and it draws the reader into the action right away.

After seeing a message on an online chat that someone wants her ex-husband Steven killed, Finlay and Vero get involved in even more hilarious hijinx. While she does not want to get back together with Steven, she certainly does not want to see the father of her children murdered. With another book deadline looming, our heroine must figure out how to write her assassin’s adventures while surviving one of her own.

Through the many twists and turns of the thrilling mystery, I felt like I was either surprised or guffawing, sometimes both.The book brings back many of the beloved characters in the first book (and some not-so-loved), while adding in some new ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy of the book in preparation for the upcoming release of the latest in the series Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave, available in March 2025. All opinions are my own.

The adventure continues with book two. Still written as a light-hearted, not to be taken too seriously plot. A little bit contrived in parts but on the whole a good read.

3.5 ⭐️

The second installment in the Finlay Donovan series continues the storyline from the first book. Finlay and Vero are trying to find out who is trying to murder Finlay's ex and this becomes the basis for the book she's writing.

There is no shortage of chaos and mayhem in this book. I found the storyline to be a little far fetched at times but this is part if the appeal of the series. I like Finlay and Vero as a team and the way they have become a family of sorts. I also think I like Nick better than Julian for Finlay.

At times I thought the story could have been a little shorter and still been just as good. As mentioned above it was a little far fetched and over the top at times.

I enjoyed the characters and the story enough to read the next installment and would recommend this book to anyone looking for some comedy along with their suspense story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

A really nice follow-up to the series opener. Cosimano surprises me with her capability to juggle a large cast and keeping their characterizations (mostly) consistent while unweaving the tangled web of the mystery - but I do wish that certain characters would get just a little more development. I wanted more from Vero throughout book one, and while I enjoyed the deeper, fleeting glimpses provided in this one, it's just a little frustrating to have those plot threads introduced and teased but not explored further. I get that there was a lot going on plot-wise and trying to also delve into Vero's backstory might have overwhelmed the narrative, but since I found it difficult to care about Finlay's attempts to save Steven/have any sympathy for him at all (because why should I care whether he lives or dies when he attempted to assault Vero?), I just couldn't help but find myself wishing this book had been about Vero's plot instead of him.

I really don't like how Steven is portrayed in this book. I don't like how his attempt to coerce Vero into sleeping with him feels glossed over because "he wants to be a good father, as if doing the bare minimum for his children negates the potential/attempted abuse? It makes it difficult to get invested in Finlay's drive to save his life. Frankly, I don't understand why she would want a man like that around her kids at all.

I'm still not a huge fan of the romance, and most of it comes down to Nick more than anything. Julian is actually interesting and has a personality; Nick is just reduced to "hot cop" and it's frustrating. I didn't understand why so much of his attractiveness seemed linked to his profession in book one, and that persists here - and personally, I don't care for the uncritical presentation of law enforcement in these books, which also sours my opinion of him. He's still little more than The Hot Cop and lacks the necessary depth to make him a compelling love interest. It doesn't help that he bends the rules because of his attraction to Finlay; I really don't find the whole, "He won't arrest you because he likes you" thing to be particularly romantic (again, this circles back to the uncritical presentation of the law). I just don't see much chemistry between them, mostly because everyone in Finlay's life seems to be pushing her towards him because he's a cop and "Stable" instead of like. because she has feelings??? Whereas with Julian, it seems like she ACTUALLY wants to be with him, but is holding herself back solely because of the age gap - which hardly feels that big to me. Isn't she only 31?

But the ending was promising, to a degree. There seemed to be a setup for Vero to play a far more prominent role in the mystery, and maybe with the whole crooked-cop-assassin thing we'll dig into law enforcement and its role in the series. That's my hope, anyway.

I could not stop reading!!! I loved the way this character was written because I was most looking forward to their story.

Read the first book in the series and thought it was OK. A very popular series, so I thought I'd try the second book and it was about as good as the first one which is just OK. I have the other books to read, but I'm going to read some other books first. I think that I just don't like the characters. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Now that I know that this series is meant to be humorous (funny?), I have a bit of a different opinion. Finlay is again making bad choices and getting herself into ridiculous situations, but I kind of like all the characters. As exasperated as I get with Finlay, she is likable. Vero is probably the most annoying since she is constantly getting Finlay into messes. This time there's a killer for hire after Finlay's ex, a Russian mobster, and some guys from Atlantic City. Some, but not all, ll is resolved by the end, setting up the next book in the series. These books are a fun diversion. Not great literature by any means, but a quick, and sometimes hilarious, read. I think the key is to look at the entire series not as individual books, but just one LONG story broken into several pieces.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Another crazy ride with Finlay Donovan! In the second book of the series, Finlay tries to figure out who put a contract out on her ex-husband’s head, all while trying to balance motherhood, book deadlines, and complicated feelings for the two men in her life.

Just as in the first book, there were so many twists and turns along the way and Finlay got herself into some incredibly sticky situations. Yes, for many of these situations you need to suspend belief, because she should have been in major trouble so many times, but it’s such a fun ride that it’s easy to do! The ending of this book left me reaching for book three, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here!

Thanks, Minotaur Books, for the book!

I’m so happy the sequel lived up to the first one. Finlay and Vero have the best friendship. I laughed so much. These books bring me joy. Elle Cosimano does an excellent job of wrapping up the story of this book and leaving us with a fantastic cliffhanger that is so surprising for the following book!

I recently received an email about the newest book in the Finlay Donovan series and was surprised I had never heard of it before! It sounded like something I’d enjoy, so naturally, I had to start at the beginning with Finlay Donovan Is Killing It. I read the first book in about 4 days and couldn't put it down so now I am on to the next in the series- Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead.

Finlay and Vero are back with new adventures in a continuation to the first book. Yes, some of the situations again are not realistic but I'm reading this for fun not as some great piece of literary fiction. I also liked getting to know Vero a little better in this book. I will be continueing the series.

I received this series in exchange for my review. I enjoyed parts of the book and related to the struggling mom characteristics however just couldn't get into the murder plot line. Not for me.