24 October 2022

Zelda’s Review:

Alicia has been bugging me about this book after she read some reviews on social media. At first glance, I did not think this would be my kind of book. But I did promise to step out of my comfort zone this year, so I gave in and ordered us each a copy of this one.

With minimal expectations, I open this book and found myself swept away by a smart, funny, original tale I could not read fast enough. This book had me hooked from start to end. If you are looking for an entertaining, light-hearted murder mystery that provides the perfect balance between humour and mystery you will love this book.

I am new to Elle Cosimano and after reading this book I am already hunting for the best deal on the next one in the series. Sadly, the third book is not available locally yet, but I will definitely order a copy of that one as well.

The author tells this story from Finlay’s perspective allowing you to experience her thoughts and feel her struggles. I loved this character’s mind and I look forward to spending more time with her. Elle Cosimano successfully added just enough humour to this murder mystery to make it believable. (Almost)

Finlay Donovan must pull her life together if she wants to keep her children. Recently divorced after finding out her husband has been cheating, her ex now wants custody of the kids. She has not written the book she promised her agent and time is running out. On top of that, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her. Meeting her agent to discuss the plot of the book she promised their conversation is overheard and completely misunderstood.

When a woman mistaking Finlay for a contract killer offers her a lot of money to dispose of her problem husband, Finlay is tempted. The money would solve a lot of her problems. Her curiosity lands her in the centre of the dangerous circles of the Russian mafia. But this might have been the best thing that has ever happened to her….

This is a clever, original story that had me laughing as I turned the pages. I loved how this was light-hearted while showing the struggles a single mother faces while adding an intriguing murder mystery to the mix. I was not convinced that humour and murder could be combined so successfully. But Elle Cosimano brought the various elements of this book together beautifully and created an entertaining read guaranteed to keep you glued to the pages.

Finlay Donovan is brilliant in her simplicity. She is just an everyday woman trying to look after her children. She is a loving mother who struggles with her young children on her own – motherhood is not easy, and Finlay shares realistic thoughts on that. She is hurt by her ex-husband’s betrayal and she dislikes the new woman in his life – who wouldn’t? I loved this character – she is realistic.

This book is well worth checking out – I loved it. Despite my initial doubts, I was pleasantly surprised by this funny, smart story. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of the next two books.

Even if this book does not sound like your cuppa tea, be sure to add it to your TBR – it is a fantastic read and you do not want to miss it. Please read it…. And remember to let me know what you think of this one.

Keep an eye out, we will share Alicia’s review on this one soon.

Alicia’s Review:

Finlay Donavon is killing it the first in the Finlay Donavon series. It follows a single mother who is one day confused for a contracted killer and gets hired to kill some woman’s husband. In dire need of money to support her two children and pay an attorney to fight her ex-husband over the custardy of her kids, she decides to accept. However, things do not go her way and she is forced to try and figure out how everything went so wrong and get herself out of a situation where she would be suspect number one.

I loved the overall writing for this book, it was never super long-winded which is the case for most mysteries. It was a quick, light and enjoyable read. I think if I had the time I easily could have read this in one sitting.

This book was one of the funniest I have read all year, maybe even ever. I mean I even found the dedication funny. I will definitely recommend going into this book with a sense of humour, don’t go into it expecting a thriller, which it is labelled as because you are going to be disappointed. However, if you are expecting a light-hearted book with quick-witted characters and a good murder mystery then you are in for a treat.

I’ll be honest, I did not see that ending coming. I feel like when I read these sorts of books every single character in the book is a suspect in my eyes at one point in time. I always try my best to solve it before we know and sometimes I tend to get it right. However, this is not one of those times, it truly blind-sighted me and it was great! I love when books do that to me.

My favourite character had to be Finlay, you could not help but root for her and feel bad every time things did not work out according to plan. I liked how funny her character was and just her overall vibe. I also really like Vero I liked how supportive and badass she seemed. She is the type of person you would love to have as a friend.

Steven is the worst. That’s it that’s all I have to say about his character.

This book will easily be in my top five for the year. It is an easy five out of five stars for me. I would highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading the rest of this series.