Finlay Donovan and her sidekick and nanny Vero are back for another adventure. This time, a body is discovered buried in the yard of her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty. It's not long before suspicion falls on Finlay's philandering ex-husband Steven as being involved. The body was discovered due to a water leak at Mrs. Haggerty's, and since there are problems with the utilities (as well as a police investigation) at her house, Finlay reluctantly agrees to allow Mrs. Haggerty to stay at her house for a few days. This turns out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise because although Mrs. Haggerty commandeers Finlay's bedroom instead of the proposed sofa, she brings some much-needed structure and grandma energy to the lives of Finlay's two children. Her daughter Delia is happy to play school since she's been suspended from her regular school due to beating up a boy who was harassing her. At the same time, Finlay's literary agent Sylvia is in town pressuring Finlay to sign the rights to turn one of her books into a TV series. While this would normally be good news, Finlay is a bit worried that her "based on a true story" book might cause unwanted scrutiny from the police in general and her cop boyfriend Nick in particular. Once Steven is arrested in connection with the dead body found across the street, Finlay and Vero have their hands full in trying to figure out who was really responsible for the putting the dead man there.

I really enjoyed this outing with Finlay. She's always frazzled and yet manages to keep all her plates spinning with help from supernanny Vero. The affectionate relationship between the crotchety Mrs. Haggerty and former juvenile delinquent Cam is also endearing. As the book ended on something of a cliffhanger, I'm looking forward to finding out how Finlay and Vero get out of the next mess.

This might be my favorite Finlay Donovan book yet! I’ve always hoped to get more of Mrs. Haggerty, and I’m happy to say, we get a whole lot of her! Staying true to form, the 5th installment in the Finlay series is hilarious! The friendships are so genuine and the trouble Finlay and Vero get into is hysterical!

I can't recommend this series enough. It has witty banter, plenty of humor, a mystery to solve and strong female friendships.

I have laughed my way through this whole series and it just keeps getting better. This time Finlay and Vero realize that a body was discovered in their neighbors back yard. It has to be the neighborhood busy body who keeps writing in her neighborhood watch everything going on in the neighborhood. Mrs Haggerty gets arrested but then released because she has no connection to the body in her backyard. She has no place to go so she ends up staying at Finlay's house and in her room.

Mrs Haggerty was hilarious with her home schooling the children, potty training Zac, book club meeting, the eggplant car. Everyone thinks she is a sweet little old lady but she has plenty of secrets she is keeping. She is one neighbor you don't want to mess with.

Finlay and Vero are putting the pieces together to solve the mystery of who the murder is. These books are funny, witty and just so entertaining.

I am soooo relieved that we're finally done with the mobs and crime syndicates. I think I will enjoy this series much better with just the standard murder mystery that resolves by the end of each book.

The plot is intricately woven, keeping you guessing at every turn, with sharp wit layered over the suspense that makes the book a true page-turner. As the clues unfold and secrets are revealed, I was left breathless, eagerly anticipating each twist. It’s a captivating blend of mystery and humor, and I’m already itching for the next installment in this series.

Really like this one!!!
As in the previous volumes, it is fun and easy to read.
But in this one I have enjoyed it again as in the first two.
I really enjoyed the mystery and I adore the complicity between Finlay and Veronica.
I can't believe I'm already up to date with the series, I'm going to miss them so much.

This book had my blood pressure and adrenaline high!
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is the next installment in Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan Series. While I feel that it this point of a series I would be exhausted and stop reading but not with the Finlay Donovan series. I’ve grown to enjoy these books and these characters - it’s funny, witty, silly and unrealistic but good for my soul.
I was worried I wasn’t going to enjoy this book as much as the previous one. After the bad third book and a good fourth book, I can confidently say that this book, the fifth of the series, is so much better. It truly feels like the first book and I enjoyed it so much!

Review: As always, I absolutely loved this book. I literally texted my friends who've also read this series and said that i'd forgotten just how funny these are - I was actually laughing out loud and the relationship between Finlay and Vero makes me think of the dynamic between my best friends and I. I will read these books as long as Elle is writing them

Synopsis: Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero have not always gotten along with Finlay’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, the community busybody and president of the neighborhood watch. But when a simple call to a plumber turns into the discovery of a dead body in her backyard, Mrs. Haggerty needs their help.

The police take Mrs. Haggerty in for questioning and, though she swears she’s innocent, it’s clear to everyone she’s keeping a secret . . . but whose? With her house now an active crime scene, she’s released from custody with nowhere to go. Her concerned grandson, Brendan, an aspiring politician, doesn’t have room in his one-bedroom apartment for her and appeals to Finlay to let her stay at her place until the investigation is over.

Finlay and Vero have no interest in getting involved in another murder case—or sacrificing either of their bedrooms so they’d have to share. After all, they’ve dealt with enough murders over the last four months to last a lifetime and they both would much rather share their beds with someone else. But when the focus of the investigation widens to include Mrs. Haggerty’s neighbors, Finn and Vero are left with little choice but to uncover the woman’s secrets before the police start digging up theirs.

Desperate to clear his grandmother’s name before his upcoming campaign for local office, Brendan Haggerty makes Finlay and Vero an offer that seems too tempting to give their grandmother a place to stay under their watchful eyes and he’ll help Finlay and Vero find a killer. But who will solve the mystery first? And will the name Brendan turns over to the police exonerate or implicate them?

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano is another hilarious mystery with Finlay Donovan and her savvy sidekick, Vero. This time they face a murder a little too close to home, as the crime scene is in their neighborhood busybody Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard. When Mrs. Haggert sets up camp at Finlay’s house, chaos ensues. This novel blends humor with suspense as Finlay and Vero scramble to untangle a web of secrets. With twists and laugh out loud moments this book was hard to put down!

I love the Finlay series. It is humorous and entertaining. While some of the story is repetitive it holds my interest and makes me smile. Overall I am grateful for more books in the series.

Overall another fun addition to this series! I am such a fan of this author and her writing and absolutely love her characters and dialogue! Would definitely recommend!

I will never stop talking about this series. With each new book, I grow more and more attached to Finlay and Vero and their crazy lives. This book was so well done and I absolutely LOVED the character development throughout. I feel like the characters felt a deeper and wider range of emotions in this story and it made them seem extremely vulnerable but also relatable. (Ex: Finlay’s hurt over Stephen’s additional allegations- and the fight with Nick that followed. Mrs. Haggerty opening up about her marriage. Vero’s genuine fear at the very end.) I really just loved everything about it. 5 billion stars.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave just reinforces how special this series is and the fact that these books NEED to be movies ASAP.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano
.
Finlay and Vero haven’t always gotten along with the nosy Mrs Haggerty across the street. When a dead body is found in her back yard, Mrs Haggerty needs a place to stay…and moves in with Finlay.
.
What I liked:
-I mean, it’s Finlay and Vero, they could spend 350 pages bantering about cleaning the kitchen and I would read it. I love them so much.
-I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Mrs Haggerty and seeing her interact with Finlay and her family on a daily basis. I loved her car and her midnight antics.
-I feel like Finlay and hot cop made a lot of progress in this book and I ship them so hard.
-Bonus points for Mrs Haggerty’s assistance with the kids in this book.
.
What I didn’t like:
-This cliffhanger ending. Elle. NO. I need the next book yesterday.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ For me the first book and the fourth book were my favorites but I love them all! Finlay is my girl and I’m ready to ride with her into the next book.

Finlay and Vero are back on the case as a body is discovered in their nosy next-door neighbor's backyard.

This was fine but not as entertaining as some of the other Finlay novels. Most of this plot felt like a rehashing of the previous 4 books melded into one. Lots of repeat characters (no new one's at all really) and the digging up of old cases were what carried the majority of the plot. I just didn't find myself as enthralled by this one and am getting to the point where I'm wondering if book 6 will finally bring this series to a close!

Finlay Donovan does it again! I'm a huge fan of this female mystery sorter and her nanny, Vero. They are always right in the middle of an unintentional case with severe consequences if caught. In this mystery, a body is found at her elderly next door neighbors house. The police have accused Finlay's ex husband and the race is on to figure out who did it before he is charged with murder. I am a huge fan of these books just bc the humor adds so much to the story. Between Vero and Finlay, the shenanigans don't stop. This is the book for you if you want a light mystery with some hilarious scenarios thrown in.

Minotaur Books eARC
Reading the next Finlay Donovan is so fun because these characters feel like friends at this point. I loved the direction this novel took. I was instantly hooked into the mystery featuring Mrs. Haggerty because of how she was featured in the other books, and what a complex, interesting woman she was, and I am so glad she was a major part of this book. I liked the mystery here. It was compelling and really helped Finlay grow in so many ways. Her shenanigans with Vero were entertaining especially because things are so busy for them in this book, even though they're back home. I will read this series as long as it keeps being written. I cannot wait to find out what happens next after the epilogue.

I never know how all of the loose threads will be resolved in the Finlay Donovan books but I do know I will enjoy the journey to find out !

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I hadn’t read the Finlay Donovan series prior to this book but had heard great things, and the blurb about this interested me just the same as a standalone book not associated with a series. I’m glad I was introduced to Finlay and her world, this book was a fantastic one, and even more it was one that could absolutely be read as a standalone with author Elle Cosimano introducing us to the characters and past events in a very measured way.

In Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave we find Finlay and her sidekick/nanny Vero riding the high of their romantic relationships while the trying to figure out what on earth to do with grump neighbor Mrs. Haggerty when she is released by the police after a body is found buried in her yard and dropped off at Finlay’s home while a leak is fixed. Mrs. Haggerty is a pretty phenomenal supporting character, and I have to say I love her approach to raising children (when she takes Finlay’s under her wing). This is no boiler plate mystery as Finlay’s ex-husband is the next suspect behind the murder found in Mrs. Haggerty’s yard, but alongside that and trying to clear her ex’s name, Finlay finds herself stumbling upon some other mysteries and fighting the level of honest she can give her cop boyfriend without implicating herself in past crimes. This book was incredibly funny and fun, with some solid mysteries and with characters who are colorful and well written enough to feel like you may have been watching some real (albeit with tremendously bad luck) people.

If you’re a fan of the series by all means pick this up, but if you’re new to them and just want a really good and lighter mystery, then be like and read this as a standalone. Chances are high that you’ll want to start exploring the whole series as I will be doing.

I'm screaming. I finished this book in 5 hours. It's the 5th book of the series and honestly might be the best conclusion (although there might be one more book???)

Anyway. We're back with the duo who can't stop stepping into messes that aren't their own. Steven (the pos he is) is arrested for murder of the body found in the previous book. Finlay doesn't believe he did it and is on a mission. Nick wants to help. Vero and Finlay are now housing a displaced Mrs Haggerty and her shady bookclub ways.

It's so funny. So many things are full circle here. I was cackling. So many callbacks to the previous stories and some delicious closure at the end.

Steven was gone for most of this book, hallelujah because he was TERRIBLE. And it focused on Finlay and Vero, just how I like it. Very little murder and mostly just mystery on mystery. I loved it so much.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the Early Copy and for Allison there, who answered my emails. And thank you to Elle Cosimano for writing a wonderful series and letting me escape to it. Finlays story has been a constant for YEARS now and I love that it just picks right up where it left off. Until next time.

I loved this. Finlay is back! Honestly, I wasn't crazy about book 3. I've noticed I often don't like the third in the series. In fact, I was so "not-crazy" about it I almost gave up on the series. I'm SO glad I didn't! All my favorite characters are back and I really liked the non-stop adventure. I can't wait for the next one already!