✨Book Review✨
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Well, this series had a good run. I loved books one and two, but book three was not my favorite. It was way too heavy on the police presence for my liking. Also, the antics of Finlay and Vero just got a little old. This was still mildly entertaining, but probably would have been better if I had the first two books fresh in my mind.
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I think I would recommend waiting to start this series until all of the books are out. This one left off on a cliffhanger again, but I know I won't remember it by the time I read the next book. Since these books tend to pick up where the previous one started, I would recommend reading them together as one long book. I might read book four whenever it comes out, but I'm really not sure at this point.

3.5
I do feel like the series might have been better served as just book 1, but it is still an enjoyable story and characters. I love the way the author uses humor in these stories. I’m normally not a fan of murder mystery type books but I do enjoy these. This one didn’t feel like it progressed the story as much as I had hoped and felt a little pointless to me. But I’m eager to see what book 4 is like.

This was the third book in the series and I just loved it! It's a fun cozy mystery with an added bonus of a romance mixed in. I read the first book in the series (back when it came out) but did not read the second and I'll admit I was confused a lot in the beginning. The author tries to fill in the blanks if it's been a while or you forgot but that made it slightly more confusing for me. So I'd recommend picking up the entire series to read - its such a fun series! - before you pick up book 3. I really enjoyed this one and the mystery, banter, romance, and humor. I can't wait for the 4th in the series and I plan on re-reading all the books when it comes out!

*Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin's publishing crew! Elle Cosminano has done it again with the 3rd installment of the Finlay Donovan series. This is one of the most anticipated book for me for 2023. Fighting crime while taking care of kids....Finlay is a super mom! Finlay knows how to find the killer and do it with grace. With this book I can't count how many times I was laughing but also was so curious to find out how EasyClean was going to be captured. This book had me on the edge of my seat and was such an easy quick read! Loved it and would recommend it to anyone. :)

The dynamic duo is back! I was laughing so hard from chapter 1! I love how the author ties hunt and mystery and creates the best stories. Finlay gets into the most trickiest situations, but always finds a way out. I have been a fan since book 1 and this book was truly icing on the cake!

Just as fun and quirky as the last two books from Cosimano. Once you get started, it's hard to put them down. Flawed but loveable characters and a plot that doesn't let up. This is the perfect book to curl up with on a snow day and inhale with one gulp.

Finlay Donovan Jumps The Gun by Elle Cosimano is the third book in the Finlay Donovan series, and each one has improved upon the last! I’m really not sure where Cosimano's going to go from here, because how can she write the next one better than this one?

After finishing this book, I truly get the hype for this series! This will end up being a tetralogy of cozy mysteries, which I am finding very comforting, in a slightly odd and twisted way. These are the books I would take with me for a weekend away at a cabin in the mountains. They're just binge worthy, and the perfect real-world distraction.

I had the audio for the previous two books, and I really missed the narration with this one! I loved the narrator's voice, and the different voices she used really added an extra layer to the story. I'd highly recommend the audiobooks if they’re available to you.

The mystery at the center of this book was really intriguing, and I found myself trying to figure it out along with Finlay and Vero. I was actually really shocked by the ending! I mean, it's not a thriller twist, but this outcome came with its own surprises!

Finlay and Vero's friendship is second to none. This dynamic duo came to mind when I heard one of Kelsea Ballerini's new songs "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)." I mean, if "Our bodies are buried and they're in the same ditch // So even if I wanted to, I can't snitch," doesn't sum up this ride-or-die relationship, I'm not sure what does!

Of course, every friendship can have its cracks, and in this book, Finlay is looking at Vero a bit differently, trying to figure her out. Finlay remembers something Vero had previously said (in Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead), and this aspect of Vero's character is slowly beginning to unfold. This small comment of Vero's has been bothering me since I read it, and honestly, I was beginning to think I had imagined it; I'm really glad this was mentioned again, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else we discover about Vero.

You can absolutely bet that I'll be adding this one to my shelf, and I'll be waiting as patiently as I can to read the fourth book in this series!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

This is the third book in the Finlay Donovan series - it is just as charming as the first two. Finlay and her trusty sidekick Vero, of whom we keep learning more in each book, are hilarious. They are always getting into and out of ridiculous scrapes. This series is a great blend of comedy and mystery. The romance is there too! So glad this series continues and can't wait for the next one.

As always I couldn't put this down. I was sitting and waiting for this one too came out because of how the last one ended.

I mean Finlay and Vero's situation is wild and is just getting wilder. Finlay has to find out whose person is blackmailing a mob boss - meanwhile Vero's past has caught up with her.

Nick Finlay a new man who wants to be with her meanwhile she has so many secrets and is scared to move forward. Meanwhile, her second book needs to be completed and she is having issues with some of the characters and certain scenes

I love this series and I can; believe I am still interested but I can't wait for the new book

Cosimano is a successful American author of several YA novels and two previous novels in this mystery series. The books are light and humorous in the tradition of Janet Evanovich's 'Stephanie Plum' series, but the plots are also a little complicated and I highly recommend that customers start with the first in the series "Finlay Donovan Is Killing It". In this outing Finlay and her friend and nanny Vero are trying to find out the identity of a contract killer known as 'EasyClean'. They suspect he is a cop and so jump at the chance to spend a week at the police training academy doing a citizen's course. Finlay also hopes that she can finish the manuscript for her second mystery novel while there as her editor wants her to 'oomph' up the romance section and maybe the presence of Nick, the cop that she is attracted to will help. This is a fun read and a good recommendation for fans of light, zany mysteries.

This is the third book in the Finlay Donovan series and I think Finlay and Vero might be my favourite ever crime fighting/unintentionally criminal pair. I just adore their friendship and loyalty to one another and their witty banter makes me laugh a lot. Picking up one of the books in this series is always guaranteed to make me smile.

Now it is a bit of a miracle that they haven’t been arrested yet, after all the scrapes this pair inadvertently get themselves into (and especially since 90% of this one takes police at a police training academy) but I’m absolutely okay with that as these books are just so much fun. If you’re picking them up don’t overthink it, just go along for the (wild and hilarious) ride!

Fun, with a side of murder, the perfect book combo!

FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN is the third book in the Finlay Donovan series. It follows Finlay, a single mom of two and mystery writer who is recently divorced and desperate to make ends meet. After an overheard discussion, she’s accidentally mistaken for a contract killer which inadvertently lands her in the middle of a real-life murder investigation.

I am completely obsessed! I received this eARC a few months ago and took it as a sign that I needed to start this series, and I have no regrets. I binged the first two books both in two days and then this one in three days! The whole series is fun, a little whimsical, super action packed and hilarious. This book in particular had everything I enjoyed about the first time, plus the introduction of new characters and dynamics. I think the conflict overall is getting dragged out a bit, but I also think it makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Honestly, this is one of those series where you have to be down for the crazy ride and let yourself be taken by it. Highly recommend!

Always fun returning to the world of Finlay Donovan and I remain as invested as ever in seeing her and Vero live happily ever after. To that end, I was frustrated by this book because by the end of it, it felt like our duo weren’t any closer to resolving their overarching problems (namely, Zhirov and Vero’s legal/financial dilemma). To top it off, the mystery of this particular novel felt a bit lackluster and mostly provided some minimal character development. I need the next book in the series immediately, which is inconvenient because I read an ARC from NetGalley so this book hasn’t even come out, let alone its sequel. I’m just glad I waited to read it closer to its publication date. Had I read it when I received it MONTHS AGO I think the waiting would have been even worse. As it is, my main feelings around this book now are of frustration.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano in exchange for an honest review. It publishes January 31, 2023.
This is yet another fun book in the Finlay Donovan series. As always, the premise is so wacky, yet you cannot stop reading! You just have to know what happens next. I also loved that this is a continuation of the series, and that there are developments for all characters, the various relationships, and different aspects of the story. So it's fresh every time, and I keep wanting to come back to see what happens next!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is the third installment in the series featuring Finlay (mom, author, accidental serial criminal) and her nanny (friend, accountant, sidekick, co-criminal) Vero.
While I was chomping at the bit to read this book, unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much as I did the previous two.
I think at this point the concept is getting a little stale, especially the Russian mafia storyline, and the over the top shenanigans are getting more and more difficult to believe.
Overall this book felt like a filler to me, a way to stretch the story out longer and milk the cow some more.
Arguably the most interesting part about the book was the ending, setting up the next title in the series, which looks to be steering the storyline into a new direction. Fingers crossed we see less Russian mob and a brand new antagonist. The cliffhanger at the end has me excited to pick up the next book, so well done on that front!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano is the third book in the Finlay series, but I feel like you could follow along without having read the first two books. Finlay Donovan and nanny Vero are back again sleuthing, spying, and searching for the bad guys. Attending a police academy for citizens run by officer Nick gives them the opportunity to look for a contract killer, a mole in the police department, and still find time to get to know officer Nick better. The adventure continues.

The opening scene of the story was hysterical and from there I was hooked! Finlay is a very relatable character as a mom who is trying to do her best. The only problem is she keeps running into dangerous though sometimes humorous situations. Vero is the friend who challenges her to be more adventurous while always having her back. I laughed out loud at the antics of Vero and Finlay while rooting for Finlay to get together with Nick. I found this a quick read that made me happy. I am forever #teamfinlaydonovan.

I greatly enjoyed Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. The author has the gift of writing a mystery that is laugh out loud funny that still kept me guessing till the end. This was the perfect book to brighten up my winter and I recommend. .

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

The situations Finlay and Vero find themselves in are incredible. I don’t know how Elle Cosimano comes up with these ideas, but I hope they never stop!

In this book (the third in the series), Finlay’s ex-husband seems to be coming around and trying to make amends after she helped him basically survive in the last book, BUT I spent a good chunk of this book hoping she’d shoot him down. You’ll have to read it to find out!

That said, Finlay and Vero are in serious debt and owe dangerous people, so they have to find out who Easy Clean is before more people get hurt, or worse, die. In order to figure out just who this contract killer is, they join a training course with the local police academy and find themselves getting great scores for all of the things that involve hiding and disposing of bodies (oops‽).

OH. And there’s a WONDERFUL return of the hot cop, Nick. For those of you who have been reading this series devoutly, you’ll be happy to see them in this book… trust me 😏

I can’t recommend this series enough. It’s fun, lighthearted, and filled with catastrophic scenarios you just have to hope you never find yourself in!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Dating. Diapers. And dodging bullets. Who said single moms can't have fun? I guess I can't have fun. This was a DNF for me at 20%. I had not read books 1 and 2 of the series so maybe that was part of why I could not get into this. There were way too many people introduced in the first 20% that I did read. Who is who? The whole premise was just silly to me. A mom and nanny being involved with the Russian Mob, people dying, finding frozen people in the freezer. I see so many good reviews of these books I wanted to like it but it just wasn't for me.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun starts off where the last book leaves off. You should read this series in order because each book leads to the next. It is a continuous series of events with pause points (soft conclusions) where one book ends, and the next picks up the story. In this part of the series, an evil man still expects Finlay to find the person hired to kill her ex-husband. But being a nasty man, it's not a request but a demand. Of course, Finlay has no idea how to find that person and doesn't even know if she's looking for a man or a woman. Her only clue is that it is someone in law enforcement – perhaps a crooked cop.
Actual Reading Experience:
I just loved this story. It's fun and fast-paced, keeps me guessing from beginning to end, and has more than enough thrills, spills, and misdirections to keep my thriller-loving heart happy. Finlay is an everywoman, so it is effortless to see myself in her situation and relate to her reactions to everything around her. Being able to put yourself in her shoes makes this series so enjoyable that it instantly and consistently became a favorite of mine.
The characters are the best part. I talk more in-depth about Finlay in the character section. Still, there is also Vero (short for Veronica), Finlay's accountant/nanny/partner in crime. Vero is a delightfully lousy influence but also a good one in that she pushes Finlay to be more – to be better and stronger – and knows she can make it on her own. Vero is a foil for Finlay, but she is also a true friend, one that the story would not be the same without.
You may notice that Finlay and Vero both have rather unisex names, and I don't think this is a coincidence – not at all. As a matter of fact, it directly reflects their ability to tough it out in a man's world just as successfully as any man could. And they are put in some very physically and mentally tricky predicaments.
I could gush much more, but I'm also looking at the word count, thinking I need to wrap this up. Never fear, though; I have much more to say in the remaining sections.
Characters:
Finlay Donovan is a writer, and a divorced mom of two young children – a five-year-old daughter who is as precocious as precocious can get but endearingly so and a two-year-old son who likes to play hide-and-seek in occupied bathroom stalls. I love how Finlay has a great sense of humor about her children's antics and events that moms (and many adults without children) everywhere can laugh with her about because we have all been there.
But besides being a mom with a great sense of humor, Finlay is also brilliant, tries to do what's right and best for everyone, and can be brave to the point of recklessness at times, which is a bit of a flaw, but it also makes her more human. Most of all, though, I love her sense of humor. She can see the absurdity in everything she gets thrown into; because of that, the story has a deep vein of humor that I adore.
Narration & Pacing:
The story is told in first-person narration through Finlay Donovan's point of view. And it is incredibly fast-paced. I love being in Finlay's head because of her many qualities, which I mentioned in the previous section. The narration and pacing are just perfect for this type of entertaining read.

Setting:
Finlay Donovan lives and writes in Virginia – Fairfax County, to be more specific. The setting only plays a very minor role in this story. I think the primary way it comes into play is its proximity to important places in the story, like Atlantic City and the University of Maryland.

Read if you like:
* Dangerous thrills with a hefty dose of relatable humor
* Characters that you love to read about
* Fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining reads

Engaging, witty humor 😂
Gentle slow-burn romance ♥️
Appealing characters 🕵️‍♀️👮‍♀️
Can totally see as a movie—it’s gotta happen!🍿


This is the first Finlay Donovan novel that I’ve read. Although you can glean enough about the storyline leading to the present action, I’ll now definitely have to go back and read the previous entries in the series. This is a quick read, and once I started, I had to keep reading until I finished. It was the perfect way to spend a snowy day in front of my fire—great characters, snappy dialogue, twisty action, and a couple of romances going on, too. I loved everything about it!