Another fun installment of the Finlay Donovan series. I really liked getting to know Mrs. Haggerty more in this book, and the cliffhanger has me excited for the next book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Mystery/Comedy

✨The Highlights✨
. Ride or Die Friendships 👯‍♀️
. Amateur Sleuthing 🔎
. One Hot Cop 🚔
. Single Mother 👧👶
. Writer FMC 💻
. Psych TV Show Vibes
. Lovable Side Characters
. Closed Door 🚪
. Single POV

✨This is the fifth book in the series and I will keep this review spoiler-free but it is essential to read these in order.✨

✨The Feels✨
My favorite crime-fighting (or crime-committing, depending on the day) duo is back, and this installment is just as cozy and fun as ever! I loved being thrown back into the whirlwind of Finlay’s life as she scrambles to put out fires in the most chaotic and creative ways—whether it’s her son’s sudden naked streak or her nosy neighbor’s unexpected murder accusation, there’s never a dull moment.

This book really brought me back to the series’ roots, reminding me so much of the first installment. Fans are in for a treat with plenty of hilarious banter and, of course, Vero’s delightfully inappropriate quips—I especially live for her digs at Steven, Finlay’s cheating ex-husband. As always, the side characters shine, leaping off the page with Elle’s signature charm. She has a way of creating characters that feel like they could be your own neighbors.

If you love this series, you won’t be disappointed!

✨The Spoiler-Free Details✨
In Finlay Donovan’s latest adventure, she and her nanny-turned-partner-in-crime, Vero, find themselves reluctantly pulled into yet another murder mystery—this time involving their nosy neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty. When a dead body turns up in Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard, she becomes the prime suspect, only to be quickly cleared by the police. But with her house still an active crime scene, she has nowhere to go except Finlay’s already chaotic home.

Determined to stay out of trouble, Finlay and Vero try to avoid the case altogether—until their unexpected houseguest begins causing trouble in their affairs.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Finlay Donovan Book #5

The Finlay Donovan series is a funny mystery series that I keep coming back to because it is so good!

Spoiler Free Synopsis from Goodreads: 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 dead body is discovered in her backyard, Mrs. Haggerty needs their help.

This book had me cracking up within the first few chapters. The pure insanity and friendship between Finlay and Vero is amazing and hilarious. The audiobook narrator, Angela Dawe, does such an amazing job with all the voices. I highly recommend checking out the audiobook.

As far as the plot and story is concerned, this book has lower stakes than previous books, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good addition to the series. I did have times while reading that I thought that this book felt like it was the last in the series or could be, but Elle Cosimano has stated she is contracted for books #6 and #7 and I am so excited!

Cosimano also does a really good job with her cliffhangers and this one had a cliffhanger for something I think we all knew was coming up. Now we have to wait a whole year to find out what happens next. Once this series is complete, I would love to reread all the books and really get a full sense of the story without the breaks between releases.

Overall, this one had me for the whole ride and I am giving it 5 stars. A complete breakdown of my rating for each in the series will be below.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It: 5 stars
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead: 5 stars
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun: 5 stars
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice: 4 stars
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave: 5 stars
Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank: 4 stars

The Finlay Donovan series continues with a new mystery involving a body found at her neighbor's house and Finlay's ex is accused of the murder. This book ties up some story lines from previous books. Let's hope all of the loose ends can be tied up in the next book and the series can be complete.

Finlay Donovan is another superb installment in this fabulous series. I absolutely loved it and I appreciate the author and envy her creativity. There are so many unbelievable twists and turns making it so entertaining. The humor is off the charts it's LOL funny.

I loved this quote, I am always saying something similar at work, so I was excited to see it here. "People rise to the expectations you have of them."

In the first four books of Finlay Donovan, there is an overarching plot/mystery that wraps up in book four before the hook of this particular book is delivered in the very last chapter. That hook being that there's a dead body found in Mrs. Haggerty's flower beds. Finlay, unsurprisingly, gets dragged into this situation and is trying to figure out what happened, while also dealing with Nick and how complicated it is to be committing crimes left and right while dating a detective. Especially when said detective is pretty ethical.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. For a while it was stressing me out significantly less than the first four books in the series because Finlay was keeping her crimes to misdemeanors, but, as always, she eventually levels up into felony land so I was stressed out for her. But the thing is, even when I'm stressed, with these books Cosimano perfectly manages to keep the humor and lightness present so that I'm always having a good time. I just kept texting one of my friends who has read the series like, "Finlay's doing it again." In all honesty, this book was probably one of my favorite installments in the series because of the forward progress in the romance department. I'm a big fan of Finlay and Nick and so I am hoping nothing really comes between them in the future. We'll see how that goes though, yeah? Because there will absolutely be a sixth book and I cannot wait for it either!

Another fun installment to the series! Perfectly outrageous, hilarious, and entertaining. Could not put it down and have SO enjoyed this series. Love how it connected to the other books, too!

Finlay Donovan is back in her fifth installment, I’m always chasing the high the first book gave me, and this one got really close!

I both love and hate all these characters (except Cam, I just love him). Finlay is a pushover, yet a badass. Nick is too overprotective, yet so endearing. Vero is pushy but hilarious. And Mrs. Haggerty who is seemingly the worst neighbor to ever exist, is actually compassionate and caring. Some of the other books in this series suffered from being too unrealistic and goofy, but this one struck a perfect balance, and despite the epilogue I felt like everything wrapped up perfectly.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 for Goodreads. The things Finley manages to get herself involved in at times boggle my mind. I honestly don’t know where Elle comes up with half of the scrapes Finley gets herself entangled with. This latest installment has lots of laughs, an interesting mystery and some twists and turns you have to read it to believe. It’s got a bit of a cliffhanger, so I’ll be looking for book 6 as soon as it releases!

These books are never disappointing! I thoroughly enjoyed the latest book in the Finlay Donovan series! I cannot wait for the next! Thanks for the opportunity to read it early!!

Finlay Donovan never disappoints. As an audiobook it is even better. Angela Dawe does such an incredible job with the cast of characters that she portrays in these books.

The Finlay/Vero relationship is sarcastic and witty and their interactions are often hilarious.

The side characters are all great. The fact that this book focused around Mrs. Haggarty, the elderly nosey neighbor, was a fun change of pace.

If you haven’t checked out this series yet, I highly recommend it.

I came across the first book in this series a few years ago when I was going through a hard time, and the hijinks of Finlay and Vero brought much-needed humor and solace to the point where I would save each following book in the series for a time when I knew I’d need it. And each book has been an escapism-filled balm. So reading the newest book in the series during a really hard week seems appropriate and fitting, and it couldn’t have come at a better (or worse?) time!

The book, like all of its predecessors, has hilariously uncomfortable situations, laugh-out-loud moments, and comeuppance served cold as Finlay deals with a husband behind bars, and intrusive houseguest, a won’t-take-no-for-an-answer literary agent, a mysterious body turning up on her street, and difficulty in deciding what to share or not to share with her police officer boyfriend. All of this, on top of being the frazzled single mother of a potty-training toddler and his in-trouble-at-school sister.

As expected, there were murder-related shenanigans, duplicity-related schemes, and secret-filled hijinks. The banter between Finlay and Vero never gets old, and I loved that we were treated to more of Cam and Mrs. Haggerty. There were also some moments of tenderness and progress that I’ve been waiting for when it comes to Finlay deciding whether or not to commit to her new relationship.

All in all, I’m (as always) excited for the next installment!

Another fun book from Elle Cosimano! Loved reading it and keeping up with Finlay Donvan and Vero! Can't wait to read the next one and see where this series goes next. It's been so much fun to read so far!

Finlay and Vero are always up for an adventure, but this time, it’s a bit more personal. A dead body is found in Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard, and guess who’s the prime suspect? Could Mrs. Haggerty have done it? And how does Finlay’s ex-husband, Steven, also get involved? All this while Finlay’s trying to be a single mom to her kids, Delia and Zach, and the hilarious challenges that come with it. This is my fifth Finlay Donovan novel, and while it was entertaining and hilarious, the story felt a bit familiar. But hey, I love how Elle Cosimano always ends the book on a cliffhanger, so I’m excited to see what happens next in Finlay and Vero’s next adventure.

Finlay and her nanny, Vero, have a sordid history they’d rather keep hidden from law enforcement. They’re hoping to lay low for awhile when a body is discovered in their neighbor’s back yard. The yard’s owner, Mrs. Haggerty, has not always been on the best terms with Finlay but now needs her help. She’s cleared as a suspect, but she can’t return home and moves in with Finlay. Before long, Finn and Vero grow suspicious of Mrs. Haggerty and find themselves wrapped up in another mystery.

I absolutely love every chance to dive back into Finlay Donovan’s world, and this was no exception. As a northern Virginia girlie, this series is especially exciting. There was so much to love about this installment, from the side characters to the relationship development. I really enjoyed that this book was a touch less chaotic for Finlay but still just as funny and action packed. Her kids and their relationship with Mrs. Haggerty were such a delight, and Cam provided his usual comic relief. Finlay and Nick finally progress their relationship, and the mystery is fun and wrapped up nicely. I’m looking forward to the next installment after that epilogue!

Thank you to Elle Cosimano, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Finlay Donovan and her live-in nanny/accountant/ride-or-die Vero are back home at last. They’ve been to the citizen’s police academy. They spent time in Atlantic City, getting themselves out of trouble with a dangerous loan shark. They helped take down a Russian crime gang. And now they’re back home for what may be their biggest challenge yet: potty training Finlay’s son.

Finlay is surprised when Mrs. Haggerty and her grandson show up on her doorstep. Mrs. Haggerty was known to everyone in the neighborhood as the woman with her eyes on everything. She watches everything that happens and writes it all down in her notebooks, along with dates, times, and license plate numbers. However, a man’s body had recently been found in her yard, and she was briefly in jail while the police investigated. Now she’s been released, and she’s on Finlay’s porch with luggage.

Her grandson explains that her water and heat are not on, and she needs a place to stay. She wants to stay close to her house, so she can keep an eye on it. Finlay takes pity on the older woman and tells them that Mrs. Haggerty can stay the night. But the next day, Mrs. Haggerty’s grandson has disappeared, and Mrs. Haggerty has made herself at home in Finlay’s bedroom, insisting that Finlay drive her to her book club but not come herself. Finlay’s patience is stretched by the woman, but when Finlay’s ex-husband is charged with the murder of the body from Mrs. Haggerty’s yard, Finlay knows she has to figure out who really killed the man.

With break-ins and pot brownies, a teenaged hacker who can be bought with a home-cooked meal, a young daughter who not is afraid to kick her bully in the tentacles and a naked toddler on the run, secret mailbox notes and an oversized eggplant, a producer who wants to make a television series of her book and an agent pushy enough not to take no for an answer, and the cop who knows she’s been lying to him but she’s falling for anyway, Finlay has a lot going on. But nothing is going to stop her from proving her ex-husband isn’t a killer. He’s made a lot of mistakes, but as far as Finlay knows (and she knows a lot), he’s never killed anyone.

So who did? And can Finlay and Vero find out before a killer turns on them?

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is another engaging mystery in Elle Cosimano’s amazing series about a divorced writer who is trying to start a new life for herself, but finds herself tripping over dead bodies. These novels are whip-smart and cleverly fun. Finlay handles it all with a level of grace, kindness, and quick thinking that I can only aspire to. There is action, there is romance, and there is a lot of genuine belly laughs. I did feel like this one was maybe a tiny bit milder than some of the other books, but then Finlay was back home, and I thought it was the perfect time in the series to take a breath at Finlay’s house before the next emergency.

I listened to the audio book for Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grace, narrated by Angela Dawe. Dawe understands Finlay’s voice, and brings the right amount of calm intelligence to her. The voice she uses for Vero is perfection, and I don’t think anyone else could possibly do Vero justice the way Dawe can. Her choices for all the characters, from the kids to Mrs. Haggerty, brings these stories to life. I love to read these books, but Dawe makes listening to them such a phenomenal experience that I hope all audio book lovers choose to listen to this one. It is perfection.

Egalleys for Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave were provided by Minotaur Books, and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a fun read just like the other books in the series. I just love the characters and the mystery was satisfying.

4.25 STARS

Okay this has been my favorite Finlay book so far! I have enjoyed all of the other books in this series, but they've always seemed just a touch too far out of reality for my liking. This book, while similar in that sense, still made me feel as though it could have been achievable. I loved that we got to know Maggie more and I thought her character presence was an absolute HOOT! I will definitely continue to keep up with the Finlay series because I am a sucker for a cheesy low-stakes mystery book. Also, I need to know more about what Nick & Finaly's relationship is going to look like after this book and all that happened in it!

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press for the advanced copy on NetGalley! 🤍

Book #5

Finlay and vera are at it again!

Busy-body neighbor, Mrs. Haggarty, has been arrested after the police find a body buried in her back yard. The police can't find enough evidence to hold her, so Mrs. Haggarty tricks Finlay and vera into letting her stay at their house until she is allowed back into her house.

Finlay and Vera are sucked into another mystery. This time they aren't the only ones in danger, somehow Finlay's ex, Stephen, has been accused of the murder!

It's a good thing Finlay is an author, she couldn't make this stuff up! I have recommended the series to friends that love cozy mysteries! I can't wait to see what the ladies get into next! Definite five star review!

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I seriously love this series and hope it goes on for a while longer but it will have to end. For once, Finlay isn’t in the thick of things this time but she’s actually solving a mystery. Vero is still Vero but the addition of Mrs. Haggerty as a main character was brilliant.