💄🔪 Book Spotlight: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Genre: Mystery • Suspense • Dark Comedy • Contemporary Fiction

☕ Book Details & Rating

Format: Audiobook
Series: Finlay Donovan #1
Year Published: 2021
Page Count: 368
Rating: ☕☕☕☕☕ (5 Coffees!)

☕ Coffee Pairing

Perfect Sip: Quad Shot Iced Mocha with Whipped Cream (in a to-go cup you’re probably going to spill)
Why it Works: Finlay’s life is a whole mess—and this coffee matches that energy. It’s bold, over-caffeinated, and just sweet enough to keep you from spiraling. Perfect for surviving carpool, contract killers, and tight publishing deadlines.

About the Book

Moms, murder, and mayhem—Finlay Donovan Is Killing It delivers it all. What starts as a stressed-out single mom venting about her crime novel plot over lunch quickly spirals into a case of mistaken identity and accidental contract killing. With a lovable (and totally chaotic) protagonist, razor-sharp humor, and more twists than her publisher’s deadlines, this one’s for fans of mysteries with heart, sass, and just a touch of blood.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

This review may contain spoilers, accidental confessions, and possibly a few unintentional crimes (just kidding… mostly). If you haven’t read Finlay Donovan Is Killing It yet, consider this your official warning: proceed with caution—and maybe a lawyer.

My Thoughts

This book is a whole vibe. I laughed out loud more times than I can count. Finlay Donovan gives me Stephanie Plum meets Veronica Mars energy—just with a bit more chaos (and way more murder). I’m already on book three in the series, and I’ve devoured the first three books in just a few days. That should tell you something: this series keeps my attention.

Finlay is down on her luck. Her husband is a cheating jerk, she’s barely scraping by as an author, and life is piling on fast. She’s desperate. Floundering. Somewhere between rock and hard place. You get the picture.

Then one day at Panera, she’s venting to her literary agent about the plot of her crime novel—and someone overhears. A mysterious note is slipped into her bag. The woman thinks Finlay is a real contract killer… and she’s offering a job. What follows is a string of increasingly unhinged events that Finlay kind of… just rolls with. And somehow, she sends her life-as-fiction manuscript to her agent—who loves it. Her editor loves it. Cue a big advance and a two-book deal. Now fiction is imitating life, and life is spiraling.

“It’s a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by eight‑thirty A.M. on any given morning.”
— Elle Cosimano, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Let’s pause for a moment: no one in this book is morally pure. Every character lives somewhere in the morally gray. Should Finlay have gone to the police from the jump? Absolutely. But then we wouldn’t have this ridiculous, delightful mess of a book.

Curiosity gets the best of her. After some light Googling, Finlay scopes out the would-be target and finds out he’s awful. Like, truly awful. One thing leads to another and… whoops, dead body in the van. Enter Vero, her ex-babysitter, who walks in at just the right (or wrong?) moment—and instead of calling the police, becomes Finlay’s unofficial partner in crime. Ride or die energy? Off the charts. Vero is the kind of friend who will literally help you bury a body.

Naturally, more chaos follows. Vero (without asking) accepts another contract hit, this time from the wife of a mob enforcer. Finlay does the research, learns who the guy is, and surprise—things don’t go as planned. Another accidental death. Things escalate. And yes, somehow it all still works.

Now, let’s talk love triangle. We’ve got Julian: good looking, young, smart bartender/law student. And Nick: “hot cop,” as he’s referred to repeatedly. Neither is ideal for Finlay at this stage. Nick is a cop—which, you know, kind of awkward when you’re maybe-accidentally committing crimes. Julian? Charming, but probably not what she needs while she’s juggling a fake hitman career, parenting, and a book deadline. Her ex-husband also makes an appearance. He’s… well, a tool.

There is romance in this book, but it’s closed-door. Think “fade to black.” You know it happened, but you don’t get the details. There’s some suggestive language, but nothing that would make your grandma blush.

The twists? Fantastic. My theories kept shifting every few chapters. Some panned out. Some crashed and burned. Elle Cosimano keeps you guessing—and laughing—all the way through.

I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator, Angela Dawe, is phenomenal. She nails the pacing, brings so much personality to each character, and absolutely holds your attention.

Another bonus? Minimal profanity. When there is language, it’s situational and impactful. Combined with the romance and overall tone, I’d rate this one as a solid PG-13.

Final Thoughts

I can honestly say, my rating for this one is purely based on enjoyment. I didn’t put it through my usual system—I just went with my gut. And my gut says this is a solid 5-coffee read. Sometimes, that’s what matters most: how much fun a book gives you, how much it pulls you in, and how fast you hit “play next” or flip the page.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It had me laughing, gasping, and whispering “what just happened?” more times than I can count. It’s the kind of book that reminds you reading doesn’t always have to be deep or literary or emotionally devastating—sometimes it just needs to be wildly entertaining. And this one absolutely is.

The moment I finished, I jumped straight into book two… and then book three. I couldn’t stop listening. And honestly? I don’t want to.